Systems and methods for distributed ultrasound imaging with a portable ultrasound system. A system can include a portable ultrasound system and an external ultrasound docking unit. The portable ultrasound system can include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers configured to transmit ultrasound waves into a subject region and receive ultrasound waves from the subject region. The portable ultrasound system can also include a portable ultrasound processing unit configured to perform ultrasound image processing for generating one or more ultrasound images of the subject region. The external ultrasound docking unit can be configured to receive the portable ultrasound system and offload at least a portion of the ultrasound image processing from the portable ultrasound processing unit when portable ultrasound system is coupled to the external ultrasound docking unit.
