Despite its rather hefty pricetag, the BCF EasiScan has been one of the best-selling cattle scanners in the UK for several years. Though the quality of the scanner is good, perhaps the biggest reason behind its success has simply been the lack of serious competition in this segment of the market.
While for equine vets the need for extreme scanner durability has not been as important – with many opting for laptop-style systems instead of fully portabe – for bovine work, this is rarely a suitable option. The amount of animals that a cattle veterinarian needs to scan in a day means that having a scanner that can cope with the demands and messiness of the job is essential.
For this reason, the number of options available to cattle vets is much more limited, with most opting for either an EasiScan, Tringa Linear or Draminski Animal Profi L. Each scanner had its advantages and disadvantages, and it came down to the vet’s own personal priorities as to which they would choose for their work.
With the launch of the Draminski iScan, however, suddenly all of the main factors were combined in one machine: extreme durability, total portability and practicality, and the highest image quality ever seen from a scanner in its class. What’s more, its extremely reasonable launch pricing of under £6000 made it a no-brainer.
To try to compete with this scanner on price, BCF launched a new, simplified version of their EasiScan called the “EasiScan Lite.” Below is a comparison of the Draminski iScan against the EasiScan Lite.
IMAGE QUALITY
Ultrasound image quality is dependent upon two factors: the machine itself and its transducer. While a good display and electronics with high-quality software are essential in translating the information into a crystal clear image, the amount of information collected is dependent upon the number of elements (crystals) in the probe head and the number of channels to transmit the signal to the scanner.
TRANSDUCER ELEMENTS:
Number of probe elements in EasiScan Lite: 80 elements
Number of probe elements in Draminski iScan: 96 elements
The higher number of elements in the iScan provides greater image clarity, and allows for easier imaging and greater detail seen in structures. In addition, the iScan’s probe frequency gives a greater frequency range (4-9MHz versus 4.5 – 8.5), giving the scanner greater penetration where necessary but also the ability to achieve greater image detail at higher frequencies (e.g. on horse tendons).
NUMBER OF CHANNELS:
Number of channels in EasiScan Lite: 10 channels
Number of channels in Draminski iScan: 16 channels
The greater numner of channels in the iScan means that more data from the probe can be transmitted to the main unit, providing a more detailed image. 
PRACTICALITY
Draminski scanners have always been made with the farm environment in mind, and the iScan is no exception. Both the EasiScan Lite and iScan are splash-proof, but the iScan has the added advantage of being able to be hosed down after use.
Both scanners weigh the same and both are very easy to attach around the neck or waist. Battery life is longer than your average ultrasound machine on both scanners given that they are made for use out in the field, with the EasiScan offering four hours and the iScan an hour longer with five hours of working time per battery.
There is a significant difference in charging time, with the EasiScan Lite batteries taking 5 hours to charge whereas the iScan takes half this time.
FUNCTIONALITY
As a slimmed down version of the full EasiScan, the EasiScan Lite falls down on functionality. While the EasiScan offers internal memory for 100 images, the Lite offers none at all. The iScan, by comparison, has sufficient memory for up to 200 images, and is also capable of storing cineloop footage which neither of the BCF systems can do.
SUMMARY
The Draminski iScan and BCF EasiScan Lite both represent excellent and cost-effective options for cattle veterinarians. BCF machines have had the upper hand in the cattle market for a while given the lack of serious competition, but with the iScan being based upon entirely new technology, it is difficult for the EasiScan series to compete.
As an attempt to compete on price, BCF have launched their new ‘Lite’ version of the EasiScan, but this lacks the functionality and image quality necessary for it to offer a serious alternative to the iScan at the present time. A fairer comparison would be between the iScan and the full EasiScan, but again, with the iScan’s much newer technology and greater versatility (the full EasiScan cannot, for example, save any cine clips), the EasiScan has little to offer the discerning cattle or equine veterinarian to justify its much higher pricetag.
BCF should be feeling the need to respond to the questions Draminski now asks of them, but if the general level of complacency reported by UK and Irish customers alike is to be believed, we could have another few years to wait yet.
USEFUL SOURCES
Official UK & Irish Distributor of the Draminski iScan: Vet Image Solutions, Bromley, Kent. Ph: 0208 432 9802.
Official UK & Irish Distributor of the EasiScan and EasiScan Lite: BCF Technology, Livingston, Scotland. Ph: 01506 460 023.
Useful Websites: vetimagesolutions.co.uk, draminski.com, uk-ireland.bcftechnology.com.