Health

Diagnostic ultrasound system has become widely available in recent years, and is used for checking seriously ill patients in hospital laboratories, ICUs, and NICUs,*1 and also in local clinics and for home medical care. Portable diagnostic ultrasound systems to be used in emergency situations or for home medical care need to be compact, and equipped with high definition displays and a variety of diagnostic functions.

Exploiting our market-proven expertise in medical imaging systems, Fujifilm has been working to develop a compact and lightweight diagnostic ultrasound system that offers both high quality imaging and comfortable operability. In 2014, ahead of others, we launched the FUJIFILM FC1, the first joint product with SonoSite, a leading developer of portable handheld medical imaging devices, in order to respond to the diverse demands of the POC testing*2 market. The model released in May 2016 was the SonoSite iViz, a tablet-type diagnostic ultrasound system with a slim body and weighing a mere 520 g, which can even be put into the pocket. The product is designed not only to be compact but also to deliver a clear and high definition 1.4 M-pixel image backed up by a new image processing circuit developed through our exclusive technology. The device is equipped with a camera to record a patient’s mental and physical condition in an emergency situation or home medical care as still or moving pictures. We plan to enhance the product with an image transmission capability over a secure network in order to contribute to a variety of medical situations, including home medical care, accident & emergency events, remote locations, and disasteraffected sites, where improvements to medical support system are indispensable.

*1 NICU: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

*2 POC testing: Point of Care testing. Conducting a medical test in front of a patient in hospital or at home to make a medical decision or provide optimum treatment.