Emergency doctor Guillermo Cañardo shares his time between working on ambulances and emergency helicopters, and on the three boats operated by Proactiva Open Arms in the Central Mediterranean. He explained: “We pick up around 400 people fleeing from war, prosecution or poverty, in each rescue. They are usually more than two days from land, a hospital or any possible evacuation, and so we always have a doctor and a nurse on board, plus many of our volunteers have emergency medical training.
FUJIFILM SonoSite heard about the charity’s efforts and donated two M-Turbo systems for use on the rescue missions. Guillermo said: “It is fantastic to have an ultrasound machine; it is the only diagnostic imaging we have at sea, and works very well for us. We use it for abdominal scanning – particularly pregnancies – diagnosing and monitoring pneumonia, and to look at trauma injuries, such as knife and bullet wounds. Obviously we are on a boat where there’s a lot of movement – very similar to working in an ambulance – and the SonoSite systems are well suited to this. They are very robust devices, they don’t take up much space, and they are intuitive and easy to use. Our ultrasound machines are essential, as without them we would be working blind. We are grateful to FUJIFILM SonoSite for donating them, and the support they have given us encourages us to keep going with our work.”
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