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Pocket-size ultrasound machine changes game for telemedicine at CES 2019

Why travel to the doctor's when you can do ultrasounds anywhere?

Bridget Carey Principal Video Producer
Bridget Carey is an award-winning reporter who helps you level-up your life -- while having a good time geeking out. Her exclusive CNET videos get you behind the scenes as she covers new trends, experiences and quirky gadgets. Her weekly video show, "One More Thing," explores what's new in the world of Apple and what's to come. She started as a reporter at The Miami Herald with syndicated newspaper columns for product reviews and social media advice. Now she's a mom who also stays on top of toy industry trends and robots. (Kids love robots.)
Expertise Consumer technology, Apple, Google, Samsung, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, social media, mobile, robots, future tech, immersive technology, toys, culture Credentials
  • Bridget has spent over 18 years as a consumer tech reporter, hosting daily tech news shows and writing syndicated newspaper columns. She's often a guest on national radio and television stations, including ABC, CBS, CNBC and NBC.
Bridget Carey
2 min read
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Butterfly Network demonstrates its handheld personal ultrasound system, with a doctor tapped in on video chat seeing the imaging in real-time.

Angela Lang/CNET

Want a doctor to take a peek inside your body? No need to leave your living room. Using the Butterfly iQ handheld ultrasound wand and an iPhone, you could take your own ultrasound as your doctor analyzes the imagery in real time during a video chat. 

It's not a theory — it's possible right now. At CES 2019 I saw this technology in action for myself, watching someone scan their own heart and discuss the scan with their doctor. Created by Butterfly Network, the Butterfly iQ is a new type of FDA-cleared ultrasound technology that makes medical imaging more accessible than ever before, at just a fraction of the cost of traditional, bulky machines.

But this isn't a typical CES show for me. I'm walking around the halls five months pregnant, so I was especially fascinated to learn more about a personal ultrasound machine. You mean I can just see my baby in an ultrasound anytime I want? 

Well, not quite. That FDA clearance is for medical-professional use only right now. 

Watch this: CES 2019: Take your own ultrasound with Butterfly iQ’s handheld scanner

But the Butterfly team is beta testing software to take tele-medicine to the next logical step: Real-time analysis from anywhere with your doctor, with software that's smart enough to help guide someone to capture the images correctly -- even if you're not trained to do a proper ultrasound.

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Butterfly iQ is an entire ultrasound machine that fits in your pocket and attaches to an iPhone or iPad.

Angela Lang/CNET

So if a future mama has a hard time getting to a doctor for her ultrasound checkup or someone lives too far away for regular visits, this system can provide the solution.

A standard ultrasound machine doesn't come close to fitting in a pocket. It's a wand attached to large machines that can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Special attachments are often needed to scan different parts of the body with different densities. 

Butterfly iQ costs $2,000 and the technology inside is different from other machines. It doesn't need any extra attachments or accessories to scan any part of the body. Just slap on some of that typical ultrasound gel on top of the scanner and you're good to go. 

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Butterfly Network is testing AI software that can guide an untrained person to take a proper ultrasound, so the file can be sent to a professional for analysis. 

Angela Lang/CNET

The FDA clearance covers a wide-range of uses, including prenatal ultrasound scans. And the iQ is out in the world now, shipping since October. So could a doctor here at the show scan my belly to try it out? 

I had no shame and asked to get scanned in the middle of a crowded international tech show. But the folks at Butterfly said that's a job best left to my own doctor. 

In the meantime, it'll be interesting to see how this could help make imaging technology more universally accessible and affordable, making a personal ultrasound reading as common as a home glucose meter or blood-pressure cuff.

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