The Development Prospects of Handheld Ultrasound

The early users of handheld ultrasound were mainly cardiologists, emergency doctors, intensive care personnel and military personnelin the intensive care unit. Emergency medicine is the largest market for handheld ultrasound in 2018, with a scale of approximately US$15 million. However, in recent years, in addition to the continuous expansion of the application of handheld ultrasound in the traditional POCUS market, it has also been widely used in various medical fields (such as urology, gastroenterology, and angiology). Clinicians use handheld ultrasound for rapid inspection and preliminary screening, and use it as an aid to on-board ultrasound.

Relevant studies have shown that so far, the application of handheld ultrasound at the grassroots level has been limited in rural areas. In low-income and middle-income countries, handheld ultrasound helps more patients have access to imaging examinations, mainly for heart screening, pregnancy screening, and diagnosis of respiratory and abdominal diseases.

Primary care is still an untapped market for handheld ultrasound to a large extent, and it may be the biggest opportunity. There are more than 250,000 family doctors in the United States. In the past few years, the price of handheld ultrasound has fallen sharply, and for many family doctors, this is a cost-effective option. With the price drop and the emphasis on ultrasound training for family doctors, the handheld ultrasound will truly be used in the ordinary family. In addition, in February 2020, the US FDA approved the first cardiac ultrasound imaging AI software, which can assist people other than ultrasound doctors in obtaining high-quality cardiac ultrasound images. In the future, handheld ultrasound machine will become a health management tool for everyone.

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