EchoNous Releases AI Powered Ultrasound Bladder Scanner

Scanning the bladder and measuring its volume is a common procedure usually performed by nurses. It may be done for a variety of reasons, but achieving accuracy is key. Catheterization-based methods may be the most accurate, but non-invasive ultrasound is a lot more attractive.

With conventional ultrasound one must be very careful to properly gauge the margins of the bladder, then essentially use a ruler on a 3D object, and finish using a formula that really only provides a rough estimate. EchoNous, based in Redmond, Washington, has released a device that lets nurses measure bladder volume faster and with greater confidence, hopefully resulting in more accurate numbers.

The EchoNous Bladder is an compact ultrasound probe that connects to a tablet computer. Following prompts and short videos, the nurse is instructed to slide the probe over the bladder and tap on the screen to guide the computer. In turn, the computer uses an AI algorithm, powered by Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN), to identify the 3D margins of the bladder and calculate its volume.

“We believe the status quo in bladder scanning was not good enough for nurses or their patients. Our world-class team of ultrasound engineers and machine learning scientists have remained focused on moving beyond the 30-year old probe technology being used today in bladder scanning,” said Niko Pagoulatos, PhD, Chief Operating Officer of EchoNous. “While the entire ultrasound industry abandoned mechanical probes in the late 1980s, conventional bladder scanners have continued on with this outdated technology. We decided it was time to raise the bar for this application space.”