Domestic ultrasonic instruments enter the era of handheld computers

The market for ultrasound diagnostic imaging systems in China has become the third largest market in the world after the United States and Japan with its huge scale of more than 200 million U.S. dollars.

GE Healthcare recently introduced its Vscan, a revolutionary product in the field of ultrasound diagnostic imaging, to the Chinese market. In 2009, Vscan, a mobile ultrasound vision device, was listed by Time Magazine as one of the 50 best inventions of the year. Its uniqueness is that it is only mobile phone size, but it can output large devices. Pretty image level.

With the development of science and technology, "portable" and "visual" have become the development trend of many industries, and the medical industry is no exception. “The miniaturization of ultrasound equipment is definitely a development trend, and miniaturization and high portability have improved our level of medical services. We can carry it like a traditional stethoscope during medical examinations.” GE Healthcare Clinical Systems Division Agnes Berzsenyi, general manager of the first diagnostic ultrasound business said.

With the promotion of medical reform, the demand for ultrasound diagnostic imaging equipment in Chinese hospitals at all levels is also very strong, and more innovative products are needed for hospital selection. At the same time, the emergence of handheld ultrasound equipment has significantly changed the competitive landscape in the ultrasound field. No matter if it is a high-end or low-end market, new product competition will begin to move from competition to competition.

Sword refers to "first diagnosis accuracy rate"

Cardiologists at foreign medical institutions have done a survey. In the physical examination of 189 patients, due to the lack of rapid diagnostic tools, the accuracy of traditional physical examination methods is only 55%, and 31% of patients He did not make a referral but accepted a supercardiogram check, which greatly increased the cost of medical care.

The emergence of mobile ultrasound equipment can largely solve this problem. It is understood that Vscan has been widely welcomed by doctors.

“Vscan has significantly increased patient-related clinical information and improved first-time diagnostic accuracy.” Yu Yu, general manager of GE Healthcare ultrasound products in China, said: “This will undoubtedly have implications for the next diagnosis and treatment of first-time doctors. Major, it also helps doctors to easily grasp clinical information and answer patient questions quickly and accurately. This helps eliminate some of the current concerns of domestic patients regarding the examination and diagnosis of first-time doctors.”

For hospitals, the emergence of mobile methods can also greatly reduce the pressure on the central laboratory. In the past, ultrasound examinations were concentrated in the hospital's central laboratory. Patients needed to queue for hours or even days. The central laboratory was "overcrowded" and it was difficult to cope with all kinds of physical problems. The emergence of handheld computers is expected to increase the access of patients to the diagnosis, and shift the work center to the training of doctors, master control, and assisting doctors in the diagnosis and research of complex problems.

Zhu Qingsheng, president of the Chinese Medical Equipment Association, believes that the emergence of ultrasound handhelds will help achieve the goal of medical reform and play a role in "improving hospital services," "optimizing service procedures," and "shortening the waiting time for patients."

Surge of portable ultrasound equipment

Ultrasound equipment belongs to diagnostic imaging equipment in diagnostic medical equipment. Its popularization in medicine has long been a mature industry, but its market capacity is huge and its annual growth rate has been relatively stable.

According to the report of Karolama, a market research organization, due to the strong market demand and increased investment in the medical industry in various countries, the ultrasound equipment industry will continue to grow at an annual growth rate of 6% to 8% from 2010, and the market capacity will increase in 2012. Reach more than 5 billion U.S. dollars. Another data from IMS shows that by 2012 China's domestic ultrasound diagnostic equipment sales will reach 620 million US dollars.

With the advancement of medical reform, the two-way attraction of multinational manufacturers' products to the low-end market and domestic companies' attention to the high-end of innovation also reflects the trend of market complexity. The domestic status quo is that black and white ultrasound is still the leading product of production and consumption, with strong demand; desktop ultrasound machines are still traditional products; and the development and application of emerging portable and handheld products are the fastest.

In fact, in addition to GE, Siemens and other manufacturers are also actively developing mobile devices. The competition for mobile ultrasound equipment in the future will focus on price and image effects and its availability in the mobile Internet arena.

"The mobile ultrasound equipment will surely become another necessary diagnostic device in the doctor's pocket besides the stethoscope," said Hu Dayi, director of the Heart Center of the People's Hospital of Peking University and the chief expert of health education of the Ministry of Health.