Which ultrasound machine to choose/avoid?

Re: Which ultrasound machine to choose/avoid?

Frances Barr — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:44:18 GMT

I'd definitely suggest that you try out several machines before making up your mind. If you decide your budget and decide what you want the machine to do, then ring up a selection of companies and ask them to bring along something from their range to show you that they think would fit the bill. You can then get an idea of how helpful the company is likely to be after-sales, how portable or otherwide the machine is, how user-friendly the controls are, and what the image looks like. There's a lot of personal preference involved.

As a general guide I'd say that you need around a 7.5MHz probe for cats and small dogs, and a 5MHz is needed for the deeper bits of bigger dogs. It may help if you know that you're more interested in abdomens or more interested in hearts, as some machines are designed primarily for one or t'other although you should be able to look at both.

Re: Which ultrasound machine to choose/avoid?

plantagenet — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:44:27 GMT

Theres a lot to be said for a portable - mine was supplied imotek. Really good scanner but its great to be able to take it to whelpings - doesn't half impress the owners too!

Re: Which ultrasound machine to choose/avoid?

Sara Ramsey — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:33:43 GMT

I did wonder about that but I think it is budget dependent, am I right in thinking they are more expensive?

Re: Which ultrasound machine to choose/avoid?

Rob Loxley — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:29:58 GMT

Will a multi-frequency probe not do?