Mobile ultrasound scanners continue to get smaller and more powerful. Butterfly Network has a wired scanner that connects to a smartphone or tablet. We covered Healcerion’s Sonon 300L wireless handheld model’s FDA clearance. We also wrote about the Clarius first-generation wireless ultrasound scanners, launched in 2016 for first responders.
Clarius recently introduced the C3 HD wireless handheld ultrasound that’s smaller, more powerful, and less expensive than its earlier models. The second-generation C3 HD scanners are almost half the size of the earlier units and incorporate eight times the processing power, according to Clarius. The new model pairs with smartphones for control and imaging display, but the connection is wireless.
Clarius sells the C3 HD scanner in six versions, two for multi-purpose applications and four for medical specialties such as sports medicine and anesthesia. The six models differ in appearance only by the size and shape of their scanning heads, three of which are flat, two curved and one at the end of an extended stalk for gynecology, obstetrics, and urology.
Clarius doesn’t provide pricing information for the medical devices on its website, but claims the cost of the wireless handheld models is a fraction of the $25,000 price tag of conventional scanners with the same performance levels.
