I have worked in this exact field for 12+ years (see www.ultrasonix.com) - started as a software developer, and now involved with internal/external research and product development for the past 5 years. What the article fails to mention is that, sure there are a lot of low cost options in the market, there always have been and always will be - but their diagnostic capabilities are so inferior, that to try and address problems like pregnancy complications may be pointless. Obstetrical ultrasound is one of the most in-depth examinations that sonography can provide, and I doubt that with current technology the article is referencing (@ $100) that anything diagnostic can be achieved to help save the lives. I.e. why waste money and training time on an inferior technology, when perfectly capable ones already exist for a relatively low price already when pegged against other imaging modalities such as CT/MR/PET, etc. To give an idea, a $10,000 system is a low-cost ultrasound device these days (article references GE's V-Scan and Siemens P10 that fall under this category). These devices can definitely help see the fetus and help with very specific diagnoses, but if I knew my wife was at risk of complications, I would be appalled if she were scanned with a device like this when getting screened, so I just can't imagine that $100 technology will provide anything useful, even in 3rd world. I do believe that we'll have a ~$1000 scanner on the market, that's smart-phone sized and will provide wonderful diagnostic images, but probably not for another 10 years or so. And even in this case, it would be limited to specific exams. It would be interesting if the Newcastle group disclosed more information on their proposed technology in any case - always looking forward to the future of looking inside our bodies!