Integrity image: Commitment to cleaner ultrasound technology

For many years, traditional ultrasound equipment depends on the use of lead-based piezoelectric crystals to provide high-quality images. Piezoelectric crystals contain up to 65% lead 1 – well above the 0.1% limit established by the European Union Dangerous Substance Restrictions Directive (RoHS).

With the introduction of cleaner technologies, this status quo is changing. It is now possible to meet international standards for the presence of leads, without compromising image quality. However, legacy ultrasound manufacturers, who avoided RoHs' requirements through exemptions, continue to claim that there is no viable alternative. Now, with these exemptions for renewal in 2025, it's time to re-examine compliance through a new accountability lens. and transparency.

Butterfly Network is leading this charge and we're asking health professionals to join us. Continue reading to learn how the new imaging alternatives that do not depend on lead are the future of ultrasound technology.

The hidden risks of lead in ultrasound technology

Piezoelectric crystals, including lead zirconate titanate (PZT), are used to provide high-quality ultrasound images. Unfortunately, PZT's strong piezoelectric properties cost a significant amount of lead. Lead is a dangerous substance linked to multiple health problems, including possible organ damage, fertility complications and development risks in children. In fact, the risks of exposure to lead occur at all stages of a device's life cycle:

Mining and manufacturing: The extraction and production of lead-based components disproportionately affect low-income regions, exposing local communities to long-term environmental and health risks.
Elimination of end of life: Once these lead-containing devices reach the end of their life cycle, they enter the flow of medical waste, where practices of safe disposal is usually unclear or insufficient.

1 in every 3 health units lacks sufficient waste management systems, according to the World Health Organization. 2

The shift to a cleaner future: Butterfly's iQ3 ultrasound

Butterfly Network developed the first commercially available single-body probe ultrasound device that meets RoHS standards without depending on the exemption that allows lead, found in piezoelectric crystals on which most traditional ultrasound systems depend. The iQ3 offers image quality comparable or even better than traditional ultrasound devices, while it contains less than 0.1% lead. 3

Powered by our Ultrasound-on-ChipTM technology, the iQ3 uses microusable ultrasonic capacitive transducers (MCUTs), which integrate thousands of transducer elements directly at the top of the circuits that control them at the cookie level. This innovation packs a massive processing power on a chip the size of a postage stamp without the need for piezoelectric crystals or lead. The iQ3 complies with the RoHS regulations, offering health professionals a high quality alternative to portable ultrasound.

Official representative of Butterfly in Brazil. The ultrasound revolution has already begun. Accuracy that walks with you. Technology from who leads the next medical generation.