A little help for heart patients

A POCKET-sized machine is helping experts at a Scottish hospital diagnose heart problems.

Raigmore Hospital in Inverness is the first in Scotland to use the echo heart scanner, which was bought using public donations.

The GE v-scan device, the size of a notebook, uses sound to take detailed images of the heart to determine the condition affecting a patient.

Consultant cardiologist Professor Steve Leslie said: "The size makes it very portable which opens up opportunities for its use outside the hospital."

The GE v-scan cost just under 5,000 using money from the hospital's endowments funds.