GE unveils lightweight, high-performance ultrasound

GE Healthcare launched the latest salvo in its campaign to migrate high-performance capabilities to cost-challenged corners of medicine this week, releasing its lightweight, high-powered Logiq P5 at the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography conference in Denver.

"It's agile, powerful, and loaded," said Pete Boesen, marketing manager for GE Ultrasound.

The new system is half the size and weight of other cart- or console-based systems but offers the same functionality that can be found on its flagship products: the company's latest, high-definition version of speckle reduction imaging; compound imaging, called CrossXBeam, for tissue and border differentiation; a full set of harmonics; and 3D/4D imaging.

Boesen said GE's newest product can be used as a portable unit for radiology departments as well as a mainstay for private practices and specialized clinics. It can be configured for as much as $100,000, according to Boesen, but that includes all 18 transducers. A basic version designed for a single specialty might be had for as little as $40,000. A black-and-white version, dubbed the Logiq A5, is available for $10,000 less.

The P5 is nestled below the Logiq 7 and above the Logiq 5 in the GE portfolio. It weighs just 165 pounds and is compact enough to move easily into the tightest exam spaces, Boesen said. The 15-inch LCD monitor is mounted on an articulating arm and provides flexibility during, for example, a breast biopsy, as the interventional radiologist can move the monitor easily into a line-of-sight with the patient.

An intuitive interface decreases the learning curve for new users, just as its one-touch automatic optimization function allows consistency from one sonographer to the next.

The high-end postprocessing capability built into the Logiq P5 offers the potential for a range of applications. Its extensive array of transducers further refines these opportunities, as it opens the door for use of the system by the vascular surgeon, obstetrician, or urologist.

"Our efforts in past years have been to bring premium technology to the radiology segment," Boesen said. "Now we are moving this into the private office segment, allowing radiologists to have premium technology in a compact ultrasound system."