Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is an essential component of emergency medicine, enabling rapid bedside assessment across a wide spectrum of acute conditions. Its effectiveness, however, remains constrained by operator dependency, variable image quality, and time-critical decision-making. Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) offer opportunities to augment POCUS by supporting image acquisition, interpretation, and quantitative analysis. This narrative review synthesizes current evidence on AI-enhanced POCUS applications in emergency care, encompassing trauma, non-traumatic emergencies, integrated workflows, resource-limited settings, and education and training. Across trauma settings, AI-assisted POCUS has demonstrated promising performance for automated detection of pneumothorax, hemothorax, and free intraperitoneal fluid, supporting standardized eFAST examinations and rapid triage. In non-traumatic emergencies, AI-enabled cardiovascular, pulmonary, and abdominal applications provide automated measurements and pattern recognition that can approach expert-level performance when image quality is adequate. Integrated AI-POCUS systems and educational tools further highlight the potential to expand ultrasound access, support non-expert users, and standardize training. Nevertheless, important limitations persist, including limited generalizability, dataset bias, device heterogeneity, and uncertain impact on clinical decision-making and patient outcomes. In conclusion, AI-enhanced POCUS is transitioning from proof-of-concept toward early clinical integration in emergency medicine. While current evidence supports its role as a decision-support tool that may enhance consistency and efficiency, widespread adoption will require prospective multicentre validation, development of representative POCUS-specific datasets, vendor-agnostic solutions, and alignment with clinical, ethical, and regulatory frameworks.
Source: Diagnostics
Institutions: Vasile Goldis Western University of Arad, Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Spitalul Clinic Judeţean de Urgenţe "Sf. Spiridon" Iaşi, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Clinical Emergency Hospital Bucharest, Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,137
OpenAlex ID: W7125423537