Portable Butterfly iQ Vet Device is Launched

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Press release: Butterfly Network

Butterfly Network has announced the launch of Butterfly iQ Vet, an all-new handheld ultrasound device, starting at just under $2,000, that brings the company’s groundbreaking ultrasound-on-a-chip technology to veterinarians and animals for the first time.

With this single probe, smartphone-connected device, vets will now be able to scan a variety of animals with unprecedented portability. Butterfly iQ Vet can scan animals ranging from companion animals (dogs and cats) to large animals (horses) to exotic animals (from sea turtles to tigers). Butterfly iQ Vet provides greater access to medical imaging and empowers vets to make better care decisions.

Ultrasound is a safe, non-invasive and painless diagnostic imaging modality; however, access to imaging for many vets has been a challenge. With Butterfly iQ Vet, every animal hospital, clinic and mobile vet now has access to a high-resolution device that will lead to earlier diagnosis, thereby improving medical care for all animals, large and small. Now, vets will be able to easily share images with their colleagues and specialists, across the clinic or around the world. A vet examining a horse in Europe can share a scan with a specialist in North America and receive an answer in a matter of seconds.

Many vets simply don’t have access to medical imaging and are forced to refer cases to radiologists. Others rely on white-label products originally designed and intended for humans, which can cost $25,000 or more. Butterfly iQ Vet was created to provide an ultrasound solution designed specifically for veterinarians with preset settings and software dedicated to and engineered for scanning animals of all sizes.

“Butterfly iQ Vet’s portability, ease-of-use and, most of all, affordability brings a new dimension to the way we can treat animals. For years, the veterinary community has been eager for more access to ultrasound, and now, through the introduction of iQ Vet, we’ll be able to transform the landscape of animal health care—empowering vets to make more timely, precise and efficient diagnoses,” said Dr. Richard Markell, director of commercial strategy, veterinary at Butterfly Network.

Butterfly iQ Vet provides a medical imaging solution that avoids unnecessary discomfort for animals. Ultrasound uses sound waves that emit no radiation and provide remarkable detail of organs, unlike X-rays. Additionally, ultrasound does not require general anesthesia as compared to animal MRI and CT scans.

Butterfly Network is working with clinicians and professors at top universities and organizations and vets who care for many elite Olympic team horses to further explore the impact of Butterfly iQ Vet. The device is already being used in a research study for equine health and by exotic veterinarians in endangered-species conservation efforts.

With Butterfly iQ Vet, the company’s ultrasound-on-a-chip technology continues to democratize health care and change how the world practices medicine in all areas, impacting the lives of both humans and animals alike.