Five Specifications That Decide If a System Fits

A specification sheet runs to dozens of lines, but only five items decide whether the system can actually do the job. The rest are bonuses.

1. Probe type and frequency. The probe decides what you can see; the frequency decides how deep. Convex for abdominal and obstetric work, linear for superficial and vascular, phased array for cardiac, endocavity for gynaecology and urology. Higher frequency means shallower but sharper; lower frequency means deeper but softer. Get this wrong and everything downstream is wrong.

2. Imaging modes. At minimum B and B/M; vascular and cardiac work require Color, PDI and PW. A claim of "colour display" does not mean Doppler flow processing is present.

3. Penetration depth and port count. Depth must cover the deepest examination your department performs; the number of ports decides how many probes can be connected at once and whether the system can be expanded later.

4. Measurement and recording. Whether basic measurements — length, area, circumference, angle, heart rate — are complete, and whether images can be stored, exported and printed as a report. This is the item most often skipped at purchase and most often complained about in use.

5. Service terms. Warranty period, response time and the number of years spare parts will be supplied. A system is used for five to eight years, so this item weighs no less than any specification.

Turn the five into a technical requirements sheet and tick them off one by one; it is far more effective than comparing "higher resolution" claims on brochures.