GE Healthcare launches new wireless ultrasound by hand as market leader

General Electric announced on Tuesday the launch of its new wireless, handheld ultrasound device, Vscan Air, as the company wants to take a leading position in the growing market.

This is the company’s latest foray into the emerging ultrasound market that builds on GE Healthcare’s first generation device, the Vscan, released in 2010. Since then, the market has grown rapidly, GE Healthcare CEO Kieran Murphy said in an interview with CNBC, so the device maker introduced the revamped, highly portable Vscan Air to strengthen its position in the market. As of Tuesday, it is available in the U.S., Canada and Europe with plans to launch in more countries and regions pending approval of the regulation.

GE Healthcare estimates that the ultrasound hand market will grow to $ 1 billion in the next decade and that the company wants to take 30% of it with Vscan Air by 2025.

The device is about the size of an iPhone, wireless and costs less than $ 5,000, although the price varies by region. It can be connected to a smartphone app to read the ultrasound and according to GE, the images can be shared securely with patients. The device can be used by trained healthcare providers to quickly evaluate blood flow, diagnose gallbladder disease and even diagnose Covid-19 through a lung examination.

The idea, according to Murphy, is that ultrasound devices such as the Vscan Air will be used in time-sensitive situations and when console-based ultrasound is not available. The devices, according to Murphy, can be ubiquitous in emergency rooms, GP offices and all sorts of outpatients such as urgent care centers to enable quick, inexpensive diagnosis. It can also be deployed in a home environment and in ambulances on the road and in the air, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Murphy also noted that the pivot to telehealth with the pandemic and greater use of outpatient clinics may increase the demand for portable tools such as the Vscan Air. He said GE would have to do “a lot” by expanding market awareness through outreach, including on social media, and various sales channels.

“We have seen tremendous growth in the use of telemedicine, teleradiology and remote monitoring in recent years. For people who do not have access to specialized consultants, the fact that they have access to a doctor who is with one of these gunmen “will make a big difference,” Murphy said of the Vscan Air. “I think it will appear everywhere.”

GEs are not the only ones working in space. Among its competitors in the careful ultrasound market is the $ 3.5 billion digital health firm Butterfly Network and co-conglomerate, Royal Philips, which is in the Netherlands. Murphy said GE plans to use its name recognition, record in ultrasound machinery and its installation base of medical equipment connected by GE’s artificial intelligence healthcare platform Edison to differentiate it.

Dr Yale Tung-Chen, head of the ultrasound department in internal medicine at the Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro, Majadahonda in Madrid, is one of the doctors who had early access to the Vscan Air as a clinical judge.

He currently works at the Spanish Covid-19 specialist Isabel Zendal emergency hospital and said he swears by ultrasound devices by hand, especially for emergency use, where precious time and quick diagnosis can have major consequences.

“How can I do 30 comprehensive exams in a short period of time? It’s impossible,” Tung-Chen said of the examination of patients in a busy emergency room. “I need to get something out of my pocket and take a look that lasts no longer than a minute or two, and then make the decision.”

Tung-Chen used many ultrasound devices, including those manufactured by GE’s competitors, but said in an interview that he was struck by the high-quality imaging that could capture the Vscan Air. With the two-sided probe design, technicians can switch between shallow and deep investigations by simply turning the device around, he said. Usually it would be necessary for the doctor to change from sin, which costs precious time.

The function is particularly important, he explained in heart tests, which Tung-Chen used to diagnose Covid-19 patients, as well as to monitor the progression of the disease to determine if the patient is becoming more seriously ill. He said the ultrasound device could help doctors find early signs of life-threatening diseases such as Covid-19, but added that he does not see the device completely replacing traditional diagnostic tools such as stethoscopes.

“Ultrasound makes bad doctors good and good doctors even bigger,” he said.

Murphy said it still sees strong growth in 2021. At GE’s Investor Day last week, the health unit reported $ 2.6 billion in free cash flow for 2020, up from $ 1.2 billion in 2019. Murphy said it was largely was involved in the delivery of 50,000 ventilators, which were widely used last year to help seriously ill Covid-19 patients.

“We’ve had a successful year. We’ve had an incredible amount of headwinds,” Murphy said, adding that the company’s role in the pandemic has helped boost employee morale.

The company earns most of its money by selling and maintaining equipment used for elective procedures, which has been delayed worldwide as hospitals have focused on treating Covid-19 patients. While patients want to go to the hospital again for x-rays, MRIs, procedures required by anesthesia, and more, Murphy said it will all benefit the business.

The healthcare unit predicts free cash flow slightly in 2021, based on slight revenue growth and profit margin expansion.

“Everyone says well, Covid has given you a fantastic year, but Covid has been quite depressing, coming back this year,” he said. “We started well, and I’m really confident we’ll have a good year.”

Correction: At GE’s Investor Day last week, the health unit reported $ 2.6 billion in free cash flow for 2020, compared to $ 1.2 billion in 2019. An earlier version of this article mislabeled the free cash flow figure.