Cellular phone enabled ultrasound systems – what will be the impact?
Mobisante
is the first company to launch a cellular phone based ultrasound system. The
company has developed advanced software that will enable any phone with a
universal serial bus (USB) port to display live ultrasound images acquired by
the probe. Mobisante has also developed a user-friendly interface that would
allow any person to operate the device without the need for complex training.
The unique selling proposition of a phone-enabled ultrasound system is that once
the image data is acquired it can be instantaneously submitted to the physician
electronically or to a hospital’s electronic medical record (EMR).
Business
Insights is of the view that such a system will be of significant benefit in
emerging and underdeveloped markets. In a country like India, for example, a
majority of the population live in non-urban areas that have little or no
access to basic healthcare. Even a less qualified clinician or a nurse in one
of these remotely located towns can diagnose a patient using a cellular phone
and electronically submit the acquired data to a physician at a nearby city for
assessment. The emerging and underdeveloped markets will benefit from the
cellular phone enabled ultrasound system because currently more than 50% of the
general population in those countries do not have access to ultrasound. It is
only a matter of time before other ultrasound companies will begin to introduce
cellular phone enabled ultrasound systems into their product portfolios.
Business Insights believes that pricing will impact the adoption and growth of
cellular phone enabled ultrasound sales. This would mean that manufacturers of
such systems need to adopt different pricing strategies across various
geographies (in a similar fashion to the subsidized rates for pharmaceutical
drugs in underdeveloped countries). The price of such entry-level ultrasound
systems can be high in the US and Europe, but the same cannot necessarily be
applied to other nations, especially the emerging and underdeveloped nations
where the per capita income is very low in comparison with developed nations.
Business Insights expects that pricing of entry-level, phone-enabled ultrasound
systems at a lower level in emerging and underdeveloped markets will drive
profits by achieving large volume sales because currently more than 50% of the
general population does not have any access to ultrasound systems.
The
phone-enabled system from Mobisante has recently obtained FDA and CE
certification and its market launch will happen in 2011 in the US followed by
some countries in Europe. According to a press release, Mobisante expects the
total system to cost from $7,000 to $8,000. According to Business Insights,
pricing the system in this range is justified, given that even the most basic
ultrasound system costs over $20,000. However, even a price tag of $7000–$8000
is an expensive proposition in underdeveloped markets. The software uniquely
developed to interface the probe and the cellular phone forms the bulk of this
pricing. It is important to note that not many parameters can be determined to
assess the magnitude of this product’s acceptability and sales at this point in
time.
The
Mobisante system is the first of its kind, and Business Insights is of the view
that it will take at least another two to three years to determine the market
size, growth rates, and revenue forecasts of the cellular phone enabled
ultrasound sector. However, the overall price can be expected to drop owing to
large volume sales. Business Insights also believes that the phone enabled
ultrasound systems will create its niche market without disrupting its advanced
counterparts. Moreover, in the developed nations, hospitals, and even district
level health facilities will opt to purchase the phone-enabled ultrasound
systems, owing to their convenience and low cost, in addition to high-end
ultrasound systems that already exist in their facility.
