Industry Overview: Focused Ultrasound’s Original Equipment Manufacturers

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Today, the Foundation is aware of 86 companies that contribute equipment or supplies to the focused ultrasound industry. The list is divided into four categories: Device Manufacturers, Distributors, Microbubble manufacturers, and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs).

  • Device manufactures create the platforms that provide treatment to patients.
  • Worldwide distributors sell the platforms to the hospitals and physicians that use them.
  • Microbubble companies engineer and produce the microbubbles or nanoparticles that are used in conjunction with focused ultrasound.
  • OEMs design, develop, and manufacture the components that are used in the focused ultrasound treatment systems.

Every focused ultrasound platform that is being used to treat patients or conduct experiments around the world is comprised of parts from OEM companies. These businesses are typically engineering-based and therefore also offer design services to their customers. Examples of the parts and services offered include the following:

Parts

  • Transducers
  • Crystals
  • Arrays
  • Electrodes
  • Controls
  • Power generators
  • Probes
  • Sensors
  • Piezo ceramics
  • Amplifiers
  • Transformers
  • Cables
  • Couplers
  • Filters
  • Accessories
  • Hydrophones
  • Phantoms
  • Acoustic intensity measurement systems

Services

  • Technical expertise and consulting
  • Engineering support
  • Design services
  • Customization
  • Research and development
  • Turnkey systems and research systems
  • Software development
  • System integration
  • Feasibility studies
  • Production
  • System evaluation and testing
  • Contract manufacturing/assembly

“The OEM sector plays an important role in the field of focused ultrasound,” said Emily White, MD, the Foundation’s Managing Director of FUS Partners. “It’s their design services, solutions, and customization capabilities that help drive the field forward and further innovation.”

Currently, there are at least 16 OEMs that are significantly contributing to the field. Eight of these companies are located in the United States or Canada. Europe has four, and Asia has four.

United States

Canada

Europe

  • Meggitt A/S (Denmark) (March 2018 company profile)
  • Imasonic (France)
  • Precision Acoustics, Ltd. (United Kingdom)
  • PI Ceramic, GmbH (Germany)

Asia

  • Tamura Corporation (Japan)
  • E of E Ultrasonics Co., Ltd. (South Korea)
  • Humanscan Co., Ltd. (South Korea)
  • S-Sharp (Taiwan)