One was a handheld system, weighing only 2.45 kg, that generates high quality images. SonoSite Inc. Because the unit is so small, it can be carried from bedside to bedside, said Dr. Carl Nimrod, chief of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Ottawa and at Ottawa Hospital. Ultrasound machines from the Japanese company Aloka Co. Ltd. use volume mode imaging, and can be set to scan specific features, such as bones or internal organs.
Images can show details as fine as facial features of a fetus.