The global market for Medical Ultrasound Equipment is projected to reach a revised size of US$8.6billion by the year 2027 after slumping by -4.3% in 2020. With all elective surgeries cancelled & postponed there has been a significant drop in imaging procedures. CT & MRI imaging for cancer in outpatient clinics & primary care especially is bearing the brunt of the disruptions. As hospitals reopen for elective examinations a surge of outpatient imaging procedures is anticipated. Safety precautions & cleaning protocols in the context of COVID-19 will however leave imaging centers & radiology department bottlenecked in terms of patient throughput. Increase in chest screening as part of COVID-19 management is a positive trend in the market but is only partially offsetting the decline in routine imaging. The portable nature of ultrasound systems eliminates the requirement to move COVID-19 patients for medical imaging, which considerably reduces contamination risk. In addition, Lung Ultrasound (LUS) is perceived as an effective medical imaging modality as COVID-19 primarily targets the respiratory system of infected people.

Medical practitioners are also leveraging the technique for diagnosing and monitoring other conditions related to the heart, airways and abdomen, making ultrasound an indispensable modality during COVID-19. The technique has done a commendable job during earlier outbreaks such as Ebola, allowing medical professionals to deliver patient care while reducing spread of the infection.LUS along with computed tomography (CT) and plain chest radiography (CXR) is widely used in hospitals for chest imaging, which requires imaging modalities that are reproducible, reliable and quick. In addition, the perfect modality needs to deliver high specificity and sensitivity while ensuring the procedure at the bedside. Studies on chest radiographs of COVID-19 patients have revealed that CT along with LUS offers superior sensitivity than CXR, resulting in enhanced diagnosis. Thoracic CT imaging is the most suitable screening option to detect COVID-19 as it offers better performance than PCR, allowing timely detection, containment and management of patients. On the other hand, CT holds limited availability and is associated with decontamination issues. In addition, moving patients for CT holds the risk of spreading the infection. These issues are driving various healthcare facilities to embrace LUS to assess COVID-19 infection.

The method is affordable, portable and allows clinicians to perform the process at the bedside. In addition, the direct association of COVID-19 with the respiratory system makes LUS a perfect option to diagnose respiratory and other conditions like acute cardiomyopathy, pneumothorax, acute pulmonary embolism, pleural effusions and superadded or secondary infection. LUS reduces the reliance on CT, enhances risk stratification and allows clinicians to maintain isolation protocols to mitigate the containment risk. LUS can be effectively used for initial diagnosis of the COVID-19 infection, assessing severity and managing the disease. LUS also offers an effective and non-invasive technique for monitoring extra vascular lung water in COVID-19 patients to assess the requirement of diuretic therapy. Moreover, LUS can be used with echocardiography to measure stroke volume along with fluid responsiveness for diagnostic accuracy as well as supporting the fluid therapy.