News

Saudi Firm Launches World’s First Handheld Ultrasound Device

Abdul Latif Jameel Health has partnered with Butterfly Network to bring the world’s first handheld, single-probe, complete body ultrasound system to the MENA region.

Published

5 years ago

November 22, 2021

David Morelo

saudi firm launches world's first handheld ultrasonic device

Butterfly Network

In many parts of the world, access to well-equipped healthcare facilities is greatly limited. Healthcare professionals often have to travel long distances to see their patients, and they can’t bring with them most of the equipment they have access to in hospitals. Without it, making the right decisions in difficult medical situations can be extremely challenging.

The good news is that a new generation of medical devices is making advanced capabilities available in a variety of portable form-factors, much like modern smartphones can perform many of the tasks that could traditionally be performed only on large desktop computers.

Now, Abdul Latif Jameel Health has partnered with Butterfly Network to bring the world’s first handheld, single-probe, complete body ultrasound system to the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey, and India.

butterfly iq+ handheld ultrasound device

Called Butterfly iQ+, the compact ultrasound system consists of three pieces: a probe with a patented on-chip digital micro-beaming technology and optimized electronics with power-efficient FPGA, a compatible iOS or Android mobile device to which the probe connects to, and the Butterfly iQ+ mobile application.

“The capabilities of this innovative, portable and versatile handheld ultrasound solution know no bounds, and we are committed to delivering this technology to serve more than 2 billion people” said Dr. Akram Bouchenaki, Chief Executive Officer, Abdul Latif Jameel Health.

Also Read: Mobile App Helps Turkish Women Fight Domestic Violence

Because the ultrasound system provides sharp imaging with true-to-form color flow, 3D visualizations, cloud storage, and other advanced capabilities without taking up much space or requiring too much power, it was selected to provide medical imaging on the International Space Station. An earlier version of the device was delivered as part of the 22nd SpaceX Dragon cargo resupply payload in June 2021.

Hopefully, Butterfly iQ+ will soon be helping healthcare professionals address all kinds of health issues that people young and old experience not just in space but also in some of the poorest regions here on Earth.

News

Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon

Foreign visitors will be the first users to benefit, but whether Syria’s own banks and cardholders follow is still an open question.

Published

6 days ago

August 27, 2026

Dana Saadeh

visa's return to syria starts with a test and a bank in lebanon

Visa is returning to Syria. Its first live international card transaction in the country was a test rather than a launch, and the milestone event ran through a Lebanese bank.

The acquirer (the bank on the merchant’s side of a card payment) was Fransabank Lebanon, with Paymera as the other named partner. Nadim Moujaes, who heads a Fransabank Group subsidiary, describes the test as both the culmination of “longstanding efforts to link Syria back to international payment networks” and “the first step in a larger path”.

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa makes the first electronic payment in Syria using a @Visa card at a store in Damascus, following the lifting of US sanctions on Syria. pic.twitter.com/lpAN7nQ6Fc

— Tech Magazine (@TechMGZN) August 27, 2026

“We are excited to have successfully tested live transactions today as we plan to enable international visitors to use their Visa cards while in Syria,” says Leila Serhan, Visa’s senior vice president and group country manager for the North Africa, Levant and Pakistan region. Although a significant first step, that plan doesn’t come with a hard date for when a visitor’s card will work normally.

Mohammed Safwat Raslan, governor of the Central Bank of Syria, says the test paves the way for international card acceptance in Syria and that maintaining strong compliance, risk management and operational controls will remain essential. Serhan likewise stresses that Visa has worked within applicable legal, regulatory and compliance requirements. For a test transaction, it seems there was a great deal of attention paid to the rules, with the entire operation being carefully managed.

Also Read: Lebanon’s 5G Era Begins With 150 Stations And A $1M Budget

The test is the latest step in a sequence that began in December 2025, when Visa announced a strategic roadmap to support Syria’s integration into the global digital economy. In February 2026 it hosted its first industry gathering of banks, ecosystem partners and policymakers in Damascus and, the same month, signed an agreement with Syria’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in San Francisco.

Michel Kattouah, Paymera’s CEO, called the test “the return of international card acceptance,” but while that’s positive news, there’s no word yet on when a Syrian bank will issue a Visa card to a Syrian customer.