Ecton Case
Individual Case Study on echnology a Heartbeat Away: Ecton, Inc.
How does the Ecton machine differ from the existing technology in the market? What characteristics/applications does it have that are similar to that of conventional machine? What characteristics/applications are different?
a) Difference:
Ecton machine is compact, portable and easy to use.
Lower cost ($38,000, less than half the price of the low end full scale machines then on the market).
Lower technical quality in most modalities than conventional instruments.
Not performance-competitive and offered less versatility and fewer features.
Offer the modalities in different way. Some are approaching the best, some are between the level of eco lab and users in the alternative markets.
b) Similar applications or features:
Safety: due to the usage of ultrasound technology, they are both safer than radioactive ways like X-ray.
Excellent image quality: when Ecton’s instrument was used with an agent that had been injected via catheter directly into the heart, Ecton’s image clarity was very close to that provided by the established competitors’ machines.
Echo Agents: they all share the development of contrast echocardiography using “contrast echo agents” which reflect clearer images of blood flow.
c) Different applications:
Leading manufacturers delivered sophisticated new echo modalities, which means additional features and functions, which enable physicians to view and learn more about the body tissues they are investigating.
Hewlett Packard had led the way in producing sophisticated edge detection algorithms, which allowed the user to automatically trace the internal border of the cardiac chambers and then to process the successive frames to obtain biomechanical characteristics of the heart.
ATL and Acuson had also introduced Doppler innovations such as “color Doppler power” and “color Doppler energy,” which allowed users to display the power of the returning Doppler signal in
How does the Ecton machine differ from the existing technology in the market? What characteristics/applications does it have that are similar to that of conventional machine? What characteristics/applications are different?
a) Difference:
Ecton machine is compact, portable and easy to use.
Lower cost ($38,000, less than half the price of the low end full scale machines then on the market).
Lower technical quality in most modalities than conventional instruments.
Not performance-competitive and offered less versatility and fewer features.
Offer the modalities in different way. Some are approaching the best, some are between the level of eco lab and users in the alternative markets.
b) Similar applications or features:
Safety: due to the usage of ultrasound technology, they are both safer than radioactive ways like X-ray.
Excellent image quality: when Ecton’s instrument was used with an agent that had been injected via catheter directly into the heart, Ecton’s image clarity was very close to that provided by the established competitors’ machines.
Echo Agents: they all share the development of contrast echocardiography using “contrast echo agents” which reflect clearer images of blood flow.
c) Different applications:
Leading manufacturers delivered sophisticated new echo modalities, which means additional features and functions, which enable physicians to view and learn more about the body tissues they are investigating.
Hewlett Packard had led the way in producing sophisticated edge detection algorithms, which allowed the user to automatically trace the internal border of the cardiac chambers and then to process the successive frames to obtain biomechanical characteristics of the heart.
ATL and Acuson had also introduced Doppler innovations such as “color Doppler power” and “color Doppler energy,” which allowed users to display the power of the returning Doppler signal in