Microsonix SonoPen: Ultrasound for the Global Community

Microsonix is disrupting the ultrasound imaging space with an intelligent, power-efficient, pocket-sized wireless imaging probe—SonoPen—which is small enough for one’s pocket and purse.

Advancements in the field of ultrasound are reaching new heights with each passing day but, too many people do not have access to the benefits of medical ultrasound and are prone to unnecessary suffering from preventable, debilitating and often-times fatal diseases. This is true across the globe but is most keenly felt in remote and underdeveloped areas of Africa and Asia. In these regions, a lack of financing, infrastructure deficits and scarcity of trained medical staff prove critical impediments to the deployment of conventional ultrasound solutions. “Our research discovered that just one hospital in Boston has 122 trained sonographers, whilst the whole of Liberia in West Africa has only two. With an aim to democratize ultrasound accessibility, the foundation stone of Microsonix was laid,” says Stephen Garside, M.D. of Microsonix.

“At Microsonix, we’re focused towards enabling first responders and care givers save lives,” adds Garside. “We’re not just about making an intriguing tool but, living our ideals. Everyone should have access to the benefits offered by advances in medical technologies which in our case, means ultrasound technologies. With ultrasound, individuals wherever / whoever they are (emergency responders and care givers), can improve and save lives. Working closely with key NGOs, emergency and security services plus, regional community health initiatives, we can put ultrasound diagnostics into the hands of people who make the difference between life and death. We work with agencies such as the USFRA and EU-OSHA, NGOs like Ushahidi and Médecins Sans Frontières and of course, fire and emergency services, military and police.” SonoPen’s breakthrough capabilities come from the latest microchip technologies which the team have used to reduce the electronics required to reconstruct an ultrasound image into a single low power, low-cost chip, paired with an equally high precision single-chip ultrasound transmitter.