Ultrasound News Round Up – September 2024

Cranfield, UK, 11th October 2024, Written by Mustafa Hassan, PhD and Aiyana Amess – 

After a quiet August, the ultrasound market returned from its summer holiday with a bang! September was by far the month with the highest number of stories to date.

In this monthly news round-up, we offer some of the latest news and developments impacting the Ultrasound market that has caught our attention in the last month.

Partnerships/Acquisitions

• Samsung has finalised its $92.4 million acquisition of Sonio, the French women’s health ultrasound AI company. We reported on the initial story in May when the acquisition was first announced, in which we highlighted the benefits of the acquisition for both parties. Sonio will continue to develop vendor agnostic AI solutions. This is an interesting strategy from Samsung and differs from recent acquisitions within the field. For example, when Intelligent Ultrasound Caption Health was acquired by GE HealthCare, its technology became exclusive to GE HealthCare. This deal would seem to be more in favour to Sonio, who will gain commercial channels and exposure yet remain independent from Samsung. The technology will prove a beneficial selling point for Samsung’s women’s health suite and will advance its system capabilities, However, with the solutions remaining agnostic and open to all vendors, it will likely not prove to be a unique benefit in what is already a consolidated application area. That said, by not fully integrating Sonio into the company, it will likely save time and resources for Samsung. It will also enable the rollout of the software on its systems much sooner than we have seen with other acquisitions. It is expected that Samsung will be getting a percentage of the Sonio deals so should benefit somewhat from the increased exposure and growth of AI company.
• Siemens Healthineers has secured a 10 year, €40M partnership to provide technology and services in radiology and cardiology to a private hospital in Dublin. Through the agreement with St. Vincent’s Private Hospital, Siemens Healthineers will supply AI technology as well as maintain and replace multiple key assets within the departments through a phased replacement cycle. The partnership will also see Siemens Healthineers providing value-add services to support hospital growth in response to changing healthcare needs and demands. The offering covers all modalities but will likely benefit ultrasound primarily through bundles with the bigger modalities, which is Siemens Healthineers’ main ultrasound sales strategy.
• Cardiology AI start-up, iCardio.ai, has partnered with PACS start-up SARC MedIQ to integrate the AI software into the cloud-based PACS platform. The partnership reflects the wider AI ecosystem where we are seeing more AI start-ups looking to integrate with PACS providers to remain vendor agnostic, whilst still leveraging an existing commercial route to consumers. Integrating directly with PACS platforms enables the AI software to improve performance with less manual effort from the provider, since it happens automatically within the PACS system. The collaboration adds to the numerous partnerships from iCardio.ai announced this year following its partnership with UltraLinQ and several AI marketplaces. As both companies are start-ups it will likely limit the wider impact of this joint venture. Neither company has a strong customer base, or large funding backing to leverage for vast expansion.
• iCardio has also announced a collaboration with Abbott, to develop AI-based algorithms for Abbott’s electrophysiology imaging devices. The collaboration aims to enhance Abbott’s EnSite X cardiac mapping system by automating model creation using intracardiac echo (ICE) images from Abbott’s catheters. This effort focuses on improving treatment for cardiac arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation, leveraging iCardio.ai’s expertise in ultrasound AI solutions. Both companies aim to accelerate AI integration in medical imaging, advancing healthcare innovation.
• See-Mode technologies has also partnered with Altus Medical Center. The partnership with Altus will support the first deployment of its thyroid software in Australia. Given the nature of See-Mode’s previous partnerships like with Clear Medical, this new announcement will highlight the strategy of partnering with medical centre groups as a commercial pathway employed as the company begins to expand into the USA.
• Google has partnered with Jacaranda Health in Kenya for an 8-month trial of Google’s AI enabled handheld ultrasound system to support prenatal care. Little is known about the devices being trailed except that they are smaller and cheaper to produce than other options on the market. This is the second trial Google has launched in ultrasound AI. It previously announced its partnership with Chang Gung Memorial hospital in Taiwan to explore the use of ultrasound AI in breast cancer detection. Although Google is not new to the healthcare technology space, this will be the company’s first move into the medical imaging space. It will be interesting of see how the trials develop and if its handheld solution is natively developed or through a partnership. With big technology players like Google moving into the ultrasound AI space it could see the revenue injection needed; to date, funding in medical imaging AI has been decreasing YoY. It could also place the more developed ultrasound AI companies in a better light for partnerships with the company.

Approvals

• See-Mode Technologies announced it has obtained FDA approval for its thyroid analysis and reporting tool. Its solution supports the automatic detection and characterisation of thyroid nodules. It will support clinicians in managing their workloads more efficiently and increase patient turnover by decreasing the manual efforts per exam. With vendors becoming more established in the thyroid market, the segment has not only grown but also become increasingly competitive. As the number of approved solutions increases it will become more important for each vendor to have established commercial routes and relationships. Koios has been able to establish key relationships with OEM’s to support solution integration and commercial relationships. Exo, another strong vendor in the thyroid space, has its own device creating a key differentiator and target market. As See-Mode begins its commercial activity in North America it will be interesting to see how the company will look to differentiate itself in this competitive space.

New Launches

• Samsung Medison has revealed its new HERA Z20 premium ultrasound system for obstetrics and gynaecology at the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynaecology in Budapest. The new system includes several AI functions including; The Live ViewAssist for auto measurements of the foetus, Live q-scan and A-Focus for improving scan quality, and EzStructure and EzFlow which provide optimal imaging settings in one touch. With this system, Samsung Medison looked to highlight its ability to improve workflow efficiency, the big issue currently impacting the market.
• GE HealthCare has launched a new system in its Venue POCUS line the ‘Venue Sprint’. The smallest system in the Venue family, the sprint is designed for ultra-portability with the wireless dual probe VScan Air and an inbuilt charger. This is the next product in GE HealthCare’s portfolio to offer a wireless probe on a cart/compact system. There can be some issues with wireless probes, such as battery life, lag, and connectivity issues. However, these are increasingly become addressed and is becoming more than compensated by the flexibility and portability that wireless probes offer. It means that imaging will be easier for people on the go, such as in point of care environments.
• SonoScape has unveiled its new women’s health ultrasound system, ‘Fenix 80 Series’ at the ISUOG 2024 World Congress. The device is AI enhanced and supports multiple aspects of women’s health including pre- and post-natal care, gynaecology and reproductive health. Like the HERA Z20, its workflow efficiency capabilities were highlighted by the company at ISUOG.

Other

• Butterfly Network has appointed Steve Cashman as Chief Business Officer. Steve joins Butterfly with a strong background in healthcare software. His previous role was as the CEO of Caption Health and prior to that CCO at InTouch Health. Whilst in in both roles he supported and oversaw each through acquisitions by GE HealthCare and Teladoc respectively. The appointment of Mr Cashman following that of Joe DeVivo solidifies the strategic movement of the company to focus more on the development and expansion of the software side of the business. Ultrasound dedicated AI marketplaces have developed slowly namely due to a low number of solutions with approvals and the lead time associated with regulatory applications. Butterfly Garden currently only has two approved solutions, one of which is natively developed. It has however partnered with many more to support data acquisition. These new appointments could see the take-up of the software piece with more natively developed solutions and differentiator pieces.
• Echo IQ secures $7.1M in funding to support the company in its commercialisation and regulatory approval efforts, as well as advance its development of cardiology AI specifically targeting aortic stenosis and heart failure.

Also to Note

Additional Partnerships

• Germitec gained FDA approval for Chronos ultrasound probe disinfection device.
• FDA Expands Clearance of MRI-Guided AI Platform for Deep Brain Stimulation and Lesioning Techniques.
• FDA Clears Controlled Contrast Delivery Method for Ultrasound Imaging of Fallopian Tubes.
• iai has joined the Cedars-Sinai Accelerator.
• Korean based ultrasound AI company, Beamworks, has signed a memorandum of understanding with GE HealthCare for joint marketing collaboration.

Additional Launches

• Elliptic Labs Launches AI-Powered Innovation with Lenovo™ for True Device-to-Device Interoperbility with a Simple Tap.
• FUJIFILM Healthcare Europe annouces ARIETTA 750 FF ENDO compatibility with FUJIFILM ultrasound endoscopes and endobronchial ultrasound scope.
• The Global Ultrasound Institute (GUSI) has released an AI tool, Sage AI, for ultrasound learners that will answer open-ended ultrasound related questions.
• Koelis has announced its new compact 3D probe for transperineal fusion biopsy and treatment.
• Sonio has launched its AI reporting software in France, supporting prenatal scanning and reporting.

Additional Approvals

• Breast and Thyroid AI company Koios received AI Saudi FDA approval and launched commercial availability in the country.
• Butterfly Network iQ3+ has received the CE mark and has been launched in Europe.
• PIUR Imaging received FDA approval for its 3D ultrasound technology ‘tUS Infinity’ the system transforms existing 2D systems into 3D imaging devices.
• Sonio received CE Mark for its Sonio Detect prenatal image analysis AI software.
• Canadian Medical AI Company Deep Breathe won first place in US Army’s xTechInternational 2024 Competition.

Are there any stories you believe we have missed? If so, please let us know. We welcome further conversations on the trends specifically impacting the markets highlighted.

Signify Research covers the market dynamics impacting the ultrasound market in its annual Ultrasound Service. The 2024 service includes:

• Ultrasound Equipment 2024
• Ultrasound Transducers and Catheters
• Ultrasound AI
• Ultrasound Equipment 6 – month update

Related Research

Ultrasound Market Intelligence Service – 2024

This Market Intelligence Service provides regular data, insights and analysis on the global market opportunity for Ultrasound equipment.

The four deliverables included in the 2024 subscription are: Ultrasound Equipment Report, Ultrasound Transducers and Catheters Report, Ultrasound AI Report, Ultrasound Equipment 6-month Update Report.

About The Authors

Mustafa Hassan

Mustafa joined Signify Research in 2020 as part of the Medical Imaging team which covers areas such as ultrasound, general radiography and machine learning in medical imaging. Prior to that he obtained a PhD in Pharmacy and Physiology from the University of Kent and has three years of post-doctoral experience working on optimising healthcare for genetic Cardiac diseases.

Aiyana Amess

Aiyana joined Signify Research in 2023 as part of the Medical Imaging team. She graduated from Loughborough University with a BSC in Medicinal and Pharmaceutical Chemistry, receiving a diploma in industrial studies after completing an internship at Roche.

About the Medical Imaging Team

Signify Research’s Medical Imaging team formulates expert market intelligence for some of the leading Ultrasound, CT, MRI, and X-ray vendors. Combining primary data collection and in-depth discussions with industry stakeholders, our thorough research approach yields credible quantitative and qualitative analysis, helping our customers make critical business decisions with confidence. Furthermore, our commitment to seeking a plurality of perspectives across the markets we cover guarantees that our insights remain independent and balanced.

About Signify Research

Signify Research provides healthtech market intelligence powered by data that you can trust. We blend insights collected from in-depth interviews with technology vendors and healthcare professionals with sales data reported to us by leading vendors to provide a complete and balanced view of the market trends. Our coverage areas are Medical Imaging, Clinical Care, Digital Health, Diagnostic and Lifesciences and Healthcare IT.

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