New Design Makes Ultrasound Imaging Cost-Effective Worldwide

An ultra-low cost ultrasound scanner has been developed that can be plugged into any computer or laptop to reveal crucial information about fetal health.

The hand-held universal serial bus (USB) device, which is about the size of a computer mouse, works in a similar way to existing ultrasound scanners, using pulses of high frequency sound to build up an image of the unborn child on the computer screen. However, in contrast to the technology utilized in most hospitals across the United Kingdom, costing anywhere from GBP 20,000-100,000, the scanner created by engineers Dr. Jeff Neasham and research associate Dave Graham at Newcastle University (UK) can be built for as little as GBP 30-40.

Tested by experts in the regional medical physics department at the Freeman Hospital, part of the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS ([UK] National Health Service) Foundation Trust, the scanner produces an output power that is 10-100 times lower than traditional hospital ultrasounds. It is now hoped the device will be used to provide medical teams working in the world’s poorest nations with basic, antenatal data that could save the lives of hundreds of thousands of women and children.

“Here in the UK we take these routine, but potentially lifesaving, tests for granted,” explained Dr. Neasham, a sonar expert based in the University’s School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. “Imaging to obtain even the simplest information such as the child’s position in the womb or how it is developing is simply not available to women in many parts of the world. We hope the very low cost of this device and the fact that it can run on any standard computer made in the last 10 years means basic antenatal imaging could finally be made available to all women.”

Dr. Neasham reported that the original objective had been to make something portable and easy to use that would be affordable in developing countries as well as for some applications in the UK where ultrasound is still considered cost prohibitive. “Cost was the key,” he explained. “The goal was to produce a device that could be produced for a similar cost to the hand-held Doppler devices [fetal heart monitors] used by most community midwives. Not an easy task when you consider a GBP 20,000 scanner is generally classed as low cost.”

An expert in underwater sonar technology, Dr. Neasham has developed systems for imaging the seafloor--searching for shipwrecks or specific geographic features--as well as underwater communications and tracking systems. Drawing on his expertise in sonar signal processing, the design keeps components and hardware costs to an absolute minimum, and works by manually sweeping a transducer over the skin while a focused image is formed by the personal computer (PC) software.

The scanner requires nothing more than a computer with a USB port in order to work. Dr. Neasham noted that the advantage of this device was that it would complement--instead of replace--the high performance scanners available in hospitals.

“It was my own experience of becoming a father and going through the whole antenatal process that prompted me to start the project,” stated Dr. Neasham. “I was sat with my wife looking at our child on the screen, we realized how privileged we were to have access to this kind of care and it was my wife who suggested that I could apply my knowledge from sonar research to try to make this more affordable.”

UN statistics estimate more than 250,000 women die yearly from complications during pregnancy or childbirth, almost all of them--99%--in developing countries. Sadly, most of these deaths are avoidable and a lack of access to equipment is noted as one of the major factors.

Dr. Neasham added, “There is obviously the potential to use it to go beyond obstetrics by using it to diagnose conditions such as gallstones, or other conditions that readily show up with ultrasound imaging. Even vets and farmers are interested in affordable imaging.”

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