The global ultrasound market is roughly twice that of CT (in dollars). There are, in most countries, no restrictions on equipment purchase, and every physician may have access, with little need for sharing equipment.

Portable units, which represented up to 25% of the market last year, are used increasingly outside the traditional hospital circuit, including emergency cases, with the expectation of better management of many patients in the most critical situations, as recently supported by emergency specialists. US is also widely recommended as a control method for IV line placement.

3D imaging is a well-assessed modality for fetal imaging for a few years, providing striking images of prenatal anomalies and being shown to improve both efficiency and confidence in diagnosis for fetal imaging. This new modality opens the door for a tremendous change in daily practice and workflow, associating a short acquisition time and a delayed post-treatment and reporting phase.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound is based on the intravenous administration of microbubbles, which increase the backscattered signal, allowing real-time imaging of organs at very low output levels. Primary clinical application is focal liver lesions' characterization and detection. This needs an adaptation of the workflow: e.g., placement of an IV line, assistance for injection, longer examination time, need for long clips storage and time for the physician for the post-treatment phase.

Adaptation of the organization of the US section and optimization of the workflow is now an issue to get full benefit from new machines and modes.