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Diagnostic ultrasound, also known as sonography, is an important method of medical imaging.

Ultrasound is most commonly used to monitor a pregnant woman and her developing baby, but it can also be used to evaluate blood flow, diagnose diseases and monitor tumors and inflammation.聽

Now, a Tucson startup is taking ultrasound on the road with its unique mobile ultrasound platform, which can work from an ordinary smartphone using a simple peripheral device.

鈥淚 think that cell phones 鈥� and mobile devices in general 鈥� are the real equalizer of our time,鈥� said Courtney Williams, co-founder and CEO of Emagine Solutions Technology, the company behind the.

鈥淩esearch shows that there are more cell phones than toilets in the world and that mobile devices are multiplying faster than people,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 my belief that we can really that everybody has in their hand in order to improve health outcomes for people and patients everywhere.鈥�

The technology is simple, she said. A clinician can download the VistaScan app, plug in a compatible ultrasound probe (there are three currently) and start scanning immediately.

鈥淭his is basically a doctor鈥檚 first line of defense before having to go to one of the larger machines for further analysis,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淰istaScan is the ideal quick-look tool鈥� whether it鈥檚 at the bedside, in the clinic or in transit, or anywhere in between. If a patient鈥檚 condition needs to be assessed, this can do the job as the initial quick look.鈥�

VistaScan is especially useful for finding quick answers about the health of a mother and fetus during pregnancy, Williams said.

鈥淔or example, quickly assessing the fetal position, checking fetal heart rate, things like that,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also great in an emergency trauma situation, where you need to determine whether there鈥檚 fluid in the body, such as between the kidney and the liver, in an area called Morison鈥檚 pouch.鈥�

At Emagine Solutions Technology 鈥� a certified Women鈥檚 Business Enterprise 鈥� Williams said she is on the business side, while her co-founder, Jose Juarez, is the technical expert.

Juarez formerly worked as a software engineer at companies like Roche and Philips, and his contacts at those places proved essential in the company鈥檚 early days of development.

鈥淲e were able to get a good start and build a team pretty quickly,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淚n addition, we joined the. We鈥檙e based, and they鈥檙e at the Tech Park, and through that incubator we鈥檝e gotten a lot of amazing mentorship 鈥� access to events such as learning the regulatory structure and understanding grant writing and big things like that.鈥�

The support provided by the Center for Innovation introduced Emagine Solutions Technology to numerous opportunities for prestigious grant funding from across the state, she said. Earlier in 2019, the company won the nonprofit grant as well as the Cox Get Started business competition from Cox Communications.

鈥淭hat was the impetus to be able to continue with our startup and move it forward,鈥� Williams said.

The most difficult aspect of getting a off the ground is understanding the regulatory structure and ensuring the company is prepared for the constantly-changing regulatory ecosystem distinct to the United States Food and Drug Administration, Williams said.

It was also challenging to find willing participants to test the technology for usability and give feedback during the initial development phase, she said. The company is still working on those issues, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Williams said an emergency physician from Banner Medical Center in Tucson brought an early version of VistaScan to Uganda, where he met a sick patient who other doctors were having trouble diagnosing. The Tucson doctor pulled out the mobile ultrasound device and soon discovered the patient had gallstones, resulting in the patient receiving life-saving care.

But it takes more than anecdotal evidence to market the technology in the U.S.

鈥淭he precursor to commercializing the technology is getting our FDA clearance, and we鈥檙e in the middle of that process currently,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淎s soon as we hear back from the FDA, and as soon as they give us the go-ahead, we鈥檒l be able to launch to the individuals who already signed up for our waitlist.鈥�

Arizona has provided the perfect 鈥渆ntrepreneurial ecosystem鈥� to launch the startup alongside countless other startups in the state, she said.

鈥淢y favorite thing has been meeting other people who are also on their own entrepreneurial journeys and being able to learn from them; and we can share battle stories and understand how to move our ventures forward together,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 a very collaborative environment here in Arizona 鈥� 鈥� and being able to have a foot in both places and learn from experts in the field that we can find right here in our backyard has been my favorite part of the venture so far.鈥�

Now, Williams said she hopes her invention will take off and help patients around the world.

鈥淢y grand vision for this is that VistaScan becomes the number-one tool in the world to do quick-look ultrasounds, and that, hopefully, we can impact patient outcomes not just in the back of an ambulance but also [with regard to] maternal health especially,鈥� she said.

鈥� the maternal mortality rate in the U.S. more than doubled from 1991 to 2014, according to the Harvard Business Review. That means more than 700 American women die of complications related to pregnancy each year, and experts say two-thirds of those deaths are preventable.

Williams was inspired to create her mobile ultrasound system after seeing her sister bed-bound for months during a high-risk pregnancy, according to her statement on the VistaScan website.

鈥淟uckily my sister and her baby are healthy and happy today, but not everyone is so fortunate,鈥� she wrote.

Williams said Juarez, her co-founder and close friend, was born in Argentina and was inspired to join her after he saw firsthand the challenges patients and clinicians in low-resource regions face trying to understand patient maladies without access to an ultrasound system.

鈥淚t鈥檚 2019; there are still 300,000 women dying from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth, and that鈥檚 happening in our country, too, with one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the developed world,鈥� Williams said.

鈥淭he idea of, especially to rural communities, with the use of our tool 鈥� I really do think that we can save lives and help outcomes improve.鈥�