Sonoscape or other affordable ultrasound machine

[SeniorWrangler]

Dear Colleagues,
I've been looking for an inexpensive portable ultrasound machine for practice and research use. I have access to really nice SonoSite machines at my facility, but not much time to use them when I'm there. So I was looking for a cheaper, maybe reconditioned machine I could keep at home. I would want it for pain and MSK visualization, it would need to have decent visual quality, color Doppler, and the ability to export images.

I've spoken to some ultrasound dealers and the cheapest machine out there that fits the bill seems to be the Sonoscape S2. I've never actually seen one in action and I can't find much online about this brand or model. I know it's made in China, but so are a lot of things these days. As I said, I'm not going to be using it for actual patient care but it still needs to be pretty good quality images to be of any use to me. Any suggestions? In car terms, I'm looking for an old Honda Accord,. not a Lexus but definitely not a Yugo.

EDIT: I found this review on the KPI website:
"KPI is evaluating the new SonoScape S2 portable ultrasound system. Like most SonoScape systems, the S2 looks great on paper. However when KPI tested the SonoScape S8 we were disappointed by the image quality and the extremely difficult to use software. When we tested the SonoScape A6 we found the image quality and usability acceptable (better than the S8) but within a few months we found that the ...reliability of the machine was poor. So far we can say the SonoScape S2 has good image quality and acceptable usability for the price. If the reliability is better than the A6 then the S2 may be worth recommending. It already offers a true 4D and CW Doppler shared service in a low cost portable at a price point better than the competing Mindray M7. Stay tuned for more on the SonoScape S2."

It does not fill me with confidence.

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[lord_jeebus]

I live close to a company that sells ultrasound equipment. I stopped by the warehouse and tried a few models including the Sonoscape S2.

It's actually surprisingly good and I'm thinking about buying one for my new practice. Side-by-side against a GE Logiq e, the image quality was pretty similar. I've also used various Sonosites, I'd say the image quality was similar to M-Turbo and better than Micromaxx. Color doppler was adequate. The linear probe is rather bulky compared to the competition but that is a small complaint. It is pretty easy to export image files and avi's to USB, did not get to try its networking features. For pain and MSK it seems to be adequate.

The salesman says that part of the reason it is cheaper is due to the poor quality of its pulse-wave doppler, but that is not a feature that I need. I was also concerned about durability -- I rarely buy anything made in China if I can help it. The company does their own repairs and they claim that in the 3 years that they've sold Sonoscape, they haven't had any more maintenance issues with them compared to the established manufacturers. The other models they showed me were more expensive, so I don't think they had a big financial incentive to push me towards Sonoscape.

Edit: Also tried the Sonoscape A6. Was not so impressed with that one.

 

[oreosandsake]

curious, what does the machine you are referring to cost?

 

[lord_jeebus]

curious, what does the machine you are referring to cost?

I've been quoted about 13K for a new Sonoscape S2 with two probes.

For comparison, I've been quoted 18K for a refurb Sonosite Micromaxx, 22K for a refurb of the GE mentioned above. There are some really nice new machines in the 30's and 40's.

 

[SeniorWrangler]

A little over 10K is the figure I was quoted but I'm not sure how long that price is good for.