A doctor cannot do his or her job without medical supply equipment, no matter how talented they are. It is an exciting time for the healthcare community with so many advances in medical supply equipment being introduced all the time. New research is improving the effectiveness of medical procedures and changing the way we think about medicine. Researchers, developers and manufacturers are continuously offering new types of medical supply equipment and making improvements on existing equipment so doctors, nurses, medical assistants and other healthcare professionals can do their jobs better.

One of the most exciting new types of medical supply equipment on the horizon utilizes smartphone ultrasound imaging. Computer scientists at Washington University combined USB-based ultrasound probe technology with smart phone technology to create a portable medical imaging device small enough to fit in the palm of a doctor’s hand.

Another development is a piece of medical supply equipment that treats prostate growths. A team of urologists from the University of Michigan developed a more effective and less invasive method using incredibly focused ultrasound pulses that create microscopic bubbles out of dissolved gas in prostate tissue. And yet another exciting development is a high-resolution gamma camera that can detect breast cancer much better than the average clinical exam. This piece of medical supply equipment, referred to as breast-specific gamma imaging (BSGI), is also being used for the early detection of many different types of cancers besides breast cancer.

While the above equipments are becoming more common in healthcare facilities, there are also some very exciting developments being made that are not yet available, such as robots that Duke University researchers are developing to perform surgeries. There is no telling what kind of innovative medical supply equipment will be introduced next. If it helps save lives, it’s a good thing.