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Yeah my doctor didn't notice the last time I got pneumonia. A lot of doctors will just do a quick listen to the chest for the rattling but you don't get that in

by foxyv 9y ago

Yeah my doctor didn't notice the last time I got pneumonia. A lot of doctors will just do a quick listen to the chest for the rattling but you don't get that in some cases. Luckily the Urgent Care I went to when my fever spiked later did a chest X-Ray. Kept me out of the hospital thankfully. Kinda makes me want to get back into optics. Imaging like that should be as routine as taking a temperature. Be nice to see stuff like diffuse light and ultrasound get super cheap so it's used routinely.

pbhjpbhj 9y ago
Will an ultrasound show it, perhaps one could book in for a "baby-scan", cheapest scan in UK is about £40. Is ultrasound not supercheap already?
- 3chelon 9y ago
  They sent my son for an ultrasound to work out where exactly the fluid was laying on his chest, so yes, they do get some useful info from it. I've no idea how disruptive technology like cheap ultrasound compares with "traditional" medical equipment. It may be possible to do it cheaply now, but I'd assume the big equipment manufacturers will try to justify their six or seven figure prices for as long as they can, and those in charge of the hospital budgets will probably not be totally unbiased when it comes to making purchasing decisions. It may take some time to filter down into hospitals (like the internet).
  - Gibbon1 9y ago
    It's not even that it's that hospitals use xrays, ultrasounds, and MRI's as cash cows. Consider a $40k higher end ultrasound machine. Now consider the capital cost of the machine over 10 years. $4000/yr or $10 a day. Yeah the bill you get for an ultrasound is all pork.
    - arkades 9y ago
      No, the bill you get for an ultrasound is a tech or a PA to run it and a doc to properly interpret it. It’s funny how popular the Wizard of Schenectady story is on HN when it’s about engineers, but somehow fails to be applied to non-engineers.
      - Gibbon1 9y ago
        > No It was my point was that the 'expensive' isn't due to the capital or maintenance cost of an ultra sound machine. Although portable units do have the advantage that in a lot of cases the attending physician can bypass the cash cow radiology department completely. As for the rude tone of your comment, I have a tens of thousands worth of test equipment on my bench and I'd never dream of billing a client an 'oscilloscope fee', a 'logic analyzer fee' or a 'spectrum analyzer fee'. And every other industry works like that, except medicine.
        madengr 9y ago
        Good point. Not to mention a radiologist bills separately from the procedure. I have a $1M antenna near field scanner at work. It looks just like a CT scanner, but I don’t bill $6k per use, then another $1k on top to process the measurements. It’s capital equipment, and I bought it since it saves measurement time, which allows me to take in more work. What a load. When we had our first kid, my wife had a “fun scan” done. A fancy 3D color ultrasound. It was $120 for a 1/2 hour session. Same diagnostic ultrasound cost $1000 on a much older machine, same person running it. There was an article on here a couple of years ago about cheap, hand held ultrasound. I was downvoted for saying youl’ll never see it in use.
        Gibbon1 9y ago
        > I have a $1M antenna near field scanner at work. tingle Just add if one thinks a bit one can find a lot of industries that depend on renting out expensive capital equipment. Consider a taxi. A taxi might cost $25,000. Smog machines that auto shops have are not cheap. An Boeing 787 costs around $600,000 a seat. Rent a hotel room lately?
      - 9y ago
- Gibbon1 9y ago
  I'm unsure about ultrasound machines utility for diagnosing fluid in the lungs but despite what medical professionals claim ultrasound machines are cheap. Some portable models are under $5k. Low end Chinese made units are sub $1000.

by foxyv 9y ago

pbhjpbhj 9y ago

Will an ultrasound show it, perhaps one could book in for a "baby-scan", cheapest scan in UK is about £40. Is ultrasound not supercheap already?

3chelon 9y ago
They sent my son for an ultrasound to work out where exactly the fluid was laying on his chest, so yes, they do get some useful info from it. I've no idea how disruptive technology like cheap ultrasound compares with "traditional" medical equipment. It may be possible to do it cheaply now, but I'd assume the big equipment manufacturers will try to justify their six or seven figure prices for as long as they can, and those in charge of the hospital budgets will probably not be totally unbiased when it comes to making purchasing decisions. It may take some time to filter down into hospitals (like the internet).
- Gibbon1 9y ago
  It's not even that it's that hospitals use xrays, ultrasounds, and MRI's as cash cows. Consider a $40k higher end ultrasound machine. Now consider the capital cost of the machine over 10 years. $4000/yr or $10 a day. Yeah the bill you get for an ultrasound is all pork.
  - arkades 9y ago
    No, the bill you get for an ultrasound is a tech or a PA to run it and a doc to properly interpret it. It’s funny how popular the Wizard of Schenectady story is on HN when it’s about engineers, but somehow fails to be applied to non-engineers.
    - Gibbon1 9y ago
      > No It was my point was that the 'expensive' isn't due to the capital or maintenance cost of an ultra sound machine. Although portable units do have the advantage that in a lot of cases the attending physician can bypass the cash cow radiology department completely. As for the rude tone of your comment, I have a tens of thousands worth of test equipment on my bench and I'd never dream of billing a client an 'oscilloscope fee', a 'logic analyzer fee' or a 'spectrum analyzer fee'. And every other industry works like that, except medicine.
      - madengr 9y ago
        Good point. Not to mention a radiologist bills separately from the procedure. I have a $1M antenna near field scanner at work. It looks just like a CT scanner, but I don’t bill $6k per use, then another $1k on top to process the measurements. It’s capital equipment, and I bought it since it saves measurement time, which allows me to take in more work. What a load. When we had our first kid, my wife had a “fun scan” done. A fancy 3D color ultrasound. It was $120 for a 1/2 hour session. Same diagnostic ultrasound cost $1000 on a much older machine, same person running it. There was an article on here a couple of years ago about cheap, hand held ultrasound. I was downvoted for saying youl’ll never see it in use.
        Gibbon1 9y ago
        > I have a $1M antenna near field scanner at work. tingle Just add if one thinks a bit one can find a lot of industries that depend on renting out expensive capital equipment. Consider a taxi. A taxi might cost $25,000. Smog machines that auto shops have are not cheap. An Boeing 787 costs around $600,000 a seat. Rent a hotel room lately?
    - 9y ago
Gibbon1 9y ago
I'm unsure about ultrasound machines utility for diagnosing fluid in the lungs but despite what medical professionals claim ultrasound machines are cheap. Some portable models are under $5k. Low end Chinese made units are sub $1000.