Ultrasound Machine Reviews, news, and advice

Philips buys rights to harmonics ultrasound patents

Quoted from http://www.auntminnie.com/index.asp?Sec=sup&Sub=ult&Pag=dis&ItemId=76409&wf=1956:

Radiology, Ultrasound Community

Philips gets rights to harmonic ultrasound patents

6/28/2007

Patent management firm Research Corporation Technologies (RCT) has granted Royal Philips Electronics and its affiliates (including Philips Medical Systems of Andover, MA) a nonexclusive license to ultrasound tissue harmonic imaging (THI) patents owned by

Philips joins Siemens Medical Solutions unit Acuson as a licensee of RCT patents, according to RCT of Tucson, AZ. The company said it's continuing its efforts to license its patents to the ultrasound industry.

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Vivid 7 Dimension 06 Expert, Vivid 7 Dimension 07 Pro, and Vivid i prices fall for Q2

As expected, to make quarterly numbers, prices have fallen on the GE Vivid 7 Dimension 06 Expert ultrasound console and the GE Vivid i portable compact ultrasound. Both systems are for cardiac and vascular use. The catch is that the systems need to be committed to by June 28. Also available is the Vivid 7 Dimension BT07 Pro with flat panel monitor at its lowest price ever.

 

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Philips IU22 refurbished ultrasound with 4D price drop for quarter end

Another quarter-end price drop appears, this time on a 4D ultrasound machine, the Philips IU22 ultrasound machine with 4D. Priced to move for inventory purposes at the end of the quarter. The Philips IU22 is one of the more hard-to-find ultrasounds on the refurbished market today and is known for its excellent image quality. We haven't tested its 4D here, but users say it's a capable machine, specifically for general 4D applications (mother-baby bonding pictures) in which diagnostics are not a priority. IU22 special.

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Acuson debuts P10 Pocket Ultrasound

This week at the Annual Scientific Sessions of the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) in Seattle, SIemens showed off its new Acuson P10, which is the smallest ultrasound ever made.

The Acuson P10 is REALLY small and designed for quick point-of-care scans, typically for a quick screening as it boots in only about 5 seconds and is designed to fit in a lab pocket. Not your every day ultrasound. Here's a list of features from the product brochure:

• Hand-held personal imaging tool
• Fits in a lab coat pocket
• Visual reinforcement of exam findings
improves patient communication
• Optimized form factor, functionality,
and price to complement the physical
exam
• 1.6 lbs total weight
• ~ 5-second power-up
• Excellent image quality
• Easy to use – simple, intuitive user
interface
• Stores images and video clips for
permanent record-keeping
• Improved interaction with patients
• 4-2 MHz phased array transducer ideal
for trauma and cardiac applications

The Acuson P10 is an interesting tool that they're also touting as an extension of the stethescope and designed as an extension of the physical exam. Pretty cool, although much of what it's designed for does not appear to be reimburseable.

The Acuson P10 is going through clinical trials right now and has yet to be released for sale.

From an Acuson historical perspective, the choice in naming is interesting as the XP10 was its flagship, groundbreaking product throughout the 1980s and much of the 1990s. This Acuson P10 (less the X) is its newest groundbreaking product.

...OK, so it's not that interesting, but I thought I'd note it anyway.

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The portable ultrasound market

A mutual fund manager contacted me this morning regarding SonoSite ultrasound. He was interested in what I'd written and GPS Medical's take and sales of SonoSite systems. The conversation led me to finally write something about this market and where its going.

As a fund manager, he was interested in ensuring long-term growth in this market and whether GE would simply swallow SonoSite. A good question. I told him good things about SonoSite and GE, and that the key between them is the market focus.

For SonoSite, I feel the key is the SonoSite operating system and its overall durability. The machine boots in 8 seconds and you can drop the probes. For Point-of-Care situations for which the SonoSite is designed, it solves a need: a fast, simple machine that is easy to use, images well, and doesn't mind getting a little banged up. Oh, and of course, the machine needs to have a good image, which SonoSite does.

GE also benefits from an excellent operating system, but in a completely different way. For GE portable ultrasounds, the keys are versatility, a known brand, and similar quality to its popular Logiq, Vivid, and Voluson products. GE uses a version of Windows XP on its systems and has a more complex user interface. This allows for much more versatility and Windows XP gives its engineers a way to port code from its Logiq and Vivid systems to a laptop version.

In addition, GE has solutions for nearly all modalities in a portable ultrasound, wheras SonoSite has its limited capabilities when it comes to the broader markets. GE's problem with SonoSite's market is their systems are slower to boot and not nearly as durable.Of course, SonoSite has designed it that way... the way SonoSite acheived its competitive advantage is to understand its market and provide the best product it can. A fast-booting, durable, easy-to-use ultrasound system.

So what is the future? Well, its definitely in compact ultrasound, the fastest-growing market in ultrasound. But who will be the champion?

It seems SonoSite caught most manufacturer's asleep behind the wheel. SonoSite used its own proprietary operating system before a truly viable Windows platform was available. With WIndows 2000, GE joined the market, and realized its vast marketsize GE then did things in the GE Ultrasound way: it released a bunch of products with small differentiations between them (Vivid i, Vivid e, Voluson i, Voluson e, Logiq e, Logiq i, Logiqbook XP, Logiqbook, and who knows what else in the coming months). SonoSite has stuck to its guns in providing a durable, fast, solid machine. SonoSite systems have good image quality, but are relatively basic compared to their GE counterparts. Philips/ATL has nothing (SonoSite was a spinoff from ATL), Siemens has the outstanding Acuson Cypress for the cardiology market and released released a palm-top/pocket-like machine that is decidedly not as versatile. Zonare and others are working in the market and it'll be interesting to see how those companies grow. For now, it's SonoSite and GE for the mass appeal, adding the Cypress ultrasound for cardiac and vascular applications.

My concern is whether SonoSite's Operating System could also be its achilles heel. With such a huge installed base, can SonoSite build and diversify, or will it always be exactly what it is. If so, I'm sure GE has a plan as does Siemens, Zonare, Ultrasonix, blah blah blah... and what ever happened to Biosound Esaote, the original leader of this market?

For now, though, it appears most manufacturers are far behind the curve and I told the fund manager that SonoSite would be a good bet for the immeditate future. I can't believe Siemens hasn't tried to port its Antares system down to a smaller model or any of its other Windows XP-embedded systems. Until then, it's free money for SonoSite and GE.

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SonoSite "Big-Ass Sledgehammer Impact Test" and The Logiq i themesong

I had to laugh this morning when I stumbled across an old video from SonoSite announcing the release of one of its handheld, laptop sized ultrasounds. While the video itself is tongue-in-cheek and pokes fun, the interesting part is that it was made circa year 2000. Now in 2007, GE has released its own video for the Logiq i... basically announcing nothing more than a laptop-sized ultrasound, which is something they've been manufacturing since the early 00's. The two contrasting videos tell an interesting tale: who's in touch and who's not. GE spends a lot of marketing dollars on a video that offers nothing more than a bad song and an announcement of a laptop ultrasound without highlighting its features (you could put any laptop-sized ultrasound in that video and it would still make sense). Seven years earlier, SonoSite produced an internal comical video that actually provides more content and information about its ultrasound even though it pokes fun at itself. Don't get me wrong, the Logiq i is a really impressive system and it shows that GE is very advanced technologically, however, why would GE spend so much money on something that does nothing more than announce a laptop ultrasound?  Maybe next time they can have a music video on color Doppler. See the Logiq i video here. I don't even want to fathom what that music video cost and who got fired over it.

NRM: AAA screening saves lives: study

In its upcoming journal, The Canadian National Review of Medicine will publish an article (excerpt below) of the fast-growing section of ultrasound screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms. This has become a popular request for information at GPS Medical, and a fast-growing field for facilities looking to add another dimension to their practice. We're also seeing many of the stand-alone imaging facilities add this to their suite of offerings. The study cites that it can reduce mortality from about 75% down to 5% with an elective surgery made prior to the rupture.

At GPS Medical, we're building a resource for family physicians looking to add ultrasound to their practice. AAA screening is just one reason why it can be an essential addition to the family practice. Look for our website in the coming weeks. If you have questions, you can call us at 866-347-7633 x 202. Ask for Jerry who handles these requests for information.

Quoted from http://www.nationalreviewofmedicine.com/issue/2007/06_15/4_patients_practice02_11.html:

NRM: AAA screening saves lives: study

Screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) with cheap ultrasound exams could slash the death rate in half, according to a new study in the May 15 Annals of Internal Medicine.

AAAs have always been a huge issue, but as baby boomers hit old age the incidence is set to explode. Deadly if they rupture, they have virtually no symptoms so most patients don't even know they've got them until it's too late.

Experts have wondered for years if screening is the answer, but the sheer volume of cases — over 5% of people will have an AAA by the time they hit 65, and the incidence keeps growing as they age — made it seem unfeasible. But the Annals study adds to a growing body of literature supporting widespread ultrasound AAA screening in dramatically reducing deaths — and costs.

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More on the Siemens Antares and Logiq 7 ultrasound machines

It's been a busy week here, but I wanted to get back to the ergonomics on the Antares ultrasound after spending some time with it. I've included some pictures below and a bit of an editorial discussion of my opinion of the Antares. Some of you have asked about it compared to the Logiq 7, so I try to include that where possible. You can add your comments to this below or you can email me.

The ergonomics on the Siemens (also known as Acuson) Antares are quite impressive, and I'd have to say they really went on a limb on the design. For example, take a look at the user interface (the gpsmed and gpsmedical text is my own post-production addition):

The keyboard retracts underneath the user interface, out of the way... At first, I didn't really like it, until I started playing around. Don't be afraid of it as I was (I thought it would be flimsy and difficult to type on). The convenience of it is that you really don't have to shift your body position to type as you do with most other ultrasound systems. It was a daring move by Siemens, but I'll venture that most users end up favoring the keyboard hidden.

The rest of the control panel is similart to a lot of this generation's ultrasounds: all the buttons have multiple functions that are context-driven (the system knows when the button should act one way or the other), and they're designed around your hand. Oddly enough, the Antares is almost intimidating at first because there seem to be too few controls. Some of that is because the keyboard is gone, but the other is that so much is done on-screen. They simplified this ultrasound, then simplified some more. As dumb as it sounds, it's still intimidating at first... but it was very easy to pick up once you understand its overall workflow process... ie: about 10-20 minutes of digging around and you're quickly learning and enjoying it (this is a good thing).

You'll find that your hand doesn't need to move far to make an adjustment, and it takes very little time to get-to-know these controls. Selections you make and any image adjustments are made real-time much like the Logiq 7 (although they're quicker on the Antares). I thought it was a bit easier on the Antares, but kudos to both manufacturers on this one. It's easy to use.

The big difference here, however, is that the Antares ultrasound machine doesn't favor a right-handed person as most other machines do. Look at its balance in the picture above. In fact, the text you see on the keyboard (besides my own) is on an overlay. This allows for reconfiguration for left or right-hand use in the TRUE sense of the word... not just saying "reach farther, lefty". It has complete balance for lefty or righty use. Very cool and something that is nearly universally ignored (I'm right-handed, but two of our technicians are left-handed). Kudos to the ergonomics team on this ultrasound (it was created by an independant group, elemental8 )

This keyboard can be raised or lowered independently of the monitor, which is a 19-inch flatscreen LCD with excellent resolution. It has an articulating arm and can move up, down, left, and right very easily. Please note that I am speaking of the Antares with the flat-panel display that was just recently released on the version 4.0 system. Previously it had a CRT that was less friendly, but still a solid system. The new display really makes this thing shine (and it's not a crappy flat-screen like they tried to put on the Sequoia a few years back... that thing was terrible).

The Logiq 7 ultrasound is now being sold with the articulating arm and flatscreen, but the user interface on the system will still feel clunky when compared to the Antares. And when you include these less-considered features in addition to the speed in which the Antares can swap applications and make adjustments, I can't help to lean more towards this Antares for most people. I like the touchscreen concept, but the Logiq 7 has a slow reaction time that can be annoying. The Antares has all the information on the monitor without losing any true real-estate on the imaging monitor. Plus, a lot of our customers aren't in love with GE. Siemens doesn't seem to really offend any of our customers, and Acuson has a great history with us.

I'll add more stuff later, please email me if you have any questions. Thanks,

-Brian

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