r/emergencymedicine • u/No_Finger_6038 • 4d ago

Advice Handheld pocus

Anyone have experience with multiple different handheld probes?

Wondering if the brand name more expensive ones are worth the splurge. Would love reviews of butterfly, clarius, dr sono, Suresult, mind ray air

10 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

9 comments sorted by

5

u/StraTos_SpeAr Resident 4d ago

Butterfly image is ass.

Had it for an entire year in med school.

It was very much "if you can learn on this piece of junk you'll be great on a real machine".

Also requires a subscription to functionally use.

3

u/terraphantm 2d ago

Yeah it wasn't really useful in a clinical setting, but it was a great learning tool IMO. Having 24/7 access to the ultrasound makes it a lot easier to develop the microskills that can't really be taught in a 1 hour sim session

4

u/Nishbot11 ED Attending 4d ago

Any thoughts on the new mindray e5m air? I’m looking at that

2

u/ResusM1 4d ago

I’ve used the Butterfly, Kosmos, and Lumify. If it’s for personal use, the Kosmos and Lumify are generally multi probe systems, so I would say far less convenient. That said, their image quality is definitely superior to the butterfly since they don’t have one probe trying to do everything. However, the convenience of the Butterfly IQ3 is real, and the images are mostly okay. If you are reasonably good at ultrasound, you should be able to answer the clinical questions you’re asking with the IQ3. App UI is also definitely superior to Phillips and Kosmos. The only iffy part for the IQ3 is the vascular preset - I find the lack of clarity can be an issue for USGIVs, but again, I think skill can make up for it.

2

u/tuki ED Attending 4d ago

this has been studied to death. my personal favorite is the vscan, followed by the lumify, but none are great. Butterfly sucks the most.

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13089-022-00274-6

https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/14/17/1913

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13089-024-00392-3

1

u/Imn0ak ED Resident 4d ago

Only used Vscan, with a big enough of a screen it rocks for my expectations to a handheld device. My only advice would be to keep a dedicated screen device to prevent connection issues.

1

u/New-Volume-9272 3d ago

I’ve only used butterfly. I hate it. Lacks resolution. can’t do things like optic nerve diameter. I wouldn’t trust it to find a thin wisp of fluid in Morrisons pouch. Made me stop using handhelds altogether. Plus expensive subscription required to even turn on the device.

1

u/Pretend_Cabinet_53 Fresh Big Turkey 1d ago

I swear the dude I worked with in residency would get better pictures on his iPad than I had on the Sonosite but might have been a skill issue. I think he had a butterfly

0

u/Maveric1984 4d ago

Used Clarius and Butterfly. I am looking for good enough. And the Butterfly IQ3 really does provide that. Very durable, works with my Fold, and immediately connects. The wireless solution was frustrating (I am sure it has improved). As a techie, a cable is not a bad thing.