News | Ultrasound Imaging | July 26, 2017

Company partners with Bimini SharkLab to custom design an underwater ultrasound system to determine pregnancies in hammerhead sharks

E.I. Medical Imaging Produces World's First Underwater Ultrasound

July 26, 2017 — E.I. Medical Imaging (EIMI) has partnered with Tristan Guttridge, Ph.D., and the Bimini SharkLab to custom design the world’s first ultrasound system to be used underwater to produce diagnostic images of sharks in their native habitat. In preparation for a piece produced by Icon films for Discovery Channel's Shark Week, Guttridge approached EIMI with the idea of an underwater ultrasound system to take pregnancy diagnosis directly to hammerhead sharks underwater.

EIMI produces portable, highly ruggedized ultrasound systems for veterinary use. While highly water-resistant, their production models were never designed to be used underwater. When Guttridge approached EIMI with the idea of waterproofing a system to support the project "Great Hammerhead Invasion," the engineering team at EIMI took up the project with great excitement. "They loved our crazy idea of attempting to ultrasound a great hammerhead in Bimini!" said Guttridge.  Designing an ultrasound system to operate underwater held many engineering challenges.  To operate at the depths required for Guttridge's work was especially challenging.

Being land-locked in Colorado also posed some logistical testing challenges. The team at EIMI worked on the first iteration of the submersible system and shipped the system to the Bahamas for Guttridge to test. The unit performed as intended and allowed Guttridge to capture the underwater images of pregnant hammerheads he needed to validate his theory on hammerhead breeding patterns. "Since then we have managed to detect pregnancies in two other species — lemon and tiger sharks. Such information is crucial as we can begin to learn more about the importance of Bimini's environs to gestating females and coupled with satellite tags track where they might pup," said Guttridge. 

Last year, EIMI worked with Neil Hammerschlag, Ph.D., and the University of Miami on Tiger Shark research that was featured in Shark Week's Tiger Beach.  This time EIMI was able to produce the world's first in-field images of pregnant tiger sharks.

For more information: www.eimedical.com


Related Content

News | FDA

July 8, 2025 — Mendaera, Inc., a healthcare technology company focused on developing robotics that can be deployed ...

Time July 08, 2025
arrow
News | Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS)

June 17, 2025 — Royal Philips has announced the global launch of the Flash Ultrasound System 5100 POC — a new point-of ...

Time June 19, 2025
arrow
News | Lung Imaging

June 18, 2025 — Exo recently announced that now included on its Exo Iris is the first ever FDA 510(k) cleared AI for ...

Time June 18, 2025
arrow
News | Artificial Intelligence

April 16, 2025 — An artificial intelligence (AI) program trained to review images from a common medical test can detect ...

Time April 16, 2025
arrow
News | Ultrasound Women's Health

April 11, 2025 — Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is a safe and accurate diagnostic imaging option for pregnant women ...

Time April 11, 2025
arrow
News | Focused Ultrasound Therapy

March 31, 2025 — Neuropathic pain affects up to 10 percent of the global population and can be challenging to manage ...

Time April 02, 2025
arrow
News | Breast Imaging

March 20, 2025 — GE HealthCare has launched Invenia Automated Breast Ultrasound (ABUS) Premium, the latest 3D ultrasound ...

Time March 21, 2025
arrow
News | X-Ray

March 18, 2025 — GE HealthCare recently announced a collaboration with NVIDIA expanding the existing relationship ...

Time March 19, 2025
arrow
News | Breast Imaging

Feb. 26, 2025 — iCAD, Inc. a provider of clinically proven AI-powered cancer detection solutions, and Koios Medical, a ...

Time March 03, 2025
arrow
News | Focused Ultrasound Therapy

Jan. 8, 2025 - EDAP TMS SA, a supplier of robotic energy-based therapies, has announced that the first patient has been ...

Time January 08, 2025
arrow
Subscribe Now