The "B-ultrasound machines" in hospitals are quietly getting smarter.
In the past, for an abdominal color Doppler ultrasound, doctors had to manually adjust the parameters, repeatedly compare the images, and rely on experience to determine the lesion. Nowadays, an increasing number of ultrasound devices are equipped with "AI brains" that can automatically identify organs, mark lesions, and even provide preliminary diagnostic suggestions.
At this critical juncture when the wave of intelligence is sweeping through the medical imaging industry, United Imaging, the leader of high-end medical equipment in China, is finally about to reveal its last trump card: its full range of ultrasound products.
According to the official disclosure of United Imaging Medical, its new smart ultrasound product will be globally launched on November 12th, and it will showcase multiple innovative imaging devices and its full range of ultrasound products to the world at the RSNA conference in early December. This not only indicates that United Imaging has completed the comprehensive layout of its six major imaging production lines including CT, MR, XR, PET/CT, PET/MR And ultrasound, but also represents a "general offensive" to launch a direct challenge to international giants.
Completing the layout: The ultrasonic layout that has been honed over six years.
In the field of domestic medical imaging equipment, United Imaging has always been an "all-round player". It took it ten years to turn high-end CT, magnetic resonance and other equipment, which were once monopolized by foreign capital, into leading domestic products and even export them overseas. But there is only one blank - ultrasound.
Ultrasound imaging, also known as "B-ultrasound" or "color Doppler ultrasound", is one of the most widely used and frequently examined imaging techniques in clinical practice. Whether it is prenatal check-ups for pregnant women, cardiac assessment, abdominal scans, or interventional guidance, none of them can do without it. The global market size exceeds 10 billion US dollars, and the annual growth rate of the Chinese market remains above 7%.
For this reason, ultrasound has always been a must-win territory for imaging giants. It was not until six years ago that United Imaging officially established its ultrasonic division. Compared with domestic brands like Mindray and Kaili that have been deeply involved for many years, its start was indeed late. But United Imaging's style has never been "small steps and fast runs", but rather "high and high moves".
According to United Imaging's interim report for 2025, the company's total investment in the ultrasound business has approached 300 million yuan, with an estimated total investment of 328 million yuan. After six years of continuous investment, United Imaging's ultrasound business has taken "full coverage, high performance, and digital intelligence" as its core goals, focusing on the construction of industry-leading high-performance imaging platforms, breakthroughs in key sensor technologies, the research and development of new-generation intelligent imaging algorithms, and the optimization of clinical diagnostic processes.
Technical trump card: Self-developed platform and full-line layout.
United Imaging's technological trump card is eye-catching: it has built an expandable ultra-high channel hardware platform and an intelligent software platform. This is like the "chassis" and "brain" of ultrasound equipment, ensuring the quality of basic images while also supporting future advanced clinical functions and scientific research expansion.
The product line design goal is clear: to achieve full coverage of clinical application scenarios, including multiple categories such as ultra-high-end series, mid-range series, portable series, and wireless palm ultrasound, covering fields such as whole-body, cardiology, obstetrics and gynecology, interventional, and clinical imaging. This all-round layout approach is in line with United Imaging's strategy in other imaging equipment fields, aiming to provide hospitals with a "one-stop" imaging solution.
United Imaging has made full preparations in terms of market promotion and sales channels. The company has formulated a systematic market strategy and promotion deployment strategy, and has formed a clear plan in terms of sales channels and product synergy. The ultrasound products will fully rely on the channel resources of the company's existing product lines such as imaging, radiotherapy and molecular imaging to achieve efficient linkage and cross-promotion of the sales system, and form a collaborative advantage of comprehensive imaging solutions.
Market Challenge: A breakout Battle in the Red Ocean.
Despite its strong technical confidence, United Imaging is not facing an easy market environment. According to the estimation of Northeast Securities, the market size of ultrasound imaging equipment bidding and tendering in China will reach 14.3 billion yuan in 2024, which is only 57% of the peak in 2022. The overall unit price has shown a significant downward trend.
The current market landscape can be described as a "tripartite confrontation" : Mindray Medical, with its years of in-depth channel cultivation and comprehensive layout, has firmly held the top position in terms of sales volume and unit volume in public bidding. In the third quarter of this year, Mindray, relying on the continuous growth of its first domestically produced full-body application ultra-high-end ultrasound Resona A20 and ultra-high-end obstetric and gynecological application ultrasound Nuewa A20, saw the proportion of its high-end and ultra-high-end models in domestic ultrasound revenue further increase to 63%.
In terms of foreign brands, GE, Philips and others also hold a considerable share. According to statistics from the High-end Medical Equipment Institute, in the first quarter of 2025, among the TOP 15 brands from the source, domestic brands accounted for 41.57%, and imported ones accounted for 58.43%. Among them, Mindray ranked first with sales of 814 million yuan (accounting for 26.21%), while GE and Philips ranked second and third on the list with sales of 703 million yuan and 634 million yuan respectively.
Apart from Mindray, domestic brands such as Kaili Medical have also completed a comprehensive layout of mid-to-low-end ultrasound. In recent years, Kaili Medical has successively launched high-end color Doppler ultrasound series such as S70/S60/P60, mid-to-high-end product series such as P50 Elite/P40 Elite/P20 Elite, as well as product series covering basic medical care such as P12 Elite/P11 Elite.
Future opportunities: Dual dividends from intelligence and the grassroots market.
Despite numerous challenges, United Imaging holds two unique "trump cards" in its hands: the advantage of channel synergy and the advantage of an intelligent platform.
The CT, MRI and other equipment of United Imaging have been deployed in a large number of top hospitals and primary medical institutions across the country. It can fully utilize the existing and mature sales channels and customer relationships to conduct cross-selling and promote ultrasonic products. This is a unique advantage that other ultrasonic manufacturers do not possess.
Meanwhile, United Imaging emphasizes its "intelligent" ultrasonic platform. If AI-assisted diagnosis, intelligent workflow, and multimodal image fusion can be performed well enough, it will have the opportunity to break free from the quagmire of homogenized price wars and engage in value competition.
According to the latest "Medical Equipment Configuration Standards for Township Health Centers" released by the state (to be implemented in October 2025), the ultrasound diagnostic instrument has been listed as one of the 22 essential devices. This means that in the coming years, the grassroots market will witness a peak in procurement, with huge potential.
Mobile website