Ultrasound scanning was invented long ago. Nowadays, when even children have smartphones in their pockets, this technology is going to reach a new stage of its logical development. It is about to become an affordable pocket technology for a wide range of people rather than just for medical professionals.
Most of us happen to perceive a smartphone as a very amusing thing, used only for communication and entertainment. It is very easy to forget that today every person is carrying a very powerful computer in the pocket. A few decades ago, people launched spacecraft with much more limited resources! Nevertheless, more and more developers are creating really useful and interesting accessories for modern pocket gadgets.
A vivid example of such development is the Butterfly iQ system, a pocket ultrasound scanner that allows you to make a real ultrasound scanning of the internal organs and receive clear black-and-white images.
It would be reasonable to point out that the creation of Butterfly iQ became possible due to the development of the ultrasonic scanning technology in recent years rather than the development of mobile technologies. Attempts to create pocket scanners had been made earlier. For example, there was a similar project of the Philips company, but none of the initiatives have been successful up to this day.
The novelty works with a smartphone, where the corresponding application should be installed. At this stage, there is only a wire version of Butterfly, but in the future there will be wireless models as well. The device is powered by its own battery. Such a scanner costs about $200. Of course, you will need some basic knowledge in ultrasound scanning to use the novelty. Nevertheless, the mere fact of the appearance of such a gadget clearly demonstrates how rapid the technological progress has become in recent years.
