2 ms·

For our first child, I was considering building a DIY ultrasound machine, since I had several friends doing their final MSc project on ultrasound hardware and s

For our first child, I was considering building a DIY ultrasound machine, since I had several friends doing their final MSc project on ultrasound hardware and software. I came as far as setting up a shopping list, where I assumed a high-end laptop and Matlab with all toolboxes for free, together with some code from my friends. Still I ended up north of $3k for hardware, and several hundred projected work-hours. A lot of the cost comes from needing 50-100 transducers to get a useable image. OTOH, the single transducer doppler ultrasound devices that's used in early pregnancy to hear the baby heartbeat can be had for $30 on ebay.

jjoonathan 10y ago
> A lot of the cost comes from needing 50-100 transducers to get a useable image. For-parts ultrasound arrays (which are usually broken because of obsolescence, frayed wires, cracked cases, bent connectors, etc, rather than destroyed ceramics) cost tens of dollars on ebay. But I agree with your overall point: hardware hacking ain't cheap. A $3k bench is north of desperation territory but still a fraction of what entry-level EEs get at the company I work for, and we're not in any line of business that would be considered "performance" by test equipment standards.