A portable ultrasound system (10) for imaging a region of interest comprising:a handheld probe in which a transducer array (14) is mounted and a data processing system (16) within a data processor housing, the housing including an electronic device that is connected to the handheld probe with a cable interface (11), such that the data processing system receives a representation of the region of interest from the electronic device using a communication interface (12), the electronic device including a programmable beamforming device and a system controller connected to the beamforming device.
