Samsung’s new ultrasound system wants to make every analysis consistent

Samsung Healthcare this week unveiled a new ultrasound system designed to improve diagnostic accuracy and efficiency.

The system, named R20, finally brings the full weight of Samsung Electronics’ AI and semiconductors into an ultrasound platform, Tracy Bury, chief commercial officer and vice president of global growth initiatives at Samsung Healthcare, said in an interview Tuesday at the Radiological Society of North America’s annual conference in Chicago.

The R20 system combines Samsung’s imaging hardware with improved beamforming software, resulting in sharper, more consistent images, she said. It supports a wide range of imaging use cases, such as abdomen, thyroid, musculoskeletal, vascular, breast, gynecology and urology.

The product includes AI tools for real-time ultrasound guidance to standardize how exams are performed, regardless of the user’s experience level, Bury noted. Reducing this variability is essential because ultrasound quality is highly operator dependent.

“For an X-ray, it’s like taking a picture. Even though photographers have different skill levels, they will always get some sort of image. Whereas with ultrasound, I liken it to painting a picture. If you don’t have the right skill level, no one may even know what they’re looking at,” Bury explained.

Greater consistency means more accurate diagnoses, fewer repeat analyzes – and potentially faster treatment of patients, she noted.

She also highlighted the R20’s AI tools for diagnostic assistance. For example, the system can help users detect suspicious liver or breast lesions live during analysis.

This feature helps users of all experience levels identify suspicious results during analysis, which is especially important in our post-pandemic reality, in which many experienced sonographers have retired and new users have entered the field.

One physician user described the system as a “game changer” and “a fundamentally different way of scanning,” according to Bury. She said this type of feedback is meaningful, especially in a field where ultrasound quality has always depended heavily on individual skills.

The R20 system’s real-time guidance could improve ultrasound consistency on a large scale if widely adopted, illustrating how the technology can complement, rather than replace, a clinician’s judgment.

Photo: Various photographs, Getty Images