There are a variety of sub specialties under the umbrella of women’s health. Before selecting a manufacturer it is essential to pin down what you want the machine to be able to do and to consider that you may want to expand ultrasound services in the future. Do you want the machines to be able to do everything?
Women’s Health includes all three trimesters, high risk pregnancy; 3D/4D functions such as automated follicle counts, IVF specialty, ultrasound guided invasive procedures, maternal fetal medicine and exams of the breast. Each system comes with selected needle guidance brackets for your convenience.
The first selection is the GE Voluson series. This series has three different levels, the E6, E8 and the E10. It important to note that the functionality and option availability will vary by BT and revision level. These two things may also affect the price. The E6 is the least expensive choice. This means that there are fewer options that you can purchase and the functionality of the system will be less automated. The E10 is the most expensive and the most automated. Certain parameters that the user can change on the E6, you cannot change on the E10. The image quality is great on all three levels of this series but obviously better on the E10. The E6 has the options for Sono VCAD heart and VCAD labor, STIC, Sono AVC, Advanced 4D and Sono NT. This unit will do well in the maternal imaging.
DC 88 ©Lisa Bachan Ultra Select Medical 2021 Breast tissue elastography
The GE E8 machine is very similar to the E6. The functionality is faster and there are less button pushes for the applications to work. The E10 is far more automated. It comes with Radiance System Architecture which is enhanced performance software and it allows the use of the eM6C transducer for faster results. There is the full suite of HD capabilities and Sono tools. eSTIC is also available with added fetal echo measurements. There are several more options that could be discussed but we want to get to the other manufacturers.
The next on the list is the Mindray options. The levels are the DC40, DC70, DC88. Although the portable MX7 sneaks right up there. The numerical description is similar to the GE in that the 40 is the least expensive and has the least functionality. The DC 88 is the most expensive and has the most options.
The DC 40 has an impressive array of options like the Smart functions, iPage, iLive and IVF. This unit also has 3D and 4D capabilities. Just like in the GE scenario, the lower the number the lesser the image quality and the slower the processing and the more clicks to accomplish each task in an application. Although for the price this unit packs a punch.
DC 70 3D baby face. ©Lisa Bachan Ultra Select Medical 2021
The DC70 and the DC 88 function quite similarly. The 88 has better image quality but not by much. There are advanced smart functions and niche options on the DC 70. The DC 88 has STIC, SVC, Smart OB, Smart NT, iLive improved niche, color 3D and Realtime 4D. Again the processing is faster with the DC 88.
On the DC70 and 88 there is the Smart follicle for IVF. The Smart Follicle is more accurate than the GE SonoAVC. Both these systems are making significant inroads to the baby face market typically held by GE and Samsung.
Speaking of Samsung, they are the last manufacturer in our blog today. There are several divisions of Samsung Ultrasound: Hera (most expensive), RS, WS and HS. The most popular models are the WS and HS. In the HS series there are the 30,40,50,60 and 70A. The WS has only two sections, the WS80A Elite and UGEO. The WS Elite and the UGEO function in a similar manner. The WS80A has options for 5D capability, HDVI, 3D/4D MX and MXI features. There are VOCAL selections just like the GE. The image quality is very good.
DC 70 3D baby face. ©Lisa Bachan Ultra Select Medical 2021
The HS series follows the same regimen as the Mindray and GE where the lower the number the lesser the functionality, standard offerings and options. The image quality of the higher numbered HS is lesser than the WS but still good. The 30 is more for general without specialty features. The 40-70 A are powered by the CrystalVue platform. The HS40 has S breast, biometry for OB, 2D follicle (automated count) and Labor Assist. The HS 50 and 60 have differing levels of the same options on the 40. Then HS70A has CrystalVue, CrystalVue Flow and Realistic Vue for excellent 3D and 4D visualization. The S Vue (single Crystal) ultrasound probes are supported by the HS70A. There are the array of 5D options for OB Gyn that function faster than the 40. The image quality is excellent.
These selections are in random order. There is another important distinction to note; only the GE Voluson can do 3D sweeps to be recorded on the clip board as a cine clip. All these entries have multi sub specialty appeal for all budgets.
Please call Ultra Select Medical 843-566-1020 with any questions.