The reach of portable or compact ultrasound is increasing, with the machines getting smaller, better and more adaptable. In fact, this segment of the market is outpacing the overall ultrasound market, according to a report published by Klein Biomedical Consultants in February.
U.S. compact ultrasound sales were $276 million in 2010, a 21 percent increase from the previous year, with continued growth expected, according to the report, “The U.S. Market for Compact Ultrasound Systems: Challenges & Opportunities – 2010.” “The compact ultrasound market continues to be the largest segment of the overall ultrasound market in the U.S.,” industry analyst Harvey Klein, PhD, said in a statement.
When talking about compact ultrasound, one problem is defining which products fit into which categories. Terms like portable, point-of-care, compact, laptop, hand-held, pocket-carried, hybrid, and cart-based are defined differently depending on whom you ask. And some machines fit into several categories.
While many call it portable ultrasound, even that concept can be misleading, since portable connotes the idea of a small cart-based or hand-held device. Deborah Levine, MD, professor of radiology at Harvard Medical School, said that her department sometimes wheels their large ultrasound machine, with all its bells and whistles, to the neonatal or surgical intensive care unit on different floor for a study. The unit has a motor to assist with transport. “We thought of getting smaller machines,” she said, but it’s sometimes hard to get the full range of exams using a laptop machine with intensive care patients. “You need to be able to do the full range of exams in a portable setting.”
The Klein report defines compact ultrasound systems as those weighing 14 pounds or less, including handheld, hand-carried, and laptop machines.
Instead of using a weight determination, Christopher L. Moore, MD, assistant professor in the , Department of Emergency Medicine at , Yale University School of Medicine, breaks down compact machines into three groups: compact cart-based, laptop size, and pocket-carried. He noted that many hand-carried systems are actually used mostly on compact carts.
Ultrasound’s use in different specialties is varied. As Moore and Joshua A. Copel, MD point out in their New England Journal of Medicine review article, “Point-of-Care Ultrasonography” (2011, 364:749-57), ultrasound is used across the board to guide or monitor vascular access for procedures. Aside from more commonly known obstetrics and cardiology functions, other specialties also find ultrasound invaluable. In anesthesia, it’s used to monitor fluid status, while in ophthalmology, physicians use ultrasound to assess the cornea and retina. Urology practitioners find it helpful in renal, bladder, and prostate assessment, while dermatologists can assess skin lesions and tumors with the technology.
The five largest U.S. specialties buying compact ultrasound machines, which represent 66 percent of the market, are radiology/vascular medicine, emergency medicine, cardiology, anesthesiology, and musculoskeletal, according to the Klein report.
| Check out the related Q&A on use of ultrasound by nonradiologists.. |
As the machines shrink in size, their popularity is poised to grow even more. The Klein report noted that the handheld market alone will reach $78 million in sales by 2015.
Moore has been impressed with GE Healthcare’s Vscan, noting that his emergency department has one. “The Vscan by GE is probably the most popular pocket-held one out there now,” he said. “I’ve been very impressed with the image quality, given the size. It won’t replace the cart-based machines, especially for more comprehensive tests, but it’s extremely portable and light and you can carry it around with you for a shift.”
Physicians are figuring out the best way to use these hand-held machines, given their limitations. Moore said that while the Vscan can record images, it does not include patient information on the scan like , whereas other machines that show the medical record number and patient ID number. He said the current generation of the Vscan doesn’t have wireless transmission and isn’t set up to archive images, “which is arguably important for a focused diagnostic test, and is required for billing. So the question is whether something like that would be used like a stethoscope, rather than for true diagnostic focused imaging,.” Moore said.
The data can be downloaded manually, but the lack of wireless transmission makes it less efficient. Moore said that in order to bill for a Vscan study, he needs to place an order in the hospital system, download and archive the completed scan, and generate a written report.
