COVID-19 has quickly shifted the landscape in Canada, causing concern for public health during a global pandemic. With more than one million cases worldwide and 16,000 in Canada alone, the virus has taken hold of our global community in just a few short months. COVID-19 is highly contagious and many experience common symptoms such as fever, tiredness and dry cough in 1-14 days following transmission. Others do not display symptoms for the duration of the virus or recover after experiencing only flu-like symptoms.
Nonetheless, older adults face a higher risk of developing a severe case of COVID-19, which can lead to difficulty breathing, pneumonia, and possible fatality. Normal aging of the immune system, as well as any underlying medical conditions like respiratory illnesses, can cause older adults to be more vulnerable to the effects of the coronavirus. Early detection and continuous monitoring can help prevent symptoms and improve a patient’s prognosis.
To improve access to diagnostic care, Health Canada has issued a medical license to Butterfly iQ, an ultrasound device designed for use by physicians and healthcare systems. This device is the world’s first whole-body portable ultrasound and can support healthcare practitioners by allowing them to monitor and triage patients quickly and effectively in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Butterfly iQ provides rapid patient assessment and makes monitoring of the virus’s progression easier to manage. This is particularly helpful as hospital and care facilities are feeling the strain of the current pandemic. Using portable ultrasound also reduces the added risk of transmission that may occur when patients are transported for tests, including a chest radiography or a chest CT. Butterfly iQ can also uniquely assess lung health at a patient’s bedside and yields greater efficacy and accuracy compared to using a stethoscope alone.
“A growing body of evidence is revealing that point-of-care ultrasound may be the ideal diagnostic imaging modality for triaging and monitoring patients impacted by COVID-19,” says Dr. John Martin, Butterfly iQ’s chief medical officer. “This has been reiterated by hundreds of clinicians from around the world. Canadian healthcare practitioners on the front lines of this pandemic can now have access to the Butterfly iQ to perform lung ultrasound at the point of care and detect pulmonary involvement in suspected COVID-19 patients.”
Butterfly Network’s ultrasound technology is already helping healthcare practitioners provide better care for patients impacted by COVID-19. For more information on Butterfly Network and its efforts around COVID-19, visit: https://www.butterflynetwork.com/covid-19.
This article has been provided by Butterfly iQ and distributed by YouAreUNLTD as a courtesy to keep Canadians informed about the newest innovations, resources and tools available to help them through the COVID-19 crisis.
