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BURLINGTON, Mass. & NAIROBI, Kenya--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 19, 2022--
Butterfly Network, Inc. (NYSE: BFLY), a digital health company transforming care through the power of handheld, whole-body ultrasound, today announced the completion of phase one of its deployment and training program in Kenya. The program brought 500 Butterfly iQ+ devices and ultrasound training to local mid-level healthcare practitioners and was part of a larger effort – supported by a $5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – to equip 1,000 healthcare workers in Sub-Saharan Africa with Butterfly iQ+, the world’s only handheld, whole-body ultrasound probe to advance maternal and fetal health.
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The 10 cohorts, comprising 514 practitioners in total, who have completed training and now have the skills and equipment to bring Butterfly iQ+ back to across Kenya. (Photo: Business Wire)
The first-of-its-kind program in Kenya, previously announced and launched in September 2022, represents an important step toward improving worldwide access to essential medical imaging. Designed as an exemplary global health delivery intervention, the program meaningfully measured the impact that mid-level practitioners can have on maternal-fetal care when provided the right digital health tools, paired with scalable in-person training.
10 cohorts, comprising 514 practitioners in total, have completed training and now have the skills and equipment to bring free point-of-care ultrasound assessment back to 224 public health facilities across eight Kenyan counties, as well as two Urban facilities and three training institutions in Nairobi. These facilities, predominantly in rural settings and without access to broadband, are the safety net for hundreds of thousands of patients in the community, the majority of whom never before received ultrasound during their pregnancy. Initial data signify an impressive adoption rate, as demonstrated by tens of thousands of scans completed since the program launch, and a one-month post-training survey finding that over 90% of respondents have identified a high-risk condition using the Butterfly iQ+.
“Maternal mortality from pregnancy and childbirth-related complications still occur at exceedingly high rates in Sub-Saharan Africa due to limited access to standard resources for maternal fetal care,” said Dr. Sachita Shah, Sr. Director of Global Health, Butterfly Network, Inc. “Witnessing such interest and fast adoption of our advanced, digital device in these clinics has been inspirational. Together with our local university partners and the Global Ultrasound Institute, we have empowered mid-level practitioners with the technology, skills and clinical integration knowledge to save lives.”
“The program has been a remarkable exhibition of the power ultrasound information offers when made portable, accessible, and usable through advanced technology and focused, hands-on training,” said Dr. Kevin Bergman, CEO & Co-Founder of the Global Ultrasound Institute (GUSI), the partnering organization that executed the in-country training. “Within just a few days of receiving a Butterfly and going through the training, participants were in clinics identifying and taking action on high-risk conditions, such as multiple gestation, breech presentation, and placental abnormalities. It’s the insights unlocked through ultrasound that allowed lifesaving interventions to be made confidently and early in the course of care.”
As part of the work to enable long-term, scalable impact and efforts under the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant, Butterfly accelerated the launch of new maternal and fetal health materials available within the Butterfly iQ+ mobile application. All of the distributed Butterfly devices and tablets were pre-loaded with educational material to provide continued learning and advancement content at no cost.
“At Butterfly, we are on a mission to transform care through easy-to-use, portable and versatile ultrasound technology to benefit all patients worldwide. We see our work in the area of maternal and fetal health as fundamental to our continued impact toward better clinical assessment overall,” said Darius Shahida, Chief Strategy Officer & Chief Business Development Officer, Butterfly Network, Inc. “We are proud of and confident in our work in Kenya, which will serve as a prototype that can be leveraged and optimized to continue improving access to imaging in other limited resource settings.”
The company expects to launch the second phase of its deployment under the same Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant in the first half of 2023, with plans to bring an additional 500 Butterfly iQ+ devices to healthcare practitioners in South Africa.
To learn more or to get involved with Butterfly’s global health program, visit: https://www.butterflynetwork.com/global-health. For more on Butterfly’s technology, use cases, or to find a demo of Butterfly iQ+, visit: https://www.butterflynetwork.com.
About Butterfly Network
Founded by Dr. Jonathan Rothberg in 2011 and listed on the New York Stock Exchange through a business combination with Longview Acquisition Corp., Butterfly created the world's first handheld, single probe whole-body ultrasound system using semiconductor technology, the Butterfly iQ+. Butterfly's mission is to democratize medical imaging and contribute to the aspiration of global health equity, making high-quality ultrasound affordable, easy-to-use, globally accessible, and intelligently connected, including for the 4.7 billion people around the world lacking access to ultrasound. Through its proprietary Ultrasound-on-Chip™ technology, Butterfly is paving the way for earlier detection and remote management of health conditions around the world. The Butterfly iQ+ can be purchased today by trained healthcare practitioners in areas including, but not limited to, parts of Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America; to learn more about available countries, visit: butterflynetwork.com/choose-your-country.
Butterfly iQ+ is a prescription device intended for trained healthcare professionals only.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company’s actual results may differ from its expectations, estimates, and projections and, consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as “expect,” “estimate,” “project,” “budget,” “forecast,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “believes,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” and similar expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions) are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the Company’s expectations with respect to financial results, future performance, development of products and services, and the size and potential growth of current or future markets for its products and services. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Most of these factors are outside the Company’s control and are difficult to predict. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to: the impact of COVID-19 on the Company’s business, including issues relating to Omicron or other variants; the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the business combination; the Company’s ability to grow and manage growth profitably; the success, cost and timing of the Company’s product and service development activities; the potential attributes and benefits of the Company’s products and services; the degree to which our products and services are accepted by healthcare practitioners and patients for their approved uses; the Company’s ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval for its products, and any related restrictions and limitations of any approved product; the Company’s ability to identify, in-license or acquire additional technology; the Company’s ability to maintain its existing license, manufacture, supply and distribution agreements; manufacturing and supply of the Company’s products; the Company’s ability to compete with other companies currently marketing or engaged in the development of products and services that the Company is currently marketing or developing; changes in applicable laws or regulations; the size and growth potential of the markets for the Company’s products and services, and its ability to serve those markets, either alone or in partnership with others; the pricing of the Company’s products and services and reimbursement for medical procedures conducted using its products and services; the Company’s estimates regarding expenses, revenue, capital requirements and needs for additional financing; the Company’s financial performance; the Company’s ability to raise financing in the future; and other risks and uncertainties indicated from time to time in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K or in subsequent filings that it makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company cautions that the foregoing list of factors is not exclusive. The Company cautions you not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company does not undertake or accept any obligation or undertake to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in the Company’s expectations or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
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CONTACT: Butterfly Network:Media
Liz Learned
Media@butterflynetwork.comInvestors
Heather Getz
investors@butterflynetwork.com
KEYWORD: AFRICA KENYA UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA MASSACHUSETTS
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: TECHNOLOGY MOBILE/WIRELESS HEALTH CONSUMER PRACTICE MANAGEMENT MEDICAL DEVICES SOFTWARE MANAGED CARE GENERAL HEALTH HEALTH TECHNOLOGY HARDWARE WOMEN SEMICONDUCTOR NURSING
SOURCE: Butterfly Network, Inc.
Copyright Business Wire 2022.
PUB: 12/19/2022 08:00 AM/DISC: 12/19/2022 08:02 AM
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