Ultrasound News Round Up – May

Cranfield, UK, 18th June 2024

Apologies for the delayed release of the May ultrasound news round up. We have been busy preparing our Ultrasound Equipment 2024 Report which will be publishing at the end of June.

Whilst May was a slightly quieter month in terms of the number of ultrasound news stories, it was just as significant as ever. May saw an acquisition, funding raised and several new solutions enter the market.

Partnerships/Acquisitions

1. The big news of the month is that Samsung has entered the AI vendor acquisition race by acquiring  fetal AI company Sonio for $92M. This is the fourth acquisition of an ultrasound AI company by an imaging OEM in recent years following Philips’ acquisition of DIA, GE HealthCare’s acquisition of Caption Health and Exo’s acquisition of Medio.ai. Once the agreement has been finalised, Sonio will remain an independent company with its products and services remaining compatible with all ultrasound vendors. Samsung has been a strong competitive force in the ultrasound market throughout the last year due to their competitive pricing and software innovation. The acquisition provides Samsung with a good opportunity to strengthen its women’s health portfolio and advance its growing market share. The acquisition will also significantly boost Sonio’s ability to penetrate the Asia market, following its previous partnership with LifeCell to promote its products in the Indian market.
2. Pulsenmore has partnered with Italian telehealth company Inteligea. The partnership aims to bring at home scanning to pregnant women in Italy to increase the access to care within the country as part of their prioritisation of family health. The Plusenmore solution allows pregnant women to scan themselves at home using a device that connects to their smartphone. In combination with Inteligea’s telehealth platform, Pulsenmore will be able to expand their offerings and provide a broad coverage of remote care solutions for pregnant women. The demand for remote monitoring within the country has increased over the year and this partnership is indicative of the growing telehealth market in the region as healthcare providers look to manage increased demand for healthcare against a fall in workforce numbers. The remote scan offering will enable a higher turnover of patients and easier monitoring of high-risk pregnancies, whilst mitigating the need for as frequent in-person appointments.

Product Launches

3. SmartAlpha has announced the launch of its new solution, the SmartAlpha Co-Pilot. The solution integrates with the company’s existing MSK and abdominal anatomy guidance tools to further enhance their capabilities. SmartAlpha Co-Pilot AI model that can actively communicate with the user to obtain optimal views, and auto logs the images into the report. The technology also overlays previous images to compare with the current imaging view, enabling clinicians to measure differences during the exam. This will increase exam efficiency and enable thorough exams to be performed by inexperienced clinicians. The Smart Alpha Co-Pilot is not yet commercially available. With SmartAlpha recently partnering with Siemens Healthineers, it is likely that this solution will be available to Siemens Healthineers customers when commercially approved. With other ultrasound OEMs making strides in the AI space, this partnership will stop Siemens falling behind from an AI standpoint
4. Butterfly Network has launched its new bladder scanning probe, the iQ+ Bladder. This is the first specialty device released by the company, providing automated bladder volume calculations and 3D visualisation. The addition of this device extends Butterfly’s offering beyond the point of care. The strategic move will broaden its target user base, with the design catering to nurse’s needs. The product specification also benefits its AI platform, with uptake of dedicated application solutions likely to increase on more specified probes.
5. Exo has launched a point of care ultrasound package ‘EXO Works Connect.’ This is a tailored package of its Exo Works solution, designed for hospitals, clinics, and medical schools that have struggled to implement POCUS programmes whilst maintaining security, connectivity and compliance. Exo Works Connect has been designed for a low touch installation, enabling organisations to deploy a secure and compliant POCUS program within a shorter time-frame. With Exo offering an ecosystem of POCUS solutions (handheld device, AI and workflow solution), the Exo Works Connect will enable the company to reach even more users in the POCUS space.

Regulatory Clearances

6. Fresh from its acquisition by Samsung, Sonio has also received FDA approval for the second edition of Sonio Detect. The updated solution has increased sensitivity allowing for better visualisation and assessment of fetal growth and organ development.

Funding

7. AISAP has received $13M in seed funding for its point of care diagnostic tool. The solution provides clinicians with diagnostic results in minutes, helping to speed up treatment pathways at the point of care. AISAP is one of the few AI companies to receive funding in 2024, with 7 companies receiving funding in 2024 Q1 so far compared to 13 in 2023. This comes as funding for AI companies has reduced substantially over the last year when compared to the earlier funding stages, with many companies coming to the end of their funding. AISAP has not outlined how they will be using this funding but are looking to expand within the US so will likely be using some of these funds for the FDA approval process. Several ultrasound AI companies have opted to form partnerships as their route to market. Once they have gained their FDA approval there is a chance AISAP will seek this route to gain traction within the ultrasound point of care space.

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 will include:

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

If you are interested in learning more about our Ultrasound service, please reach out.

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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.

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