According to a health report on MSNBC.com, the use of portable ultrasound machines is being touted by some doctors as a way to detect early signs of heart disease. While full size ultrasound machines have successfully been used for the same purpose, the use of hand held ultrasound machines, like machines manufactured by Siemens, have the potential to make the procedure part of a regular checkup at a doctor's office. Screening for heart disease with handheld ultrasound machines promises to be painless to the patient, both in terms of the scanning itself and the anticipated lower cost compared to some other methods. "There's a great need for a noninvasive and safe way to identify people who don't have signs, but have risk (of heart disease)," said Dr. James Stein of the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the article.