The ultrasound device in a network environment

Due to the basic digital technology of modern sonography, a large number of new features have become available. It is easy for the sonographer to empl oy an ultrasound improvement such as 3D, but other developments, like the n etworking of ultrasound devices are less well known. The following applicat ions demonstrate the benefits of the new technological advances: (1) digita l imaging and communication according to the DICOM standard; (2) telesonogr aphy;and (3) remote control and maintenance of ultrasound devices. These ad vantages are not widely used because of the lack of user-friendly plug-and- play features of the network-enabled devices. On the other hand, mobile dev ices are already available. In the near future it will be possible to use a mobile ultrasound machine as a mobile telesonography workstation, in combi nation with the high-speed mobile telephony protocol UMTS.