Premium women’s health ultrasound machines show off the latest technologies each brand has developed and provide the absolute best image quality for even difficult patients along with the full spectrum functions available. Doctors, especially those in research, educational and clinical environments who need the very best without regard to the price will want to consider the premium segment.

There is no single brand in the women’s health ultrasound market that dominates the others. GE certainly can lay claim to women’s health ultrasounds with the best 4D, while Samsung offers some of the best prices in each price range of women’s health. Philips is known for its ergonomics, smooth, timesaving workflow and reliability.

Some of the premium features common to this segment include high-resolution 4D (known as HD live by GE), shearwave elastrography and automatic measurements that save time. 2D Image quality of course should be amazing. Huge monitors on articulating arms and touchscreens are par for the course as well.

Ultrasound Supply recommends the Philips Epiq 7 as provides the best image quality and broadest set of features among women’s health ultrasounds. The GE Voluson E10 is also an outstanding choice; especially if 4D scans will be a large percentage of your work. The GE Voluson E8 is still an excellent choice, and with the release of the E10, the E8 is becoming more affordable, enhancing its appeal. The Samsung WS80A is perhaps the biggest value in this premium segment as it offers excellent 4D.

Do you want the best for your practice, but don’t want to pay the most? This is why the high-end women’s health ultrasound category exists. It pairs the absolute best image quality, scales back a few features or probes from the premium category and lowers to price to more attainable levels. More focus goes on workflow efficiency rather than just the most powerful features.

Philips and GE both have very good women’s health ultrasounds in the high-end segment. GE has the better 4D while Philips offers better image quality at a better price with good 4D. Typical features in the high-end women’s health segment are 4D, large monitors on articulating arms, single crystal transducers and image quality as good as the premium category.

The Philps Epiq 5 is the less expensive of the two Epiq systems but other than a lack of xMatrix probes and a few features is identical to the premium Epiq 7. The Philips Affiniti 70 is in turn very similar to the Epiq 5 with a few less features, but keeping the single crystal probes. The Affiniti 70 is a tremendous value blending premium image quality and a broad set of applications it is very good at. Ultrasound Supply recommends the Affiniti 70 as the best option for most physicians seeking the best value in the high-end women’s health ultrasound market.

The GE Voluson E6 is a scaled-back version of the Voluson E8 and looks identical. The E6 has a few software and probe differences from the E8, however image quality is nearly identical. The GE Voluson S8 is a newer platform that boasts similar image quality to the E6 but uses many of the less expensive probes of the Voluson i. The S8 is much smaller and lighter than the E8 but with the same screen size.

The midrange women’s health ultrasound market is the most crowded and most competitive segment of them all. Midrange ultrasounds evenly balance price and performance, which is why they are the best selling ultrasound machines. Midrange women’s health ultrasound machines emphasize image quality and workflow efficiencies while lowering costs by lowering the number of features.

At this price point 4D is still a common feature but 4D frame rates drop and high definition 4D becomes optional rather than standard. Midrange women’s health ultrasounds still offer a wide range of transducers, but without single crystal options. All the brands have good products in this segment.

If fundamental image quality and efficient workflow are your priority then the Philips Affiniti 50 should be at the top of your list for consideration at the midrange price point. The Affiniti 50 looks nearly identical to the premium level Epiq series and borrows much of the same hardware. Also worth consideration from Philips in the midrange women’s health category is the lower priced ClearVue 650 which sacrifices the Affiniti 50’s more powerful hardware and deeper transducer selection in order to lower costs.

GE offers more powerful 4D but a more narrow set of probes and applications than Philips and Samsung in the midrange segment. The Voluson S6 is a scaled down version of the GE Voluson S8 that looks identical on the outside but offers less transducers and features.

Samsung has the Accuvix A30 in the midrange women’s health ultrasound category. The A30 which has good 4D and a broad set of potential applications all at a price lower than GE Voluson S6 or Affiniti 50. If prioritizing price is your priority then the A30 affers a great value for this segment.

Women’s health ultrasound machines often must prioritize price over everything else but these systems in the economy segment still offer more image quality and features today than many midrange ultrasound machines from ten years ago!

Obstetricians and Gynecologists looking to purchase their first diagnostic women’s health ultrasound or replace an old ultrasound machine that has become expensive or difficult to maintain should consider the economy women’s health ultrasound category. In many developing nations the existence of this category has allowed hospitals and clinics that otherwise could not afford an ultrasound machine for diagnosis to consider one.

Acceptable image quality and a basic transducer set with a smaller screen are common in this segment. 4D is rare at this price point and hardware sacrifices to lower the cost limit automation but the standouts listed here offer more than what you might expect. The Philips ClearVue 550 offers the best image quality, but its probe options are features are more limited. Both the ClearVue 550 and Logiq P5 premium can be true shared service ultrasound machines. The GE Logiq P5 offers the most advanced features (4D & strain based elastography) and the largest variety of features and probes. However the probes and system hardware are the most outdated of the 4 recommended systems resulting in only acceptable image quality. The Samsung H60 offers a good mix of image quality and features in between the ClearVue 550 and Logiq P5 premium. The H60 is also sleek and modern like the ClearVue. The Alpinion Ecube 7 offers the best 4D, and price point with a modern design but limited probe and feature depth.

If you prioritize image quality then the ClearVue 550 is recommended. If you prioritize 4D then the Ecube 7 will be the best economy.

Portable women’s health ultrasound machines range in price and features from the midrange to the economy and provide point-of-care diagnostics, and multi-location usage. However as the power of portables now is very close to console units of the same segment, many medical professionals are choosing them over consoles because they are easy to move around, keep secure, and send out for service. The main downside of a portable is that it usually has only one active transducer port unless a multi-probe connector cart is used. Portable ultrasound machines have become especially popular in the women’s health segment as the price is typically lower than a competing economy or midrange console with similar features and they fit well in smaller rooms. Portable women’s health ultrasounds emphasize 2D image quality, workflow efficiency and 4D as an important option.

GE has been a leader in the women’s health ultrasound machine market ever since it purchased the Voluson product from Medison over a decade ago. GE has developed the Voluson line into many products including the Voluson-i, the portable Voluson. Samsung, which purchased Medison a few years ago acquired similar technology and is trying to close the gap with GE. Samsung offers excellent monitors, updated designs and a tremendous R&D department that will continue to innovate. This competition in the 4D and women’s health segment means great values for buyers.

The GE Voluson i is the first portable Voluson and it has many variations like the Voluson e (a feature stripped version of the Voluson i meant for a lower price point) and the Voluson-q, a more advanced quantitative version that has since been discontinued and rolled into the Voluson-i. Those who are familiar with the more well know Voluson 730 and want to replace it will find the Voluson i a worthy successor and a great value. It has excellent image quality and the widest array of 4D probe choices in the portable ultrasound segment. The Samsung UGEO HM70A is the successor to the Medison U6 and is improved in every way. It offers a lower cost option to the Voluson-i and a wider set of potential applications including shared service as it can also provide full cardiac features.