Comparison of various ultrasound devices

Ultrasound systems are generally divided intohigh, medium, and low-endthree categories—

• High-end ultrasound systemsgenerally refer to systems that utilize the latest technologies, meet the latest market demands, and provide the best image quality;

• Mid-range ultrasound systemsrefer to systems that retain some characteristics of high-end ultrasound systems without sacrificing image quality;

• Low-end ultrasound systemsare generally smaller in size and typically used in clinical medical diagnosis.

Generally speaking, if ultrasound equipment is classified bysizeit can be divided intodesktop ultrasound equipmentandportable ultrasound equipment，with portable ultrasound equipment further subdivided intohandheld ultrasound equipment。

Desktop ultrasound typically uses mid-to-high-end ultrasound systems, while portable ultrasound generally uses mid-to-low-end systems.

Based on publicly available data, we have compiled themarket shareof desktop and portable, including handheld ultrasound equipment, as shown in the figure below.

Market Share of Various Medical Ultrasound Equipment

It can be seen that desktop ultrasound remains the mainstream in the medical ultrasound market, while the market share of portable ultrasound is relatively small.

Here, the editor would like to add a side note: In 2018, in terms of desktop ultrasound equipment sales, GE, Philips, and Mindray continued to hold leading positions; however, in the portable ultrasound field, Mindray ranked first in sales, and among the top ten companies in terms of sales, domestic and imported brands were evenly matched, each accounting for half.

In addition,portable ultrasoundincluding handheld ultrasound, is classified in mainland China asClass II medical deviceswith a simpler approval process and shorter registration time; whiledesktop ultrasoundbelongs toClass III medical devices,with a more complex approval process.

Taking GE Healthcare as an example, we list its representative products in the desktop, portable, and handheld ultrasound fields.

GE Healthcare's Three Representative Products

From the figure above, GE's desktop ultrasound machines have the best imaging technology and data transmission capabilities; handheld ultrasound mainly assists clinicians in making diagnoses and achieving early disease management, with imaging quality ranking last among the three.

However,large desktop ultrasound machines also have their drawbacks: large size, inconvenient to move, high price; hospitals need to spend time and effort training professional doctors. In addition, patients must go to specialized departments for examinations, generally requiring advance appointments or queuing, which is relatively cumbersome.

Therefore, large desktop ultrasound equipment generally only has   20 units or so in tertiary hospitals, but each clinical department's attending physician can be equipped with portable or handheld ultrasound equipment.

According to the main applications, medical ultrasound equipment can also be divided intogeneral ultrasound、cardiac ultrasound、obstetric and gynecological ultrasoundandanesthesia intervention ultrasound。

Main Applications of Medical Ultrasound Equipment

In addition to the above types of ultrasound equipment, there is also specialized equipment for animals,veterinary ultrasoundequipment.

In fact, in the medical profession, ultrasound equipment is often classified according to itsprinciples, tasks, and equipment systemetc., as shown in the figure below.

In short, with the advancement of medicine and ultrasound technology, various new types of medical ultrasound equipment continue to emerge. The essence is that ultrasound image imaging technology is becoming increasingly advanced, incorporating emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence.

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