Imagine stepping into a clinic where the doctor can pull an ultrasound device out of their pocket, get immediate imaging information, and make a confident diagnosis—no waiting, no guessing. This is no longer a futuristic vision; it’s quickly becoming the new norm. As we approach 2025, I predict we’ll reach a historic crossroads in healthcare, as point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) technology moves from early adoption to becoming a standard tool for every clinician.

Crossing the Chasm: 2025 and the Mainstreaming of POCUS

The 2025 I envision is one in which we are no longer talking about early adopters. We’re entering a period where POCUS becomes mainstream, poised to be a standard diagnostic tool used by all clinicians in their routine assessments. I believe this year represents the moment when the healthcare industry crosses the chasm—a pivotal point where early adopters give way to the majority, and POCUS becomes as essential as the stethoscope in every doctor’s toolkit. With the POCUS market projected to grow from $1.32 billion in 2024 to $4.07 billion by 2032, the revolution in healthcare imaging is undeniable. This is not just a trend—it’s a transformation of how healthcare will be delivered.

Adoption in Medical Education: Preparing the Next Generation of Clinicians

The year 2024 was already a landmark year for ultrasound in medical education, with the vast majority of medical schools training their students on POCUS. By integrating POCUS curriculum into medical education, we are fostering a new generation of clinicians who view ultrasound as a core competency. This shift has the power to change how physicians approach diagnostics, making ultrasound an integral part of everyday patient care across specialties. Much like Apple built loyalty with students learning on their laptops, the widespread adoption of all-in-one, handheld ultrasound technology in medical schools will fundamentally reshape the way future doctors assess patients, further accelerating its role in mainstream healthcare. Physicians of the future are POCUS users. And that trend will only accelerate in 2025 with new AI-powered training applications providing the necessary personalized guidance and feedback to make one-probe-per-student training models feasible.

AI as an Amplifier: Empowering Clinicians, Not Replacing Them

In 2025, I foresee AI also moving from the vision board to more and more real-world applications that significantly enhance patient care. AI will amplify human capabilities. It will enable clinicians to process vast amounts of data, identify trends and detect anomalies with greater speed and accuracy. When integrated into POCUS devices, AI can simplify image acquisition and interpretation, making ultrasound more accessible to clinicians of all experience levels. This is a key step in democratizing advanced diagnostic tools, allowing a broader spectrum of healthcare professionals to harness the power of ultrasound. AI will drive productivity and help clinicians identify issues they might otherwise miss, ultimately enabling more clinicians to confidently use POCUS and improving patient care across the board.

The Rise of Digital Ultrasound and Enterprise Integration

In 2025, we’ll mark the beginning of a fundamental shift in how healthcare institutions adopt ultrasound technology. The transition from analog, piezoelectric ultrasound devices to cloud-based, digital ultrasound solutions enables healthcare systems to integrate ultrasound technology seamlessly across multiple departments. This move will lead to the widespread establishment of enterprise ultrasound programs, making ultrasound a core diagnostic tool across healthcare organizations.

We saw this in 2024, with the University of Rochester Medical Center unveiling the success of their system-wide deployment of Butterfly Network’s POCUS devices and enterprise workflow software. A publication by Dr. David Waldman, URMC’s chief medical IT development officer, highlighted how this initiative improved patient care, enabled earlier diagnoses, and improved physician satisfaction while driving significant financial benefits.

As we enter 2025, I expect more institutions to follow this model, streamlining workflows, cutting costs and improving clinician collaboration. With cloud-based software updates, these devices will stay current without frequent hardware upgrades, ensuring healthcare systems always benefit from the latest in imaging and AI technology.

The Rise of POCUS in Home Care Services: Expanding Access

Not only will imaging expand across hospital systems, but I anticipate we’ll see it move to meet the patient. Healthcare is increasingly moving toward home-based services, driven by the need for more convenient, patient-centered care. In 2025, I expect to see the rise of POCUS in home care, where healthcare professionals can bring ultrasound technology directly to patients in their homes or in remote, underserved areas. This will be a game-changer for patients in skilled nursing facilities or rural communities, who often face significant barriers to accessing traditional hospital care. With AI-powered ultrasound devices, clinicians can perform diagnostic scans remotely, leading to earlier detection of medical issues, reducing readmissions and providing more personalized care. POCUS in home care can not only improve health outcomes but also close the health equity gap by making advanced diagnostic tools accessible where they are needed most.

The Digital Transformation of Ultrasound is Here

I believe 2025 will be the year when ultrasound becomes fully integrated into everyday medical practice. As the healthcare industry moves from analog to digital ultrasound solutions, we are witnessing the obsolescence of older technologies in favor of more advanced, cloud-connected devices. This digital transformation will ensure that ultrasound technology is more accessible, more powerful and more reliable than ever before. AI, enterprise integration and POCUS adoption across medical education and home care services are capable of driving the next wave of innovation, improving the way we diagnose, treat and care for patients. The future of ultrasound is not just about better images; it’s about a more connected, intelligent and patient-centric healthcare ecosystem.

About the Author

Joseph DeVivo is president, chief executive officer, and chairman, Butterfly Network, Inc., a digital health company with a mission to democratize medical imaging by making digital, cloud-based ultrasound that’s affordable, easy-to-use, and globally accessible. Butterfly created the world’s first handheld single-probe, whole-body ultrasound system using semiconductor technology, Butterfly iQ. The company has continued to innovate, leveraging the benefits of Moore’s Law, to launch its second-generation Butterfly iQ+ in 2020, and third-generation iQ3 in 2024–each with increased processing power and performance enhancements.