Our organization has been following handheld ultrasounds for years, and have thoroughly tested several models. The butterfly is by far the most cost effective and best value hand-held ultrasound. If you are traveling short-term and are doing gross ultrasound examinations, we highly recommend the Butterfly. However there are several things to consider: 1. If you are a heavy ultrasound user and doing detailed examinations (OB/GYN, Gallbladder, Ocular, Nerve Blocks, etc) then we be warned that the resolution is moderately poor compared to laptop ultrasounds. It is certainly useable for large fluid collections, pregnancy screening, and central line access, but the resolution is very much inferior to standard ultrasound machines. Battery life is also limited to 1-2 hours, and the probe does get quite hot quickly. While we recommend every missionary team have at least one butterfly, if you are doing procedures and requiring real diagnostic capability, the Butterfly will not suffice for longer-term missionaries and shared service needs.  

Our organization has been following handheld ultrasounds for years, and have thoroughly tested several models. The butterfly is by far the most cost effective and best value hand-held ultrasound. If you are traveling short-term and are doing gross ultrasound examinations, we highly recommend the Butterfly. However there are several things to consider: 1. If you are a heavy ultrasound user and doing detailed examinations (OB/GYN, Gallbladder, Ocular, Nerve Blocks, etc) then we be warned that the resolution is moderately poor compared to laptop ultrasounds. It is certainly useable for large fluid collections, pregnancy screening, and central line access, but the resolution is very much inferior to standard ultrasound machines. Battery life is also limited to 1-2 hours, and the probe does get quite hot quickly. While we recommend every missionary team have at least one butterfly, if you are doing procedures and requiring real diagnostic capability, the Butterfly will not suffice for longer-term missionaries and shared service needs.

The Evis Exera 190s are the top of the line endoscopy processors and the most common newer machines. They are very expensive machines and would not serve well overseas. We usually exchange these machines for up to 3-4 endoscopy systems. Both processors and scopes are inordinately expensive ranging from 15-30k for just one scope. 

The latest machines do have higher resolution, but it is not life changing by any means. The best devices for missions are often not the latest and greatest, but are common, durable, and inexpensive.