UL and P. Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital will introduce the latest generation ultrasound examination method

The UL Faculty of Medicine (FM) will augment the range of equipment with two portable full-featured ultrasonoscopes, both of which will be located in the premises of PSCUH. Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) is a modern and effective imaging technique that is increasingly used in emergency medicine for rapid assessment of patient's health and facilitate an instant treatment.

The initiator of the idea and the project manager, Prof. Dr. med. Gustavs Latkovskis explains: “POCUS equipment is designed to identify a particular problem or perform certain manipulations at any place, such as a hospital bed, home, or on the way to the hospital. Most often, portable ultrasound equipment is used for POCUS, which nowadays provides high quality images from small devices in the size of a mobile phone, tablet or laptop.”

“The device is mainly used to identify acute conditions of the chest and abdomen, such as the inspection of heart function or free fluid in the body cavities in case of injuries. POCUS improves early diagnosis by providing more time and adjusting the strategy in up to 80% of cases, thus reducing the need for other unnecessary examinations that until now had to be performed in order to start the treatment according to the diagnosis,” states UL Assoc. Prof., Dr. med. Maija Radziņa.

Within the framework of the project it is planned to provide both theoretical and practical POCUS trainings for UL students and doctors undergoing postgraduate programs at PSCUH. The training is expected to improve the skills and competences of resident doctors to apply the POCUS in patient care.

“We are pleased that, thanks to the university and this donation, we will be able to improve the development of medicine as well, this is one of the major tasks for big university hospitals. It is wonderful that we will be able to advance both examinations and the skills of new specialists according to general standards. Both our patients and young professionals are the beneficiaries,” admits prof. Eva Strīķe.

Computer network equipment manufacturer “Mikrotīkls” Ltd. supports UL since 2015, by donating 2 million euros to development and improvement of environmental sciences, medicine and health sciences. This project will be implemented thanks to the donation and individual support from the Latvian patron J. Riekstiņš, who currently lives in Southern California, USA. The patron represents the charity organization ‘Friends of the University of Latvia’. Juris Riekstiņš shares his motivation to support the project: “Donating to Latvia has also encouraged my Latvian acquaintances, who I used to work with. They are happy to make regular donations to various higher education projects. I am glad to support the development of my homeland.”