AFRICA – Abdul Latif Jameel Health, a Saudi Arabian family business has announced plans to broaden the availability of Butterfly iQ+ – the world’s only single probe, whole-body handheld ultrasound solution.
From undeserved communities in the United States, to remote areas of Africa, and Asia, more than 4.7 billion people around the world lack access to medical imaging.
Abdul Latif Jameel Health will introduce the innovative ultrasound product, powered by Butterfly’s Ultrasound-on-Chip technology to markets across the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey, and India.
Fusing semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and cloud technology, Butterfly has the potential to usher in a new era of healthcare with a device that is expected to cost less than US$2,400.
The product is designed to dramatically expand the capabilities of practitioners working within and outside of hospitals in developed, underdeveloped and remote areas.
Healthcare providers can collect advanced imaging, perform rapid assessments, and guide critical procedures no matter where they are, and share those images seamlessly with doctors across the globe to help with reading and interpreting scans.
Dr. Akram Bouchenaki, Chief Executive Officer of Abdul Latif Jameel Health, said that the mission is to improve access to healthcare for those who need it most and drive inclusive health care through innovation.
“The capabilities of this innovative, portable and versatile handheld ultrasound solution know no bounds and we are committed to delivering this technology to serve more than 2 billion people. It is our mission to collaborate with sector disruptors, those who question how healthcare services have always been delivered, and how the billions of people in underserved communities can be better served,” Dr. Akram Bouchenaki said in a statement sent to Taarifa on Monday.
Butterfly recently announced that its iQ+ device is even being delivered beyond Earth, providing medical imaging on the International Space Station, as part of the 22nd SpaceX Dragon cargo resupply payload in June 2021.
Once delivered, astronauts will provide feedback on the ease of using the device, the quality of the produced ultrasound images, and the efficiency of image acquisition.
The Butterfly iQ+ is an innovative low-noise device with reduced power consumption. Its optimized electronics are integrated with a power-efficient field-programmable gate array (FPGA) chip, which offers a 20% longer battery life and improved thermal performance while doubling scanning time.
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