The next paper in the series focuses on Clarius’ roots of developing the world’s first wireless ultrasound system to connect to both iOS and Android devices. Clarius is relatively platform-agnostic because of the use of wireless, since changes in mobile device design have less of an impact when connectors and other physical interfaces change. Wireless ultrasound gives users the freedom of not being tethered to a finite-length cable. However, there can often be pitfalls if the technology is not developed mindfully.

Clarius scanners have transfer latencies of under 25 milliseconds through a specialized antenna system that integrates into a rugged, yet lightweight, metal housing. This means there is no discrepancy between the image that is being acquired versus what is seen on the screen. In developing a dual-band wireless solution, the ultrasound systems can automatically choose Wi-Fi parameters that are optimized for both the mobile device and surrounding environment.

We came into the project with a lot of ultrasound design experience, but very little wireless experience,” says Kris Dickie, VP of Research & Development. “There were very few consumer devices that actually transferred low-latency high bandwidth images and data over Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, with maybe one or two digital camera solutions. Remember that your eye has to see the result of your hand movement that occurred just milliseconds ago—there’s no margin for error or delays. And since this is medical imaging, we can’t compress images using typical lossy motion compression technologies that 99% of other wireless imaging solutions use.”

I think what we created is a testament to our engineering capability, as well as our creativity,” says Laurent Pelissier, CEO. “We’ve developed a high quality portable device that streams ultrasound images at over 30 frames per second. It still seems a bit like magic sometimes.”

The paper also covers key wireless topics such as:

• Quality of service, and its role in ensuring an optimal wireless link.
• The use of Bluetooth, and how it provides extra flexibility and security.

Clarius currently uses these technologies on all three of its released scanner models, and the Clarius App can be downloaded on iOS and Android smart devices.

Read the full paper: Wireless Ultrasound