Floating point digital signal processing is a well established requirement for precision technologies and is traditionally specified for applications demanding higher levels of accuracy in industries such as aerospace, industrial machinery and healthcare. Medical ultrasound machines are some of the mostsophisticated signal processing machines in use and they are increasingly expanding into the portable domain. The challenge is to enable this intensive signal processing without compromising system performance. With the introduction of the low power SHARC 2147x series processors, ADI has addressed the challenge of providing precision processing while reducing power budgets to enable applications such as portable ultrasound. This paper covers the use of portable ultrasound devices, the processing techniques used, and the way in which SHARC 2147x series processors provide the necessary functionality with the lowest power consumption level.