Just read this NY Times article on Butterfly iQ – a $2,000 a hand-held ultrasound scanner device that fits in a coat pocket and portable like a stethoscope is used in the diagnosis of early-stage pneumonia. We need more inventors like Dr. William Cherniak from Butterfly Network for helping realize one aspect of the accessible and affordable healthcare for all.

Apparently what the invention here is that there will be no need for multiple probes as the Butterfly iQ’s single probe delivers a 2D array of 9000 micro-machined sensors emulating any type of transducer – linear, curved or phased.They made this portable and affordable by using an Ultrasound-on-Chip technology that replaces the traditional transducer system with a single silicon chip, leveraging the same silicon manufacturing as consumer devices. That means – one probe for the whole body ultrasound. What it also helps with is it last longer as it is designed with both a built-in battery and wireless charging, therefore offering over two hours of scanning.

And on top of all this, what it does is captures images on their mobile phone app, and will help doctors and healthcare workers pull patient information from their worklist and send studies to the secure Butterfly Cloud within seconds for further sharing and collaboration.