Clinicians who use handheld devices to ‘listen’ to the blood flow in patients’ lower limbs now have an online teaching aid that will improve their diagnostic skills in this area.
The aid has been created by University of Huddersfield podiatry lecturer, Mr Andrew Sharpe, who has compiled a digital library of the varied sounds that can be picked up during the Doppler ultrasound procedure. Visitors to his website http://pad-database.co.uk/ can hear the sounds, which are accompanied by case histories and the information that clinicians need to make a peripheral arterial disease assessment.
A team of experts – a vascular nurse, vascular podiatrist and vascular sonographer – also provide case-by-case conclusions and explain how they would proceed on the website.
“The basic premise is that sound waves do not provide a standalone assessment. You use them alongside other assessments,” said Mr Sharpe, who has been awarded £10,000 for his project by the Urgo Foundation, which funds innovative medical research.
Other news items in BJC Issue 4, 2018:
New heart failure nurse audit
European patient survey shows cancer-associated thrombosis
Preventing potentially fatal anaesthetic accidents
Future advances in bifurcation stenting?
News in brief
