The INHUD project addresses a significant gap in medical diagnostics: the underutilisation of ultrasound technology by healthcare professionals outside specialised hospital settings. Traditional ultrasound machines, essential in medical imaging, require complex operation and interpretation skills, typically reserved to specialists. New and occasional ultrasound users often struggle to interpret how the ultrasound image they view relate to the full 3D structure of the anatomy.
This project seeks to reduce this gap by developing the Intelligent Hand-held Ultrasound Device, a user-friendly, intelligent tool accessible to all healthcare personnel. The goal is to make ultrasound technology readily available and operable across various healthcare environments, including ambulances, care homes, and local doctors' surgeries. The device's compact and portable design caters to the practical needs of those working outside traditional hospital settings. One of the main challenges it addresses is the complexity of interpreting ultrasound images, which typically requires extensive specialist training.
To overcome these challenges, the INHUD project will use advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and visualisations to assist users in understanding and interpreting these images. SINTEF’s role involves developing good visualisation solutions that give a spatial understanding of scanned areas, intelligent full-body anatomy labelling, visualising medically significant regions, and aiding in probe navigation to enable users to effectively interpret the complex two-dimensional nature of ultrasound – all in real time. Additionally, the developed labelling technology aims to also enhance productivity in manufacturing environments through more efficient AI-based system test procedures. One of the primary challenges is incorporating a substantial volume of diagnostic data and computationally intensive processing into a portable device that remains safe, fast, and compact.
