Echolight ®
Ecolight®, a system we created several years ago, eliminates the problems of the traditional gel. The image quality is exactly the same (all figures in our textbooks were acquired using it) and it has the following advantages:
1
Stability
Critical ultrasound is a dynamic discipline, where only the patient’s structures are under analysis. The gel creates a slippery field. It is more difficult to stay stable once a good window has been found (echocardiographic users permanently make this effort). Ecolight® makes a non slippery contact, and the probe is well applied to the skin just by using gentle pressure. Therefore, the effort of holding the probe is minimal. If the user wants to scan, the pressure should simply be relieved.
2
Speed
Echolight® is poured on an adapted compress always kept near the field, and one travels from lung to legs, for example, with less than two seconds per change: a critical time savings.
3
A major advantage in cardiac arrest is that no slippery gel needs to be wiped off for efficient thoracic compression.
After one or two minutes, more than sufficient in critical ultrasound to make a diagnosis (B-profile, etc.), Ecolight® vanishes, leaving no trace on skin, nothing to clean, and no culture medium, as can be the case with traditional gels.
4
A less important advantage is the eradication of the gurgling noises (reminiscent of undesirable digestive noise) generated by stressed hands, never appropriate in these dramatic settings.
5
Another minor advantage is the comfort of making a clean examination, far from the traditional mess. This is our daily vision of ultrasound: a clean field. Morning visions of the dried gel from the night before that was not wiped off and, on occasion, things (hair) stuck to the probe, are part of the past. Ecolight® is harmless and odorless. Based on equimolecular combination, its adiabatic properties allow quick warming (if passed under hot water), which is appreciated by the conscious patient. Recently patented, soon distributed, our “gelless gel” is one example among others of holistic ultrasound.
