Ultrasound systems can be bulky and expensive. But a Redmond company by the name of Mobisante is looking to transform the industry with a new technology that turns a smartphone into a miniature ultrasound device.
Mobisante is expected to begin selling the $7,495 ultrasound attachment this month, with BusinessWeek noting that some top-end portable ultrasound systems can cost upwards of $100,000.
Meanwhile, VentureBeat reports that there’s been a back-and-forth with the FDA over the Mobisante device. In fact, it has dragged on so long that reporter Heather Kelly notes that the system “ships with a Toshiba TG01 touchscreen phone running Windows Mobile 6.5 — a device that was originally released in 2009.”
Mobisante execs said at a recent health care conference that the delays cost the company more than $100,000. Nonetheless, the company — which competes with GE’s new Vscan device — still writes on its Web site that the release is “probably the shortest time frame for a medical device to move from concept to a commercial product.”
Founded by Sailesh Chutani — a former Microsoft mobile exec — and David Zar — a researcher at Washington University in St. Louis — Mobisante is backed by WRF Capital and others.
Here’s a demo of the Mobisante system: