Purang Abolmaesumi - Machine Learning Technologies for Accessible Point of Care Ultrasound

Talk abstract: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) describes the process whereby any healthcare practitioner uses a portable ultrasound device to diagnose conditions at the bedside, whether in an urban hospital, rural clinic, or a remote location. When used appropriately, POCUS can reduce wait times for diagnostic tests, make patient treatment pathways more efficient, streamline transfers to save healthcare costs, and save lives. Although this technology is becoming cheaper and more portable, its use still remains significantly constrained by the high levels of training required by its operators to become proficient in interpretation and analysis. In this talk, I will summarize the journey our research team has taken to mobilize machine learning technologies in order to augment decision support for POCUS imaging in British Columbia, Canada. I will also present several case studies as future directions for research in machine learning in this domain.