An ultrasound physiotherapy machine is a medical device used in physical therapy and rehabilitation to provide therapeutic ultrasound treatment. This non-invasive and painless procedure uses high-frequency sound waves to promote healing and relieve pain in soft tissues like muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Here are some key aspects of ultrasound physiotherapy machines:
- Ultrasound Waves: These machines generate high-frequency sound waves (ultrasound) that cannot be heard by the human ear. These waves are typically in the range of 1 to 3 MHz.
- Therapeutic Effect: The ultrasound waves produce a deep heating effect in the targeted tissues. This heat increases blood flow, relaxes muscles, and helps to reduce inflammation and pain.
- Frequency and Intensity: The frequency and intensity of the ultrasound can be adjusted by the physiotherapist based on the patient's condition and the depth of the tissue being treated.
- Gel Application: A special ultrasound gel is applied to the skin to ensure good contact between the ultrasound transducer and the patient's body. This gel also helps transmit the sound waves effectively.
- Transducer Head: The machine has a handheld transducer head that is moved over the treatment area. This transducer emits the ultrasound waves.
- Treatment Duration: Ultrasound physiotherapy sessions typically last around 5 to 10 minutes, although this can vary depending on the condition being treated.
- Conditions Treated: Ultrasound physiotherapy is often used for conditions like muscle strains, ligament sprains, tendonitis, bursitis, and joint inflammation.
- Safety Precautions: The therapist must take precautions to ensure that the ultrasound waves do not heat tissues excessively, which could cause burns or damage. This is done by constantly moving the transducer head and monitoring the patient's comfort.
- Contraindications: There are certain situations where ultrasound physiotherapy is not recommended, such as over areas with reduced sensation, near malignancies, or on pregnant women's abdomens. A thorough assessment is crucial to determine if this treatment is appropriate.
- Effectiveness: Ultrasound physiotherapy can be effective in promoting tissue healing and reducing pain, but its success depends on proper application and adherence to the recommended treatment plan.
It's important to note that ultrasound physiotherapy should only be administered by trained healthcare professionals, such as physiotherapists, who have the knowledge and expertise to use the equipment safely and effectively. Additionally, the choice to use ultrasound as a treatment modality should be based on a thorough assessment of the patient's condition and the specific therapeutic goals.
When using this diagnostic imaging method, the main goal is often to find a source of a disease or to exclude pathology (meaning to exclude causes and effects of disease or injury).
By using this diagnostic method, healthcare professionals can more easily diagnose the causes of pain, swelling and infection in the body's internal organs.
Nevertheless, the Butterfly iQ+ can change how accessible ultrasounds are by making this diagnostic imaging technique available to everyone via a simple and easy to use portable ultrasound device.The Butterfly iQ+ is a compact portable handheld and App-enabled ultrasound machine that can easily fit inside your pocket and that's reasonably easy to use, working both both iPhone and Android.In fact, this device is the world's only single-probe ultrasound device to exist to date, working as a whole-body handheld ultrasound device that's solely powered by a built-in battery and its specializied Ultrasound-on-Chip technology.
With it, healthcare professionals can experience a groundbreaking ultrasound solution that aims to completely change and modernize the way they perform ultrasound diagnostics.While a standard ultrasound machine tends to take up a lot of space, as it is usually composed by the combination of a built-in touch screen monitor with a console that integrates a keyboard, a wide array of knobs and a trackball which respectively work as its imagining unit and its basic controls-unit, the Butterfly iQ+ is a compact and portable ultrasound device that's completely App-enabled, thus eliminating the need for such bulky equipment.Thanks to the way this device was designed, the Butterfly iQ+ can easily transform complex ultrasound diagnostic processes into one connected POCUS System (Point-of-Care Ultrasound System) to help healthcare professionals worldwide to offer better and more efficient healthcare.By integrating the Butterfly iQ+ into their workplace, healthcare professionals can remove system barriers and overcome the limitations related to the low number of standard ultrasound machine that are present in healthcare facilities, while also improving the efficiency on their medical ultrasound diagnostics and ultimately transform patient care.Now, without any further ado, let's dive deeper into this portable handheld and app-enabled ultrasound machine and check out exactly how the Butterfly iQ+ works and see everything that it has to offer to healthcare professionals worldwide.DESIGN & SPECSStarting with the unit's exact size, since the Butterfly iQ+ was designed as a portable handheld ultrasound machine, the whole unit comes at a very compact size, measuring just 7.28 inches long by 2.20 inches wide 1.37 inches tall / thick (18.5 x 5.6 x 3.5 cm).
Butterfly iQ+As mentioned earlier, this portable ultrasound machine is designed to work as one connected POCUS System (Point-of-Care Ultrasound System), and so, it includes an embedded workflow, an adaptable form factor and improved image clarity for any potential ultrasound diagnostics.Thanks to that, healthcare professionals can rely on using this portable ultrasound device for their ultrasound diagnostics and make the whole experience less complex, and that can consequently help healthcare professionals worldwide to offer better and more efficient healthcare.Now, as stated before, this portable ultrasound device works solely based on its specialized Ultrasound-on-Chip technology, and since the whole unit only features one single-probe, that means that this ultrasound device doesn't use any piezoelectric crystals for its Point-of-Care Ultrasound method.Basically, the unit's singular ultrasound probe works as a 3-in-1 Ultrasound Transducer, meaning that it works simultaneously as a Linear Transducer, as a Convex (or Curved) Transducer, and as a Phased Array Transducers, and thanks to that 3-in-1 ultrasound probe design, this ingenious portable ultrasound device can offer healthcare professionals a high-end ultrasound imaging process with just one probe, which comes accompanied by a smooth image acquisition process with good image quality (discussed right ahead).To simply put it, the Butterfly's Ultrasound-on-Chip technology is designed to replace the traditional transducer system with a single silicon chip, meaning that its one singular ultrasound probe can emulate any transducer, whether that's a linear, curved or phased transducer.With that said, he Butterfly iQ+ works as a whole-body handheld ultrasound device that's solely powered by that same specializied Ultrasound-on-Chip technology, thus allowing healthcare professionals to experience a groundbreaking ultrasound solution that aims to completely revolutionize the way they perform ultrasound diagnostics.Lastly, it's also worth to mention that the unit features an ultra-durable body that was tested beyond industry standards, and so, it features a IP67 Water-Resistance Rating while also proving capable of whistanding accidental drops up to 4-foot high, which also makes this portable ultrasound device more drop-resistant than any piezoelectric crystal transducers.IMAGE SPECS & IMAGE QUALITYNow, when it comes to the Butterfly iQ+'s as high-end ultrasound imaging process, the combination of its Ultrasound-on-Chip technology with its singular 3-in-1 Ultrasound Transducer is exactly what allows this portable ultrasound device to deliver a smooth image acquisition process with good image quality.Overall, the unit's ultrasound capabilities can work with an Image depth that can vary between 2-30 centimeters and a Temperature Range that can bo between a minimum temperature of 5°C and a maximum temperature of 43°C (meaning the unit won't be able to scan below 5ºC or above 43°C).Nevertheless, thanks to its singular 3-in-1 Ultrasound Transducer's smart design, healthcare professionals will never have to experience the machine going through any overheating, as its transducer's temperature is always indicated right at the top of the unit's proprietary Smartphone Companion App (discussed further ahead) while you're performing your ultrasound scans with it.Overall, you're typically offered a reasonably good image quality, but once in a while, you might experience a somewhat "grainy" quality when scanning for cardiac windows (still, you can make it slightly better when using manual time gain compensation).CONNECTIVITYSince the Butterfly iQ+ is designed as a portable and App-enabled ultrasound machine, the unit requires to be directly connected to a Smartphone or tablet via a cable, as well as via its proprietary Smartphone Companion App in order to work.
Butterfly iQ+Once its battery is depleted, all you have to do to recharge the unit's battery back to full power is to carefulyl place it on top of its included wireless charging dock and wait for around 5 hours for its battery to be fully recharged (meaning from 0% to 100% power).THE SMARTPHONE COMPANION APP - The Butterfly iQ AppAs the Butterfly iQ+ is designed to work as a handheld portable and app-enabled ultrasound machine, the unit requires to be connected to an iOS or Android device (either a Smartphone or tablet) respectively via a Lightning or USB-C Connection Cable (as mentioned earlier).After connecting your Butterfly iQ+ device to your Smartphone or tablet, you're also required to download the device's proprietary Smartphone App, which is simply called the Butterfly iQ App.
