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Dr. (Maj.) Andrew Morgan came to 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), he already knew the value of ultrasound machines from being an emergency physician at Womack Army Medical Center at Fort Bragg.

Morgan brought that knowledge with him to the group in the summer of 2007 when he became the battalion surgeon for 1st Battalion, 3rd SFG, and he quickly pushed to have more ultrasound machines at his unit.

Morgan and his staff realized a deficiency in the arena of medical imaging after they reviewed the medical capabilities of the battalion's Special Forces operational detachment alpha teams.  So he pushed to acquire more ultrasound machines in order to get them to the Special Forces medics in the field; where they would have the greatest impact.

The machines, which use high-frequency sound waves to look into the body for a variety of medical purposes, such as identifying blood in the abdomen, finding fractures, skin infections and collapsed lungs, already have widespread use in Army medicine but until recently were not storied in the Special Forces arena.

But with the advent of portable ultrasound machines, which can weigh less than five pounds, Special Forces medics are realizing the power of this technology in their environment.

Currently, each Special Forces battalion is authorized a single portable ultrasound machine, but when Morgan took his current position he requested more of the machines to put in the hands of the unit's medics.

Source: Blackanthem Military News

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