A Practical Guide to Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS)

This book covers point of care ultrasound (POCUS) in a practical, problem oriented and illustrated manner. It begins with introduction to the basic principles of medical ultrasound imaging and ultrasound guided interventions and outlines point of care ultrasound in a lucid manner for rapid learning for medical students as well as practitioners. It contains chapters on ultrasound of the airways, thoracic ultrasound including lungs and transthoracic screening echocardiogram, vascular assessment, ultrasound of the abdomen for focussed trauma assessment, gastric volume assessment and ultrasound guided interventions such as vascular cannulations, pleurocentesis, etc. along with some of the latest point of care ultrasound techniques such as ocular assessment and assessment of the foetus and placenta in the operation theatre. 

This book will help the intensivist, emergency physician and anaesthesiologist to learn the basics of POCUS, which ostensibly, is the future of medical practice. It also includes objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) questions after every chapter as well as multiple choice questions (MCQs) that will benefit the students greatly. The book also includes videos from some of the celebrated practitioners of POCUS providing a unique learning experience. 

This book is suited for students, trainees and practitioners alike. The modules of POCUS described here are part of the curriculum of anaesthesiology in the UK, USA, Singapore, Australia/ New Zealand and most of the countries. The book also covers the curriculum of POCUS in critical care and emergency medicine courses.

Dr Arunangshu Chakraborty (MBBS, MD) graduated from Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College Kolkata, India and received postgraduate qualification in anesthesiology from Moti Lal Nehru Medical College, Allahabad, India. He is a consultant anesthesiologist at Tata Medical Center, Kolkata, India, which is a tertiary level oncology center. He has several peer reviewed international publications and has delivered many oral presentations in national and international level meetings. He is an executive committee member of Academy of Regional Anesthesia, India and reviewer of many international peer reviewed medical journals. His areas of interest include regional anesthesia, onco-anesthesia and medical ultrasound. He has edited and authored a textbook of regional anaesthesia.

Dr. Balakrishnan Ashokka (MBBS, MD, DNB, FANZCA, MHPE, EDRA) is a consultant anesthesiologist and simulation program director (anesthesia division) at National University Hospital and CenMed Associate at Centre for Medical Education (CenMed), National University of Singapore. He has 13 years of experience in high fidelity simulation based undergraduate, postgraduate medical and allied acute care teaching. He is the module lead for MHPE program for the Maastricht-Singapore Collaboration at the Academy of Medicine, Singapore. He has a fellowship of the Australia New Zealand College of Anesthesiologists (FANZCA) and masters in health professions educations (MHPE) from Maastricht, Netherlands. 

Dr. Ashokka's special interests are postgraduate exam support, simulation based postgraduate and undergraduate education, Inter professional education through acute care simulation and multidisciplinary team training. He has conducted international workshops in simulation, airway and crisis management for acute care practitioners, trauma teams, anesthesiologists and nursing delegates and medical education faculty development programs in USA, Taiwan, Philippines, China, Australia, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and India.

He is the reviewer of the Advances in Health Sciences Education, The Asia Pacific Scholar, Nurse Media and the Singapore Medical Journal. He holds the office of the treasurer of Asia Oceanic Society of Regional Anaesthesia and Pain Medicine (AOSRAPM) and assistant treasurer of Pan Asia Society of Simulation.