Butterfly iQ Multi-Purpose Pocket-Sized Ultrasound Now Available in Europe
April 10th, 2019 By
Butterfly Network, a company based in Connecticut, finally won the CE mark and is releasing in Europe its Butterfly iQ portable ultrasound system. 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 makes within the Butterfly iQ lets it 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 since 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 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.
The device is already available in the United States, for an impressively cheap sub-$2,000 price, and the company is now taking pre-orders in the EU and some other qualifying countries.
Here’s a promo video for the Butterfly iQ:
And a couple videos of what it is capable of:
