Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med (2009) 2:25–29 29 Fig. 7 This is an illustrative example of the portability of ultrasound allowing it to be used as a real-time tool to evaluate injured snow- boarders on the mountain involved. This is very important at the elite level as deci- sions can be made as to whether the trauma requires only some local care with early return to training or competition, or whether the athlete requires transfer to a hospital facility for further imaging and medical evaluation. Preliminary studies involving the USA Women’s Olympic Hockey Team and some of the professional sports teams in Detroit (Red Wings Hockey, Lions Football) prove this concept is both feasible and valuable for the evaluations of injuries suffered by these athletes (personal communication, Dr. Scott A. Dulchavsky). Further, the use of portable US for the evaluation of recreational snowboarding injuries or other sports related trauma needs further evaluation. Making the correct diagnosis mountainside in these more recreational cases could eliminate a misdiagnosis resulting in further injury and suffering, or a trip to a more distant facility for unnecessary negative imaging studies. While more studies are required before the widespread applica- tion of portable US use in the evaluation of snowboarding and other sports injuries, its potential use in these cir- cumstances remains very attractive. Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which per- mits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited. References 1. Corra S, et al. Skiing and snowboarding injuries and their impact on the emergency care system in South Tyrol: a restrospective analysis for the winter season 2001–2002. Inj Control Saf Pro- mot. 2004;11(4):281–5. 2. Federiuk CS, Schlueter JL, Adams AL. Skiing, snowboarding, and sledding injuries in a northwestern state. Wilderness Environ Med. 2002;13(4):245–9. 3. Prall JA, Winston KR, Brennan R. Severe snowboarding injuries. Injury. 1995;26(8):539–42. 4. Tarazi F, Dvorak MF, Wing PC. Spinal injuries in skiers and snowboarders. Am J Sports Med. 1999;27(2):177–80. 5. Kwon D, et al. Battling ﬁre and ice: remote guidance ultrasound to diagnose injury on the International Space Station and the ice rink. Am J Surg. 2007;193(3):417–20. 6. Fincke EM, et al. Evaluation of shoulder integrity in space: ﬁrst report of musculoskeletal US on the International Space Station. Radiology. 2005;234(2):319–22. 7. Foale CM, et al. Diagnostic instrumentation aboard ISS: just-in- time training for non-physician crew members. Aviat Space Environ Med. 2005;76(6):594–8. 8. Sargsyan A, et al. FAST at MACH 20: clinical ultrasound aboard the International Space Station. J Trauma. 2005;58(1):35–9. 9. Torjussen J, Bahr R. Injuries among elite snowboarders (FIS Snowboard World Cup). Br J Sports Med. 2006;40(3):230–4. 10. Crim J. Winter sports injuries. The 2002 Winter Olympics experience and a review of the literature. Magn Reson Imaging Clin N Am. 2003;11(2):311–21. 11. Idzikowski JR, Janes PC, Abbott PJ. Upper extremity snow- boarding injuries ten-year results from the Colorado snowboard injury survey. Am J Sports Med. 2000;28(6):825–32. 12. Moeller J, Rifat SF. Winter sports medicine handbook. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2004. 13. Kirkpatrick DP, et al. The snowboarder’s foot and ankle. Am J Sports Med. 1998;26(2):271–7. 14. Kirkpatrick AW. Clinician-performed focused sonography for the resuscitation of trauma. Crit Care Med. 2007;35(5 Suppl): S162–72.