Dear Neonatal community,

We are currently in the process of acquiring a new neonatal POCUS machine, with our primary focus being on vascular access, cranial, pulmonary, and cardiovascular assessments.

We would love to hear your recommendations: what is your preferred ultrasound machine for the NICU, and why?

Internally, we are debating our primary goal. We are weighing the benefits of a highly agile, compact machine that lowers the threshold for frequent bedside use, versus a higher-end system optimized for comprehensive cardiovascular workups (which may sacrifice some of that maneuverability). We can still get a full cardiovascular assesment from our pediatric cardiologist with their GE vivid-machine, but it has its limitations in regards to other examinations.

Personally, I am leaning toward a Mindray TE-series-like solution, as it offers a large screen while maintaining a minimal footprint at the bedside. Any insights or shared experiences would be greatly appreciated!

Best regards,

Gustaf

Hi to all!

We are using the GE Venue™ - with a touchscreen (we had to get rid of the keyboard because of bacterial colonisation). It is very practical machine, fast on startup, compact with a wide variety of probes. It can be used for basically every organ. Downside - the quality of the pictures is probably inferior to highend (specialized) machines. Still an interesting machine.

best regards,

David from Vienna

Hi,

GE or Mindray are both good options. Pricing typically depends on the probes you would want to have. Here in US 70K on average for a POCUS US machine. Do not consider handheld devices. Not yet. Overall I would say GE 12 MHz probe is superb for cardiac applications compared to Mindray, if that is your goal. The rest is pretty much the same, in my experience. Good luck.