Israeli start-up launches first ever at-home ultrasound for future moms
The device, which according to the company is the first of its kind in the world, has already been clinically tested and it has been approved for use in Israel and in the European Union.
By ROSSELLA TERCATINPregnant woman (Illustrative)(photo credit: PIXABAY)
A tele-ultrasound device developed by Israeli start-up PulseNmore will allow pregnant women to perform an ultrasound at home without the need to visit a clinic or a hospital.Clalit Health Services already has ordered 20,000 units of the device for its members, chief operating officer Jordan Rubinson told The Jerusalem Post.“Traditionally, ultrasound technology has been associated with very big, expensive machines in hospitals operated by highly trained technicians,” he said. “In the past few years, a new generation of devices that are smaller and easier to use have been developed and offered to physicians themselves. But they still require sophisticated users, and they still cost thousands of dollars. Our solution represents the next step.”PulseNmore’s product is a small device that attaches to smartphones. It is operated by the woman herself, either during a live telemedicine appointment or by following five-step instructions on the devoted app to produce a video of the fetus that is uploaded to the system and can be examined by a doctor.Israeli startup PulseNmore's at-home ultrasound machine (Credit: PulseNmore)“The hardware is making use of the advantages of cellphone technologies,” Rubinson said. “Our device attaches to an ordinary cellphone. We use the cellphone as the screen, the power source and the communication and control center. We really simplified the heart of the ultrasound, focusing only on what it needs to do and stripping away all the extras to obtain an excellent ultrasound at the fraction of the cost, in the order of the hundreds of dollars.”The device, which according to the company is the first of its kind, has already been clinically tested. It has been approved for use in Israel and the European Union. “Clalit’s physicians reviewed more than 1,300 self-scans in our initial study with PulseNmore and clearly saw fetal heart activity, movement and amniotic fluid in 95% of the scans,” Leor Wolff, head of Clalit Health Services’ eHealth Division and translational innovation, said in a press release. “We are confident that PulseNmore’s device will support our healthcare professionals during COVID-19 and beyond, while enhancing the pregnancy experience and satisfaction for our members.”The device will save future mothers several visits to clinics or hospitals to get regular ultrasounds, Rubinson said, emphasizing that it can also help them achieve peace of mind in case of sudden concern about the fetus’s health.“On average, every pregnant woman would go to the emergency room once or twice to make sure that the baby is okay,” he said. “With the tele-ultrasound, they will be able to check it themselves at home.”PulseNmore intends to sell the product to health organizations, and not to private customers, to ensure it is used the correct way, Rubinson said.Clalit plans to start distributing the devices as early as November.“We are proud to lead another breakthrough in telemedicine and to offer our members a remote and convenient ultrasound service that meets the needs of the coronavirus period and beyond,” said Prof. Ehud Davidson, director-general of Clalit. “The uniqueness of our offering lies in our service concept that combines subsidizing the cost of PulseNmore’s device and offering services for medical guidance and advice provided by Clalit’s best experts.”“I believe that providing pregnant women with the opportunity to connect with the babies inside their womb, even just for the pure joy of them and their families, is something extremely meaningful,” Rubinson said.
