Connecticut-based Butterfly Network, already selling in the United States, has won the CE Mark and is releasing its single-probe, hand-held, full-body Butterfly iQ portable ultrasound system in Europe. The product consists of a transducer that plugs right into an iPhone or iPad via the Lightning port, and uses a matching app to display live images, change settings and review previously obtained scans.
The “ultrasound-on-chip” ultra-wide band matrix array lets the Butterfly iQ work as though it has three different transducers built-in. A clinician can now perform a variety of scans using this one portable device, and because it can be taken just about anywhere, this may be one of the most versatile ultrasounds on the market.
Within the transducer component, the matrix array of microelectromechanical (MEMS) sensors is a part of an integrated circuit that contains all the necessary electronics. This tight integration supposedly results in a fast, high-resolution device that can perform tasks that only full-size ultrasound machines were capable of just a few short years ago. The company compares its technology to how photo camera sensors have been integrated within smartphones, enabling anyone to have high quality photo imaging in their pocket.
Since its introduction in 2018, President Gioel Molinari said Butterfly iQ has seen rapid adoption by thousands of physicians, EMTs, physician assistants, nurses and other practitioners in the United States. Butterfly’s CE Mark approval is a major step towards placing the device in the hands of 40 million healthcare workers globally, accelerating diagnosis and improving patient care.
The device is already available in the United States, for less than $2,000, and the company is now taking pre-orders in the European Union, New Zealand and Australia. VTN
READ MORE: https://www.butterflynetwork.com/iq
