A Roundup of Mainstream Domestic Portable Color Ultrasound Machines

In recent years, domestic ultrasound technology has seen a significant improvement. Mainstream ultrasound manufacturers have continued to increase investment in ultrasound research and development. The growth of experienced scientific research teams and national policy support for the ultrasound industry have led to the booming development of the entire ultrasound industry. Currently, there are more than 30 domestic ultrasound manufacturers, large and small. Mainstream domestic ultrasound brands include established medical device companies such as Mindray, Edan, Shantou, Rubo, and Best (acquired by WanDong Medical and Yuwell), as well as emerging medical device companies such as Feiyino and Huasheng.

In addition, black and white ultrasound has become a thing of the past, and the ultrasound industry has entered the era of full-color ultrasound. Clinical application sites are no longer limited to ultrasound departments. To meet the needs of more hospital departments and usage scenarios, in addition to traditional desktop ultrasound machines, "portability" is an important development direction for ultrasound machines, leading to the emergence of portable ultrasound machines such as notebook-style, tablet-style, and handheld ultrasound machines. In this article, we mainly review the mainstream portable ultrasound machines in China - notebook-style ultrasound machines.

Although it is not Mindray's latest portable ultrasound machine, the M9 was a very classic portable ultrasound machine, and one of the earliest notebook-style ultrasound machines in China. Many subsequent domestic portable ultrasound machines are benchmarked against Mindray's M9. Its body uses a magnesium alloy integrated design and a 15-inch ultra-thin wide-view IPS display.

The M9 is equipped with the mQuadro ultrasound platform, which integrates advanced hardware technology in the industry and Mindray's unique intelligent post-processing algorithm. Combined with advanced adaptive precise transmission and reception control and efficient multi-channel parallel processing technology, it improves the machine's computing speed while achieving excellent image performance. The new single-crystal technology combined with Mindray's unique 3T probe greatly improves the probe conversion efficiency.

The M9 uses a variety of imaging technologies, including ultra-wideband nonlinear contrast imaging, real-time elasticity imaging, and echo enhancement technology. Its patented ultra-wideband nonlinear contrast imaging technology uses secondary harmonics and nonlinear fundamental wave imaging to obtain excellent signal-to-noise ratio images with more precise emission control. It also has microvascular imaging and contrast quantification advanced analysis software to provide more accurate diagnostic basis for clinical use.

The M9 extensively collects clinical needs, combines advanced imaging technology and powerful clinical solutions to meet the special applications of ultrasound equipment in multiple departments, and penetrates applications into ICU/CCU, intervention, intraoperative, and emergency departments, achieving an all-around upgrade of ultrasound equipment applications.

Clinical Images

2.Edan Instruments

The X5 ultrasound color Doppler diagnostic instrument is Edan's latest portable ultrasound machine. This is a portable product that combines a compact body with excellent performance. It features an ultra-light and ultra-thin, stylish design. The ultra-thin wide-view display can be rotated at any angle from 0-180°, adapting to various examination environments and viewing angle requirements to meet the various needs of pre-hospital emergency, in-hospital diagnosis, and post-hospital follow-up. The user-friendly operation panel layout and workflow design reduce the workload of doctors and improve work efficiency.

Utilizing a front-end ultrasound-specific chip, this system perfectly compresses the large-scale integrated circuits of a desktop machine into the compact design of a notebook ultrasound. Combined with multi-beamforming technology, it enhances the system's computing speed. The incorporation of μ-Scan micron imaging and pulse inversion harmonic technologies delivers superior clinical performance, clearly presenting high-resolution two-dimensional images and richly layered blood flow images.

The X5 boasts a range of advanced imaging functions, including real-time wide-angle imaging, puncture enhancement, SR Flow high-resolution blood flow, color M-mode, and tissue Doppler, comprehensively meeting the diagnostic needs of multiple departments. The entire system is transitioning towards intelligence, and is widely used in abdominal, cardiac, small organ, and POC clinical areas.

Clinical Images

3. Mindray

The Acclarix AX8 is Mindray's top-of-the-line portable color ultrasound system and one of the industry's most distinctive notebook-style portable color ultrasound systems. Its design is both stylish and classic, featuring a 15.6-inch high-resolution LCD screen that can be rotated and folded at multiple angles (front, back, left, and right). The tempered glass screen facilitates multi-angle image observation during examinations and enhances image resolution.

The dual touchscreen interactive design supports multi-touch gestures and operation while wearing medical examination gloves. The fully sealed control panel and virtual trackball meet the needs of complete wiping and disinfection and are not easily damaged.

The Acclarix AX8 portable color ultrasound system features a high-performance platform with 128 physical channels. In addition to ensuring superior image quality, the Acclarix AX8 possesses powerful imaging technologies: harmonic imaging, beamforming, tissue adaptive imaging, Doppler adaptive imaging, spatial compounding, frequency compounding, ultra-high frequency imaging, speckle noise reduction, puncture enhancement, trapezoidal imaging, and wide-angle imaging.

The Acclarix AX8 portable color ultrasound is a comprehensive ultrasound system suitable for abdominal, breast, prostate, obstetrics and gynecology, neurology, vascular, small organ, cardiac, surgical, intensive care, rheumatology, pain management, and emergency medicine clinical applications.

 Clinical Images

Mindray was acquired in 2018 by a consortium including Wandong Medical and Fish Yue Technology for €248 million (approximately RMB 2 billion). In this review, we include Mindray among the mainstream domestic ultrasound manufacturers.

MyLab™ Gamma is Mindray's latest high-end portable color ultrasound system. As an industry-recognized leader in ergonomics and minimalist design, this ultra-portable system utilizes Mindray's work-efficiency-oriented operating platform, integrating multiple functions to ensure ultrasound diagnosis can be performed anytime, anywhere. It offers a full range of solutions from bedside ultrasound to shared services. Its high-resolution widescreen monitor can rotate +90/-90 degrees, improving operational comfort.

Its innovative, modern user interface uses eTouch™ technology, guiding operators to quickly complete setup and image acquisition. The main unit is equipped with two transducer ports, allowing doctors to easily switch transducers during diagnosis, thus improving work efficiency and accelerating workflows. The apple-shaped transducer effectively helps doctors balance hand and wrist force; the grip feels as natural as holding an apple. During scanning breaks, the transducer can be clipped between the fingers, relaxing fingers and wrists, relieving pressure.

MyLab™ Gamma is an extremely portable ultrasound system suitable for various departments and clinical applications, including anesthesia, emergency and intensive care, cardiology, vascular, radiology, musculoskeletal, rheumatology, women's health, and neurology.

Apogee 1T is one of Shantou Ultrasound's latest intelligent ultrasound products. Inheriting the latest technology from high-end intelligent color ultrasound systems, the product combines outstanding image quality with numerous intelligent features. Its compact size makes it suitable for various applications, making it a whole-body color ultrasound system.

Apogee 1T utilizes intelligent imaging technologies, including Pure Image processing technology, spatial vector blood flow imaging technology, acoustic coding amplification technology, intelligent recognition filtering technology, and Pure Image processing technology. It also employs several intelligent assessment technologies, including stress echocardiography (Stress Echo), AI-based myocardial motion performance quantitative assessment (AI SG), and AI-based cardiac function assessment (AI EF).

In addition to the new design, the transducer integrates five manufacturing processes and materials to improve image quality: crystal slot process, slot filling material, optimized sound field waveform, multilayer matching material process, and crystal material.

6. Huasheng Medical

Huasheng Medical's Four-Leaf Clover is a whole-body portable color ultrasound system weighing less than 5 kg, with dual transducer ports and a magnesium-aluminum alloy shell for durability and reliability. It is also an internet-enabled ultrasound system, allowing for convenient remote consultation and medical record retrieval wherever a mobile signal is available.

The lightweight and portable design, simple and user-friendly interaction, and the industry-leading 20MHz high-frequency imaging with multi-PW sampling and fully automatic Doppler imaging technology provide users with an unprecedented experience.

HOLO™PW

Supports up to 3 PW images in real-time, allowing for arbitrary changes to the SV position after freezing for re-imaging. This allows for more accurate measurement of vascular stenosis changes within the same cardiac cycle.

Ultra-Wide-Angle Fine Deflection

The ultra-wide directional sound speed transducer has an ultra-large deflection angle, with a minimum deflection step of 1°, precisely matching the course of blood vessels in the human body. This allows for stronger Doppler echo signals, resulting in excellent spectral and blood flow images.

Auto Doppler

Intelligently locates the position of blood vessels, identifies the direction of blood flow, and automatically sets the deflection angle for B-mode, PW, and color Doppler, as well as the PW correction angle, improving operational efficiency.