Global Handheld Ultrasound Imaging Devices Market, 2020-2030

Overview

I believe that adoption of handheld ultrasound imaging devices can lead to about 10% enhancement in physicians’ / radiologists’ efficiency, thereby allowing them to perform more scans in a single day
- CEO, a Germany-based small-sized company

Since the discovery of ultrasound, the field of medical imaging has evolved significantly, offering non-invasive means for physicians to accurately visualize almost all major organ systems for diagnostic purposes. However, conventional medical imaging solutions are severely limited in terms of mobility, throughput and are usually dependent on stationary power sources. As a result, they are impractical in situations characterized by low physician / pathologist to patient ratios. There is, therefore, an urgent need for solutions that can increase diagnosis efficiency in order to relieve the overly-burdened global healthcare system. Handheld ultrasound imaging devices are lightweight, mobile or portable devices / scanners, which are designed for diagnostic purposes. The applications of such devices in modern healthcare are vast, spanning almost all major medical disciplines, such as abdomen, cardiology, gynecology, musculoskeletal, obstetrical, orthopedics, pediatrics and urology. In this context, it is worth mentioning that multiple studies have recently described the use of handheld ultrasound scanners in diagnosing individuals suspected of having contracted the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Considering the lack / scarcity of confirmatory tests, these devices have proven useful in quarantining those who displayed pleural wall thickening and lung congestion, a characteristic of pneumonia.

Presently, a number of handheld ultrasound imaging devices, and several device developers are engaged in efforts to further improve their products, incorporating features, such as customized software and mobile applications (designed to display / analyze scanned images), advanced safety provisions, remote patient monitoring and other smart functions. However, a significant proportion of medical professionals have limited, or no, access to these handheld ultrasonography scanners. This, coupled to the fact that nearly 40% of ultrasound scanners in resource-deprived countries are reportedly not fully functional, is an impediment to healthcare. It is also important to note that the cost of handheld / portable scanners is significantly lower than their counterparts. For instance, Butterfly iQ is a handheld ultrasound scanner that is available at merely 2% of the cost of a traditional ultrasound machine (USD 100,000). In future, such devices are anticipated to become more popular and eventually replace bulky, traditional medical imaging machines. In fact, the increasing interest in point-of-care diagnostics is anticipated to create lucrative opportunities for stakeholders engaged in this field.

Scope of the Report

The “Global Handheld Ultrasound Imaging Devices Market, 2020-2030” report features an extensive study of the current market landscape, offering an informed opinion on the likely adoption of such compact diagnostic devices, over the next decade. The report features an in-depth analysis, highlighting the capabilities of various stakeholders engaged in this domain.

In addition to other elements, the study includes:

• An overview of the current market landscape of the handheld ultrasound imaging devices, providing information on the status of development, application area (abdomen, cardiac, gynecological, pulmonary, urological scanning and others), weight of device, type of transducer array (convex / curved, linear, micro-convex, transvaginal, phased and others), transducer frequency, mode of imaging (brightness, color doppler, motion, power doppler, pulsed wave, tissue harmonic and others), field of view, scanning depth, type of software (smartphone application and customized software application), connectivity provision (universal serial bus (USB), cellular / WiFi and bluetooth), data management feature(s) (internal, external, and cloud / remote monitoring), battery backup and cost of device. In addition, it presents details of the device developers, highlighting year of establishment, company size, type of business model used (B2B and B2C), target market (domestic and domestic and international) and location of headquarters. Further, it highlights the key initiatives taken by the various device developers to tackle the on-going global pandemic of COVID-19.
• An in-depth analysis of the contemporary market trends, presented using four schematic representations, including [A] a bubble analysis comparing the leading players engaged in the development of handheld ultrasound imaging devices, based on the parameters, such as application area, mode of imaging, number of devices and company size, [B] a grid representation illustrating the distribution of scanners based on application area, type of transducer array and type of software, [C] an insightful heat map representation, highlighting the distribution of devices on the basis of application area and mode of imaging, and [D] a tree map representation of the handheld ultrasound imaging devices, distributed on the basis of mode of imaging and connectivity provision.
• Elaborate profiles of mid-sized / large companies that are engaged in the development of handheld ultrasound imaging scanners. Each company profile features a brief overview of the company (with information on year of establishment, number of employees, location of headquarters and key members of the executive team), details of their respective product portfolio, recent developments and an informed future outlook
• A detailed brand positioning analysis of key industry players, highlighting the current perceptions regarding their proprietary brands by taking into consideration several relevant aspects, such as strength of product portfolio, type of software, mode of imaging, connectivity provisions,  geographical presence / reach and supplier power of each company.
• An analysis of the partnerships that have been inked by stakeholders in the domain, during the time period 2010-2020 (till April), covering licensing agreements, acquisitions and mergers, research and development agreements, product distribution agreements and other relevant types of deals
• An insightful analysis highlighting cost saving potential associated with the use of handheld ultrasound imaging devices, based on information from close to 50 countries, taking into consideration various parameters, such as total number of radiologists, annual salary, number of ultrasound scans performed and increase in efficiency by adoption of these handheld ultrasound imaging devices.
• An informed estimate of the global demand for handheld ultrasound imaging devices for the period 2020-2030, taking into account the impact of COVID-19, historical sales of these devices, and annual revenues (generated by sales of these devices) of prominent device manufacturers
• A review of the product distribution strategies adopted by different end-users, demand and market attractiveness for handheld ultrasound imaging devices across different types of end-users, including diagnostic imaging centers, hospitals, clinics and others.
• An insightful discussion on the impact of COVID-19 on the overall handheld ultrasound imaging devices market, along with the key lessons learnt from big pharma players in 2008 recession.
• An informative analysis of contemporary Google Trends in the time period between 2015 and 2020 (till April) and insights from the recent news articles related to handheld ultrasound imaging devices, indicating the increasing popularity of this domain.

One of the key objectives of the report was to estimate the existing market size and the future opportunity for handheld ultrasound imaging device manufacturer over the next decade. Based on the demand, likely adoption, and expected price variations for these devices, we have provided an informed estimate of the evolution of the market for the period 2020-2030. The report also features the likely distribution of the current and forecasted opportunity within handheld ultrasound imaging devices market across [A] application area (cardiac, emergency medicines, gynecological / obstetrics, musculoskeletal, pulmonary, urological, vascular and other application areas), [B] type of transducer array (curved, endocavity, linear, phased and other scanners), [C] type of software (smartphone application and customized software-based scanners), [D] end-users (ambulatory surgical centers, diagnostic imaging centers, hospitals, maternity clinics, specialty clinics and other end-users), and [E] key geographical regions (North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific and rest of the world). In order to account for future uncertainties and to add robustness to our model, we have provided three forecast scenarios, namely conservative, base and optimistic scenarios, representing different tracks of the industry’s growth.

The opinions and insights presented in the report were influenced by discussions held with senior stakeholders in the industry. The report features detailed transcripts of interviews held with the following industry stakeholders:

• Stefan Maas (Chief Executive Officer, SomaView)
• Anais Concepcion (Director of Content and Digital Campaigns, EchoNous)
• Zhengzheng Zhu (International Business Development, PeakSonic)

All actual figures have been sourced and analyzed from publicly available information forums and primary research discussions. Financial figures mentioned in this report are in USD, unless otherwise specified.