10-11-2011: The FDA has granted MobiSante clearance for its smartphone-based ultrasound system, MobiUS. MobiUS is now the world's first smartphone-based commercial ultrasound system. The entire system costs between $7,000 and $8,000, much lower than the tens of thousands of dollars that most ultrasound systems cost today. Over time, MobiSante hopes to halve the cost. Note that as of October 2011 all regulations associated with the MobiUS SP1 Ultrasound were cleared and the device is now available!.
The MobiSante ultrasound is undergoing beta testing in nine sites in the US and one site internationally. The device was recognized as one of the five best mobile health care devices at the 2010 Mobile Health Expo in October and was recently featured on CNN.
MobiSante issued a press release on December 16 announcing that it has raised an undisclosed amount of seed financing from WRF Capital, the venture investment arm of the Washington Research Foundation. According to the release, Mobisante will use the funds "to augment its team and enhance the product." CEO Sailesh Chutani says that, if all goes well, MobiSante could gain FDA clearance by the first or second quarter of 2011. Read the full press release on the MobiSante website.
Ultrasound can save a mother and a baby by identifying twins, ecotpic pregnancy, malposition of the baby or fetus, abnormal heartrate and more. MobiSante is attaching an ultrasound probe to a SmartPhone. The device will be low-cost and portable but also brings ultrasound to areas without an electic grid. The company's aim is to make the ultrasound technology accessible for non-experts in emerging and low-income countries.
This technology is partly funded by Microsoft Research and is being developed by a privately held company in Washington state. We will follow the technology through R&D. Thanks to Anant Kumar of LifeSpring to alerting us to this exciting technology.
