The Q9 is a Great Value with Solid 4D ImagingChison Q9 Portable Ultrasound Review 4D

About a year ago, I reviewed this system and I discussed the great value of the Chison Q9 ultrasound machine for imaging and 4D.

I also mentioned that Chison will continue to update and improve the Q9, and now I’m updating the review to cover its improvements, which were especially good with the 4D package.If you haven’t read my first review on the Q9… skip it. This review is similar and adds the latest updates.

The Chison Q9 portable ultrasound machine finds itself in an increasingly crowded ultrasound market for the mid-range system. In fact, there are many great machines in this price range, each of which has its own strengths and weaknesses.

As you’ll see in the video, I like the Q9. There are a lot of great things to say about it, particularly for 4D, OB/GYN, MSK, Orthopedic, Superficial, and Small Parts imaging. Its 4D is the best in this price range and the obvious choice for anyone looking for a new system, with warranty, and solid 4D. More about the Q9 after the video.

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Chison Q9 Feature Review

The Q9 has a broad range of capabilities. As mentioned above, it performs all general imaging, as most ultrasound systems do, but also features an 18MHz linear transducer that has excellent superficial imaging.

4D obstetric “babyface” imaging has really improved over the last year, and I cover its features and sample images in the video. There will also be an upcoming video that compares the Q9 to the GE Voluson i portable ultrasound.

Chison Q9 Virtual HD 4D HDliveIt also features “VirtualHD” ultrasound technology for 4D imaging, which is similar to GE’s HDLive 4D imaging on its latest versions. The image on the left is from one of our customers… this is not a marketing image from Chison. Clearly it is a capable machine with cool VirtualHD.

And as mentioned before, Chison provides updates to its 4D package, so it will continue to get better.

The best part is that Chison allows me to work with them directly on improving the 4D quality. Their responsiveness has been impressive and it’s made this a much better 4D machine for our customers.

In other modalities, the Q9 is a capable cardiac diagnostic ultrasound machine, but not designed for someone doing full-time cardiac. This is a good add-on as a feature, but it’s not where the Q9 really shines. But note, as I did in the video, that this machine is continually updated and improved.

The user interface is solid and relatively straightforward. It runs on a Windows platform and has similar operation to GE’s portable machines… except that exporting images is a lot easier. Our customers typically say very good things about the user-friendliness of the machine, although this can be a subjective opinion as well.

Chison Q9 High Frequency Linear Transducer MSK OrthopedicThe Q9 has many advanced features, as well as what’s now considered standard on mid-range machines and up. This includes:

This wide range of features also allows this ultrasound unit to be considered for point-of-care and bedside ultrasound uses.

Q9 Reliability

All ultrasound machines have their issues. But this has been one of the most stable and least problematic portable ultrasound equipment we sell. That’s not always the case with new ultrasound machines. Every manufacturer has its problems, but they’re few and far-between with the Q9.

When I first viewed the Chison Q9 in early 2014 I was impressed. It has since been updated with the 4D functionality, and they’ve improved general functionality based on recommendations I’ve made to make it more user-friendly and more efficient. They’ve done a great job.

Is the Chison Q9 the right system for you? Call one of our sales experts at Providian Medical today at (440) 459-1625 or contact us for a free quote.

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Transcript to Chison Q9 Portable Ultrasound Review

The Q9 is Chison’s entry into the popular mid-range market, but this one’s got a twist. 4D obstetric imaging. But is it any good?
Hi, I’m Brian Gill with Providian Medical, and this is the Chison Q9 portable ultrasound machine. The Q9 is a mid-range portable ultrasound machine that has entered as another strong competitor in this very popular and competitive mid-range market.
In this price range, you’ll find there’s a nice mix of new and refurbished ultrasound machines available, and they all look quite similar on paper.
This includes the Chison Q9, the SonoScape S8 Expert, Sonosite M-Turbo, and the GE Logiq E. Now while the imaging features are all similar, each machine does stand out in its own way.
All these machines have solid imaging technologies and solid imaging overall, and these technologies include speckle reduction imaging, compound imaging, auto image optimization, tissue Doppler, needle visualization, and other technologies that have rolled down to this mid-range market that would once be considered very advanced technologies.
However, the Q9 stands out in a few key areas.
I’ll get to those in just a moment, but first, I want to address the major standout feature, 4D imaging. On the Q9, the 4D actually works. I’ve used it many times. I haven’t found anything in this price range that can compete.
Now, I’m not saying that this is better than a much more expensive Voluson E8– it’s not. That’s not to say that some don’t love it. This is an actual quote from one of our customers, and we did not ask for it or pay them for it.
She said, “If this was available when I purchased my Voluson E8, I would have purchased this. The frame rate is a little slower, but excellent 4D.” And she sent along these images to demonstrate what she was talking about.
These are actual images taken by her, not some marketing department. Now as you can see, this has the ability to get excellent images. But don’t get me wrong, in my opinion, the Q9 is not a Voluson E8. And most of the time, it will not perform like one.
It has the ability to get great images, as you’ve just see, but doesn’t have nearly as many tools to optimize the image.
And in general, the E8, which is much more expensive, is just better. I think most will find what I think, in that it does a really good job and it is the best alternative out there in this price range. Now the people who have purchased this for its 4D capabilities purchased it for these reasons.
One, it’s one of the few portable ultrasound machines that can actually provide a good 4D image. Second, the Q9 is offered new, not refurbished, and has a multi-year warranty. Three, there is nothing in this price range that has quality 4D capabilities. Four, it has virtual HD, also known as 5D or HD live, and it can be really, really cool or a little creepy.
So the only competitor here really is the GE Voluson I, but to match the similar price, you have to purchase the Voluson I refurbished, and you don’t get an extended warranty. OK, enough about the 4D and its competitors.
Another place the Chison Q9 9 really shines is superficial imaging. With an 18 megahertz pro, it stands out for MSK musculoskeletal imaging, and other such superficial imaging needs. In my experience and customers comments, the abdominal imaging was better than the competitors, and image quality is competitive for vascular and small parts imaging.
However, as with most portable ultrasound machines in this market, it takes work to get good images for deeper tissue, particularly for color and pulsed wave Doppler. But this is not unique to the Q9.
The Q9 is also a shared service ultrasound machine with ECG and CW Doppler capabilities. Now I would not call this a strong cardiac machine. It is fine for people doing limited cardiac studies, but if you’re looking to do a lot of cardiac, I don’t recommend this at this time. That’s not to say it won’t be better in the future.
OK, so all that being said, here’s another quote from one of our customers. We didn’t ask for it. We didn’t pay them for it, et cetera, but they are doing cardiac and vascular studies with a Q9. She said, “I absolutely love the Chison Q9. I looked into and even test-drove some other models, but the first images I saw with the Q9 blew me away. Our specialist commented on several things, including how well the presets worked, how clear and artifact-free the image quality was, how impressed he was with the echocardiographic capabilities of the machine, and how convenient the keyboard design was.”
This is not to say you’ll love the cardiac capabilities, even though they did. It is very good in this price range, but if you’re used to a solid cardiac ultrasound machine, you’re going to have to really adjust your standards when you go to this.
Remember, this is a portable machine that costs way less than a true cardiac machine. A portable machine, especially in this mid-range price, simply will not perform like one of the more expensive machines. If it could, Chison would be charging at least double the price for this machine.
Sorry, but that’s just economics for you. All things considered, it’s really hard to argue against the value of the Chison Q9, but is it the right portable ultrasound machine for you? Talk to one of our sales experts at Providian Medical today, who will guide you through the steps in deciding whether this portable ultrasound machine is the right one for you, or if maybe you should consider something else.
I’m Brian Gill with Providian Medical, and that’s what you need to know about the Chison Q9 portable shared service ultrasound machine. Thanks for watching.