Faced with an influx of patients, the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital has opened up new intensive care beds for SARS-CoV-2 patients. These rooms are cramped and not very compatible with the use of traditional ultrasound scanners, which are bulky and difficult to clean, or with the practice of chest X-rays at the patient's bedside. Moreover, transporting patients is a major task and brings with it a high risk of contamination. Using a portable ultrasound scanner could be the solution for improving bedside ventilation monitoring and making the work of caregivers easier.

Professors Jean-Jacques Rouby and Jean-Michel Constantin are conducting a clinical study on 160 patients to demonstrate that using portable ultrasound scanners shortens the ventilation period of severely affected patients compared to a standard clinical assessment by chest X-ray and conventional chest ultrasound. 

Use of this kind of ultrasound scanner would be a first in the intensive care environment in France and could be rolled out elsewhere following the study.