Ultrasound Machine Reviews, news, and advice

New Report confirms Ultrasound Technology Expected to Flourish as it Enters New and Unique Medical Markets

A new report confirms many things we've discussed here for a long time: adding revenue through ultrasound is not just viable, it's becoming a necessity for many offices.

I've long been a proponent of the use of the Hand Carried Ultrasound, portable, laptop sized machines, for use by physicians and non-traditional settings such as endocrinology, rheumatology, MSK, anesthesia, bedside, critical care, podiatry, emergency medicine, and other such non-traditional ultrasound environments.

It's become increasingly popular and it's why we like the Acuson P50 (which we just highlighted here), GE Logiq e, GE LogiqBook XP, SonoSite MicroMaxx, and other such portable models. This report confirms it, you can find the full article here. The full report will cost you an arm and a leg, but for my purposes and those who read this blog, the summary should suffice.

The image quality found on today's portable ultrasounds rivals many current console units, and surpasses many of those that cost more than $200,000 just a few years ago.

Additionally, for the full consoles or portable ultrsaounds, the costs of refurbished ultrasound equipment have dropped significantly in recent years, bolstered by the fact that competition on used ultrasound market market increases. Our take: if you're looking at refurbished ultrasound, make sure they have a service department and the salespeople actually know what they're talking about. If you're spending $10,000 or $100,000, doesn't it make sense to spend a couple extra dollars to ensure you're getting the correct machine and that it's refurbished properly? We've built a successful business on that model.

If you're looking to add ultrasound, this report confirms that it's going to continue to grow, and emerging markets continue to explode worldwide. We've found that for most physicians, it's an excellent additional revenue source in an increasingly more difficult market... and it's cheaper, easier, and takes less space than CT or MRI.

 

Quoted from http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/07/prweb2686524.htm:

Medical Ultrasound Technology Expected to Flourish as it Enters New and Unique Medical Markets - Market Research Report by MARKETSTRAT

Medical Ultrasound Technology Expected to Flourish as it Enters New and Unique Medical Markets - Market Research Report by MARKETSTRAT

Marketstrat is pleased to announce the release of its latest market report titled, "Medical Ultrasound Systems Worldwide, 2009."

Dublin, CA (PRWEB) July 29, 2009 -- The world Medical Ultrasound equipment, accessories, and maintenance services market is expected to reach $4.7 billion by 2012. Higher growth rates towards the end of this period are projected as economic conditions stabilize around the world leading to sizeable increases in healthcare expenditures, particularly in high-end capital equipment acquisition

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Acuson P50 Revision 1 vs. Revision 2, a comparison

New revision of the P50 ultrasound includes spatial compounding, so we compared it side-by-side with release 1.

Upon receiving our demo P50 revision 2 ultrasound, we took some time to see how its improved over the first release.

The first thing you notice is, well, that there are no physical differences. In fact, much remains the same: simple to use, retains access to the Windows XP desktop, allows installation of 3rd Party Windows applications, has integrated WiFi, has simple networking, has the user-friendly slide-out console, and retains all the same user-friendly functions that make it popular.

In essence, the P50s improvements are in its image quality, namely: penetration, wall definition, tissue definition, and color Doppler... these improvements are noticeably different in cardiac applications, as well, which is a welcome improvement. In linear transducers, Acuson added its SieClear spatial compounding technology, which adds a great deal of improvement over the revision 1 images (which we already felt were very good).

Following are some pictures of my carotid with the Siemens P50 Revision 1 and Revision 2,which includes the SieClear compounding option. In cardiac applications, SieClear is not available (it is not physically possible).

Both images are taken using the default Carotid setting on the "medium t-shirt" preset. Images are taken on the same patient within 30 minutes of each other. SieVision is set to 2 in both machines. Revision 2 images (on the right) have SieClear active, which attributes to much of the image quality improvement.

Note that I am limited to the size of images on this blog, so image quality has been slightly compromised. I will post some of them on the GPS Medical website soon. Otherwise, contact me or leave a comment.

 

Acuson P50 Revision 1 with SieVision	Acuson P50 Revision 2 with SieClear and SieVision
Revision 1	Revision 2
Revision 1	Revision 2
Revision 1	Revision 2
No Image.	Revision 2

 

 

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Acuson Releases Revision 2 of Portable P50 Ultrasound

Acuson P50 revision 2 shows large improvements in image quality for cardiac and vascular applications.

This past week, we received our demo version of the Acuson P50 portable ultrasound system. We were excited to finally see this unit, and we took some images with revision 1 and revision 2 Acuson P50 ultrasound machines. I'm putting the images together and will have side-by-side images on the blog shortly. The major change in Revision 2 is the addition of SieClear spatial compound imaging as well as important cardiac imaging improvements ... ie: image quality in cardiac is much improved. We'll post these images later this week.

SieClear is the Acuson/Siemens equivalent of technologies such as CrossXBeam (GE) or SonoCT (Philips/ATL). When it's added to SieVision (Speckle Reduction), imaging of tissue and vessels is much improved in revision 2.

Additionally, one of the main issues in the past was the image quality in the cardiac applications. Revision 2 is definitely an improvement on penetration and overall image quality. We compared revisions on cardiac, as well, and there was definitely a very solid improvement, particularly in color Doppler, penetration and wall definition. We like it MUCH better over the first version of the P50. Stay tuned for some carotid comparison images.

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Hands-on Ultrasound Workshops - Free CME credits

Workshops feature demonstrations and hands-on use of popular technologies such as: AutoOB calculations, basic techniques of volume ultrasound, routine 2-3 trimester ultrasound, new technologies in breast imaging, advanced technologies changing the private practice, and 3D/4D ultrasound

Physicians have a great opportunity in the midwest for a hands-on ultrasound workshop here in the Midwest. Siemens will hold a few different workshops in midwest cities in which you can learn about, and practice using ultrasound in basic and emerging technologies.

There will be a few workshops that will offer dinner and free CME credits that will cover:

• The Routine 2/3 Trimester ultrasound with autoOB calculations
• Basic Techniques of Volume Ultrasound
• Hands-on Tips & Hints in OB ultrasound
• New Technologies in Breast Imaging
• New Visions in Ultrasound Seminiar: Advanced Technologies Changing the Practice
• Advances in Silicon Ultrasound
• 3D/4D Ultrasound

These have been great workshops for Physicians to see some of the newest technologies, learn more about advancing the use of their own ultrasound... and how to expand the use of their own ultrasound, providing more services for their patients. Additionally, it's common for non-ultrasound using physicians to get a close-up look, including hands-on use, giving them a good idea of whether ultrasound would be good for their practice.

Workshops will feature the newest Acuson ultrasound machines, as well, some of which I've featured on this site and the GPS Medical site. All classes are sponsored and taught by Siemens.

Workshops are just 3 hours long with one-hour of hands-on use after the workshop. Interested? Email me with your location and I'll pass along the correct contact information for your area. You can also leave a comment here.

EDIT: I was informed that space is limited and filling up in some sessions. If you have ANY interest, contact me ASAP and I'll get you a spot.

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Goodbye to a legend: Acuson Cypress

It baffles me as to why such a strong product, the Acuson Cypress, would be taken out of production. We're down to the last units available... probably forever. A decision made by the higher-ups at Siemens cancelled the production of this long-time legend in the portable cardiovascular ultrasound market.

It's being replaced by the Siemens P50, which is a great system in its own right, but the Cypress is quite solid and its imaging capabilities are really fantastic for such a small system. We've gone to so many offices in which the Cypress is so highly regarded by the staff and Physicians... and it's such a small, fun little thing.

Does it have its quirks? Of course, all portables have SOMETHING that had to give, but mobile companies simply love it, and our service department loves it more. They just don't break unless it's something of a user-inspired issue (dropped probe or system).

This unit is one of the easiest sales we make. It sells itself, the price is good, and it has Stress Echo, DICOM, IMT, and all sorts of goodies. Penetration is good for cardiac, as well.

If you like this system, buy it now. Call us, there are literally very few left (like, less than 50) 866-347-7633. We are an authorized distributor and you'll get the real deal with the one-year warranty. Don't sit on the fence, they will be gone. No joke. We have no control over this, nor do the lower-end powers-that-be at Siemens. After that, you'll need to get the very capable (and better) Siemens P50, but the price will be higher, and not by a small amount.

RIP Acuson Cypress, we really loved you. Funny thing, I bet you'll be more expensive on the refurb market than you are as new. See you there, my friend. You will be missed by all.

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Special Ultrasound Pricing updated

We've just updated our specials page as new equipment has rolled in and we're dropping some prices to move them quickly. We have more than what's listed, but these are the best deals of the bunch. Check out our specials page to see what's available. Don't see what you want? Call at 866-347-7633 and see if we have it.

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Bill to close Stark bill loophole won't affect ultrasound

A bill introduced in congress that is created to close a loophole in which Physicians can self-refer diagnostic imaging services does not cover ultrasound, X-Ray, nor fluoroscopy studies. This is a big deal with the recent boom of physician-based ultrasound in which many physicians are bringing ultrasound units into their offices for a wide variety of imaging needs. A link to the story from AuntMinnie.com follows:

 

Quoted from http://www.auntminnie.com/index.asp?Sec=sup&Sub=imc&Pag=dis&ItemId=86437&wf=3193&d=1:

Legislation has been introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives that would close a loophole in federal law that enables physicians to self-refer patients for imaging studies as long as the exams are performed in their own offices.

The so-called Stark law in-office loophole has long vexed radiology advocates who see it as a way for nonradiologist physicians to skirt the law's provisions banning physicians from referring patients to entities in which they have a financial interest. Imaging proponents believe physician self-referral is driving higher imaging utilization and, thus, higher healthcare costs.

But the Stark law loophole would be closed under legislation introduced by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA), whose Integrity in Medicare Advanced Diagnostic Imaging Act of 2009 (HR 2962) would amend Title XVIII of the Social Security Act to exclude certain advanced diagnostic imaging services from the in-office ancillary services exception to the Stark laws.

The laws would ban in-office self-referral of modalities such as MRI, CT, and PET, but would not cover x-ray, ultrasound, and fluoroscopy studies. It would also not cover imaging services performed for the purposes of radiation therapy treatment planning or in conjunction with an interventional radiology procedure. In addition, it would not cover nuclear medicine exams apart from PET.

The bill currently has no co-sponsors. It has been referred to both the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee.

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