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Rykkje, A., Carlsen, J. F., & Nielsen, M. B. (2019). Hand-held ultrasound devices compared with high-end ultrasound systems: A systematic review. Diagnostics, 9(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics9020061

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Listen in to GeekWire's 23-minute podcast about the mobile ultrasound revolution.

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On this episode of GeekWire Health Tech, we look at how portable ultrasound devices are changing the medical landscape - building on the technology's roots in the Seattle region. Ultrasound is going far beyond obstetrics to allowing physicians to diagnose medical conditions more efficiently -- in the field and the clinic.

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Smartphone-based, handheld ultrasound devices are gaining popularity in today's fast-paced, technology-driven healthcare field.

Handheld ultrasound devices may be used in many medical specialties, such as diagnostic radiology, emergency medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, surgery, and urology.

There are various manufacturers that have entered the market for handheld ultrasound devices, such as General Electric, Philips, Siemens, and Clarius Mobile Health.

Handheld ultrasound devices are user-friendly, portable, and have a high level of reliability (Kodaira et al., 2020).

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Interview with Clarius Mobile Health CEO Laurent Pelissier

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Interview with Clarius Mobile Health CEO Laurent Pelissier

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Clarius Mobile Health, a Canadian firm, is a pioneering company specializing in portable solutions for ultrasound diagnostics. Since its debut, it has surprised and impressed us with its tiny portable ultrasounds. Clarius offers the only app-based, wireless ultrasound scanner that can be taken to the point of care even in the most rugged conditions. The multi-purpose Clarius C3 scanner comes with transducer clip-ons, transforming the convex scanner that can image heart, lungs, and deep structures, into a linear or virtual phased array scanner. Although these clip-ons are not meant to replace the dedicated Clarius L7 scanner, they offer physicians and ultrasound technicians flexibility and all the needed features on one device. We had an opportunity to speak with Laurent Pelissier, CEO of Clarius Mobile Health, to learn more about what's driving their innovation and what the future holds for wireless ultrasound technology.
Yuriy Sarkisov, Medgadget: Please tell us a little about yourself, how did you get involved in the ultrasound market? Medgadget: How did you get the idea to create a wireless, app-based ultrasound system?
Laurent Pelissier: I came to Canada from France in 1999 after graduating from a MSc in Electrical Engineering. I had the idea for a PC-based ultrasound system designed for research. I built a prototype and with the help of generous angel investors and government grants I started a company called Ultrasonix and commercialized the product. I worked with a team to grow the company to generate $40 million in revenues and employed 150 people globally. In 2013, we sold Ultrasonix to a US imaging technology company called Analogic, which gave me the freedom to take some time off to spend with my family and consider my next venture.
Medgadget: What do you think the future holds for app-based ultrasound?
Laurent: As I contemplated my next venture, I had the opportunity to connect with a long-time friend and former colleague, Dave Willis, who was one of the original team at a company called Sonosite, which had been sold to FujiFilm in 2012. Dave and I got to talking about the future of ultrasound and what clinicians were looking for in the next generation of ultrasound. We had both heard people ask for an ultrasound system that could work with a smart phone. We decided to explore the technical challenge and here we are, about 3 years after our first discussion.

Laurent: Smaller, app-based ultrasound systems are the future of ultrasound used at the point of patient care. Our goal at Clarius is to make ultrasound accessible to more physicians so all patients will benefit from clinicians being able to quickly see what is going on under the skin. All ultrasound manufacturers have these systems on their road maps and as more of these systems are available and more clinicians are trained to use them for various quick exams, I believe they will become a standard tool for healthcare practitioners. We hope to be at the forefront of developing smaller, even more affordable and easier to use app-based ultrasound in the future.

Medgadget: What sets the Clarius system apart from other offerings on the market? Medgadget: Can you tell us about the experiences that clinicians and patients have had with the Clarius system?
Laurent: Clarius is the only wireless, handheld app-based ultrasound scanner that offers superior image quality and easy operation for new users. It works on both iOS and Android smart devices. There are other app-based ultrasound systems but either they don't offer the same level of image quality, ease of use, work wirelessly, or on any OS. We also provide a unique cloud ecosystem for managing exams and devices.

Laurent: Clarius scanners have been very well received by clinicians. In general, when clinicians first hold the scanner in person, they comment about the size being larger than a traditional probe. As soon as they start scanning, they are impressed by the image quality and understand the value of having an ultra-portable all-in-one wireless scanner that offers the flexibility of working with a personal smart device.

We see interest from clinicians from various specialties. In general, they are excited by the image quality, affordability, portability and ease of use.

We don't often hear from patients. Some clinicians have told us about patients being impressed by the technical wizardry of ultrasound that works with a phone.
Medgadget: How is Clarius keeping up with the latest telemedicine trends? Medgadget: What's next for Clarius Mobile Health?
Here's a link to clinician comments featured on our website. There are also some videos featured on our Youtube page...

Medgadget: What are the main benefits and features of Clarius scanners?
Laurent: The main benefit of the Clarius Scanner is that it puts high quality ultrasound imaging into the hands of more clinicians who know how and why to use it to improve patient care. Clarius makes the notion of a personal ultrasound system, or so-called visual stethoscope, a reality because of its affordability, ultra-portability and ease of use. Clarius offers the advantage of wirelessly connecting to one or more smart devices that most clinicians already own. It automates most common functionality so it's quick and easy to use to scan most body parts. It comes with 2 rechargeable batteries so they can be swapped when one runs out. It can be completely immersed for high level disinfection or encased in a sterile sheath. Thanks to cloud storage and management, it helps clinicians organize images and share access for consultation, billing and teaching as needed.

Laurent: While Clarius does not yet offer real-time telemedicine, the way we acquire and store images enables remote collaboration among medical professionals. Images can be uploaded to the Clarius Cloud and shared with a colleague in another location within seconds.

Laurent: We're busy optimizing our current features in response to customer feedback. We continue developing our cloud infrastructure to make it useful for our customers. Our R&D team is constantly working on creating better products for the future.

Flashbacks: Medgadget's Best Medical Technologies of 2016...; Clarius Introduces Wireless Ultrasound Transducer for Your Smartphone...; Clarius Wireless, Handheld Ultrasounds Cleared in Europe...; Clarius Introduces Pocket Ultrasound for Radiologists At RSNA 2016...

Link: Clarius Mobile Health...

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Wireless, Handheld Ultrasound for iOS and Android: Interview with Laurent Pelissier, CEO of Clarius Mobile Health |

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Clarius Mobile Health, a Canadian firm, is a pioneering company specializing in portable solutions for ultrasound diagnostics. Since its debut, it has surprised and impressed us with its tiny portable ultrasounds. Clarius offers the only app-based, wireless ultrasound scanner that can be taken to the point of care even in the most rugged conditions.

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Clarius HD - The Next Generation of Wireless Handheld Ultrasound

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Vscan Extend handheld, pocket-sized ultrasound system | GE Healthcare

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Requires new training for users

Requires purchasing new handheld ultrasound probes and software applications

Recommended by Rykkje et al. (2019) to be used with "narrowly defined examination objectives" (pg. 9)

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Kodaira, Y., Pisani, L., Boyle, S., Olumide, S., Orsi, M., Adeniji, A. O., Pisani, E., Zanette, M., Putoto, G., & Koroma, M. M. (2020). Reliability of ultrasound findings acquired with handheld apparatuses to inform urgent obstetric diagnosis in a high-volume resource-limited setting. International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijgo.13475

This article is an advance online publication in November 2020.

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Sarkisov, Y. (2017). Wireless, handheld ultrasound for iOS and Android: Interview with Laurent Pelissier, CEO of Clarius Mobile Health. Medgaget. https://www.medgadget.com/2017/09/wireless-handheld-ultrasound-ios-android-interview-laurent-pelissier-ceo-clarius-mobile-health.html

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GeekWire Health Tech. (Host). (2019, January 23). The mobile ultrasound revolution [Audio podcast episode]. https://omny.fm/shows/geekwire-health-tech/the-mobile-ultrasound-revolution

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Handheld ultrasound devices are a new, reliable technology innovation that present many benefits to patient care across a variety of medical specialties. A handheld device is easily portable and provides high-quality imaging to aide healthcare providers in the diagnosis and treatment of diverse diseases and conditions. While there are some limitations for the use of handheld ultrasound devices, these are minimal and do not affect patient care or safety. With any new technology, further research and evaluation needs to be completed to assess for generalizability and affected patient outcomes, but the research completed thus far has been positive and encouraging for the use of handheld ultrasound devices.

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User-friendly

Can be used in various specialties

High-quality imaging

High reliability compared to traditional ultrasound devices (Kodaira et al., 2020)

Affordable

Easily portable

Connects (or syncs if wireless) to smartphone or tablet

Easily cleaned

Ability to save ultrasound images and upload them to patient chart

Increases patient workflow by decreasing the time for a diagnosis to be made (Rykkje et al., 2019)

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Welcome Carter, Daisy, Louis, Pablo, and Sheila to the team!

Carter will bring to the team his expert communication skills. He is charismatic and will lead the way when communicating with others about our change project to implement handheld ultrasound devices. He will be the presenter of our project to the various departments and staff.
Daisy will be our team developer and coach. She will help us succeed and keep up with each improvement we make towards our team goals. "Even the small things are worth celebrating!" is Daisy's motto.

Louis can't get enough learning! He will be our main researcher about the various handheld ultrasound devices and will work closely with Carter about how to disseminate the information he learns.

Pablo is our team's ray of sunshine. His positivity and enthusiasm will help keep our group motivated to continue progressing with our project, even if we face obstacles. His encouragement pairs well with Daisy's coaching spirit, and they're a duo that's unmatched!

Sheila will be our team's main strategist. Her judgment and decision making skills will strengthen our team's ability to implement handheld ultrasound devices to staff that may have doubts or face barriers. She is a great planner and prepares for any unanticipated situations.
Lastly, meet Dolly! She is one of our team's spokesperson via GIF!

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Learner, Achiever, Discipline, Competition, and Focus

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As the team leader, my top 5 strengths will help the team in adopting handheld ultrasound devices because of my drive to continually learn, remain diligent and motivated in my team's hard work, accurately plan a change project to implement the new devices, and set appropriate team goals.
Each handheld ultrasound device will function a little bit differently than its competitors, so in my desire to learn, I will be able to research about the various handheld ultrasound devices to learn which device will be the most appropriate one for my facility. My achiever strength will motivate me as the team leader to lead by example and remain thorough in my work for the team and our goals. I will remain disciplined throughout the team's efforts to implement handheld devices in our facility and will be purposeful in my role as a transformational team leader.