By Nick Obradovich
August 5, 2008 - Philips Healthcare has developed a hand-carried cardiac ultrasound with reportedly advanced imaging quality.
The CX50 CompactXtreme hand-carried ultrasound system is set to commercially release in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to Philips.
Primarily designed for echocardiography, the CX50 was made with many of the same features from Philips’ iE33 echocardiography system, providing clinicians a portable ultrasound that can be used for diagnosis, according to Philips.
“We wanted to create a premium-level compact [ultrasound] system,” said Jim Brown, director/clinical/technical marking for Philip Healthcare’s Ultrasound Business Group. “The CX50 is designed to do a top-level echocardiography examination. It’s just not a product that you would just go up and triage; it’s a product that you can go make a diagnosis with and feel very confident.”
Brown said because of the CX50’s portability and image quality, it is ideal for usage at the beside, in clinics that don’t have access to premium level equipment or in the OR for a transesophageal echocardiogram.
“Many labs are now taking their services down to bedside,” said Brown. “How they did that in the past is take their full-sized lab equipment to the bedside, which can become cumbersome. Then, hospitals started taking smaller, hand-held products to the bedside, but giving up some of their diagnostic quality. Now, for the first time, they can take their full-level echocardiography capability to the bedside in a hand-carried unit.”
The company said the system features the PureWave transducer, which produces greater bandwidth and efficiency, yielding better imaging performance. This technology is designed to achieve greater penetration in patients who are traditionally difficult to image, such as obese patients or patients with emphysema. The system also features XRES adaptive imaging that reportedly reduces noise and artifact, producing greater clarity, according to the company.
The laptop-sized CX50 is approximately 14 inches by 14 inches by 2.5 inches and weighs 13 pounds. It features a handle for carrying, and also comes with a cart for mobility and a travel case.
For more information: www.medical.philips.com
March 13, 2026 
