SonoSite MicroMaxx System to Be Used in Research During Xtreme Everest 2007 AscentDr. Chris Imray, a member of the Xtreme Everes
November 28 2006 - 5:30AM
Business Wire
SonoSite, Inc. (Nasdaq: SONO), the world leader in hand-carried
ultrasound, today announced that Xtreme Everest 2007
(http://www.xtreme-everest.co.uk) has selected the MicroMaxx�
hand-carried ultrasound system to perform cerebral perfusion
studies for its research on human performance at extreme altitudes.
The goal of the project is to place a medical and scientific team
on the summit of Mount Everest in the spring of 2007 to study the
effects of oxygen deprivation on the human body. Coordinated by the
Centre for Aviation, Space and Extreme (CASE) Environment Medicine
in London, the Everest ascent is the centrepiece of an extensive
research program studying human performance at extreme altitude
aimed at improving the care of the critically ill. The study -- the
largest human biology study ever performed at high altitude -- will
consist of examining more than 200 volunteers as they climb
progressively higher into the thin atmosphere. More detailed
research will be performed on a group of scientists planning to
climb to the summit of Everest. �One of the major areas of interest
is cerebral perfusion, the supply of blood to the brain, since we
know that this can be seriously affected at high altitude,� said
Dr. Chris Imray, Consultant Vascular Surgeon and Hon Reader in
Surgery Warwick Medical School and member of the training team. �We
were looking for a robust, portable transcranial Doppler system
that would be simple to use and reliable in an extreme environment.
I used the MicroMaxx on the rehearsal climb to the summit of Cho
Oyu in Tibet this autumn and it performed beautifully. We performed
scans up to 6,400 metres (21,000 ft.) on battery power and in
temperatures as low as -20�C; the system was operable within
seconds of booting up and the images produced were very high
quality,� he said. The expedition team, all of whom work in
anaesthesia, intensive care, vascular surgery or remote medicine,
hope to show parallels between the human body pushed to its limits
during critical illness and changes that occur in extreme
environments. The low oxygen levels in the blood of high altitude
climbers is similar to those in critically ill patients on
breathing machines with severe heart and lung conditions, �blue
babies� and cystic fibrosis sufferers. The expedition team believes
that by examining the volunteers and scientists as they push
themselves to the limit of human performance that they will better
understand what is happening to patients fighting for their lives
in the intensive care unit. �Low oxygen levels (hypoxia) in the
blood and cells are a critical factor in Intensive Care patients
and the summit of Everest is by extraordinary coincidence exactly
at the limit of human tolerance for hypoxia,� said Dr. Mike
Grocott, Director and Expedition leader and Consultant in Intensive
Care. �For many years, doctors and scientists believed that it
would be impossible to climb Everest without supplementary oxygen.
This all changed in 1978 when Reinhold Messner proved them wrong by
reaching the summit without supplemental oxygen. Since then more
than 100 individuals have accomplished the same feat. It is clear
that were the mountain even a few meters higher this would be
impossible. The summit of Everest is a wonderful natural laboratory
for the study of the effects of critical hypoxia in humans.�
MicroMaxx System Helps to Save a Climber�s Life On the 26th of
August the Xtreme Everest embarked on a rehearsal expedition to Cho
Oyu, which, at 8,201 metres (26,000 ft.), is the sixth highest
mountain in the world. A short distance to the west of Mt Everest,
it straddles the border between Tibet and Nepal. The aim of the
training expedition was to test all the medical equipment in a
combined cold and altitude environment similar to what will be
encountered in the main expedition in Spring 2007. At one stage of
the expedition the MicroMaxx system was unexpectedly used to
examine an emergency casualty, when a North American mountaineer
from another climbing party was suspected of having a stroke. The
Xtreme Everest team rapidly converted their DRASH (Deployable Rapid
Assembly Shelter) laboratory into a high dependency unit, allowing
Dr. Imray to examine the climber using the MicroMaxx system with
the P-17 probe. Dr. Imray explains, �We used the SonoSite equipment
to transmit sound waves through the thin part of his skull and look
for blood flow to the brain. We were able to image his brain and
see that on one side blood flow was absolutely normal and on the
other side there was virtually no flow at all.� Having confirmed
that the mountaineer had indeed suffered a stroke, the team
stabilized his condition and made immediate arrangements to
evacuate the casualty, who was rapidly transported to a more
comprehensive medical facility in Kathmandu. The patient has since
returned to North America and is progressing well in a
rehabilitation unit. The MicroMaxx System The laptop-sized, durable
MicroMaxx system represents the technology crossover point between
hand-carried ultrasound and larger, high-performance, cart-based
systems. SonoSite products and technology deliver proven
reliability and durability in conventional medical settings as well
as some far more challenging environments, such as supporting
rescue operations following natural disasters. Extensive quality
controls such as "drop testing" ensure that SonoSite products
continue to set the industry standard for both reliability and
durability. The MicroMaxx system is backed by a five-year warranty,
an industry first, far exceeding warranties available on competing
products. The technology also allows for the system to go from
�off� to scanning within seconds. This is vitally important in many
medical situations where seconds really do count - whether getting
crucial diagnostic information in an emergency or making the best
use of time in a hectic daily schedule. About CASE CASE
(www.ucl.ac.uk/case/) has offices and human performance
laboratories located within the Institute for Human Health
Performance at the University College London archway campus, in the
UK. The group conducts research, teaches courses and offers advice
in the areas of space, aviation, high altitude, remote, dive and
hyperbaric medicine and is comprised of a group of clinicians and
scientists with specialist interests and training in the medicine
and physiology of extreme environments. Central to its work is the
concept that the study of human systems stretched to breaking point
in extreme environments can increase the understanding of
critically ill patients. About SonoSite SonoSite, Inc.
(www.sonosite.com), the innovator and world leader in hand-carried
ultrasound, is headquartered near Seattle and is represented by
eight subsidiaries and a global distribution network in over 75
countries. SonoSite�s small, lightweight systems are expanding the
use of ultrasound across the clinical spectrum by cost-effectively
bringing high performance ultrasound to the point of patient care.
The company employs over 500 people worldwide. SonoSite, Inc.
(Nasdaq: SONO), the world leader in hand-carried ultrasound, today
announced that Xtreme Everest 2007
(http://www.xtreme-everest.co.uk) has selected the MicroMaxx(R)
hand-carried ultrasound system to perform cerebral perfusion
studies for its research on human performance at extreme altitudes.
The goal of the project is to place a medical and scientific team
on the summit of Mount Everest in the spring of 2007 to study the
effects of oxygen deprivation on the human body. Coordinated by the
Centre for Aviation, Space and Extreme (CASE) Environment Medicine
in London, the Everest ascent is the centrepiece of an extensive
research program studying human performance at extreme altitude
aimed at improving the care of the critically ill. The study -- the
largest human biology study ever performed at high altitude -- will
consist of examining more than 200 volunteers as they climb
progressively higher into the thin atmosphere. More detailed
research will be performed on a group of scientists planning to
climb to the summit of Everest. "One of the major areas of interest
is cerebral perfusion, the supply of blood to the brain, since we
know that this can be seriously affected at high altitude," said
Dr. Chris Imray, Consultant Vascular Surgeon and Hon Reader in
Surgery Warwick Medical School and member of the training team. "We
were looking for a robust, portable transcranial Doppler system
that would be simple to use and reliable in an extreme environment.
I used the MicroMaxx on the rehearsal climb to the summit of Cho
Oyu in Tibet this autumn and it performed beautifully. We performed
scans up to 6,400 metres (21,000 ft.) on battery power and in
temperatures as low as -20(degrees)C; the system was operable
within seconds of booting up and the images produced were very high
quality," he said. The expedition team, all of whom work in
anaesthesia, intensive care, vascular surgery or remote medicine,
hope to show parallels between the human body pushed to its limits
during critical illness and changes that occur in extreme
environments. The low oxygen levels in the blood of high altitude
climbers is similar to those in critically ill patients on
breathing machines with severe heart and lung conditions, "blue
babies" and cystic fibrosis sufferers. The expedition team believes
that by examining the volunteers and scientists as they push
themselves to the limit of human performance that they will better
understand what is happening to patients fighting for their lives
in the intensive care unit. "Low oxygen levels (hypoxia) in the
blood and cells are a critical factor in Intensive Care patients
and the summit of Everest is by extraordinary coincidence exactly
at the limit of human tolerance for hypoxia," said Dr. Mike
Grocott, Director and Expedition leader and Consultant in Intensive
Care. "For many years, doctors and scientists believed that it
would be impossible to climb Everest without supplementary oxygen.
This all changed in 1978 when Reinhold Messner proved them wrong by
reaching the summit without supplemental oxygen. Since then more
than 100 individuals have accomplished the same feat. It is clear
that were the mountain even a few meters higher this would be
impossible. The summit of Everest is a wonderful natural laboratory
for the study of the effects of critical hypoxia in humans."
MicroMaxx System Helps to Save a Climber's Life On the 26th of
August the Xtreme Everest embarked on a rehearsal expedition to Cho
Oyu, which, at 8,201 metres (26,000 ft.), is the sixth highest
mountain in the world. A short distance to the west of Mt Everest,
it straddles the border between Tibet and Nepal. The aim of the
training expedition was to test all the medical equipment in a
combined cold and altitude environment similar to what will be
encountered in the main expedition in Spring 2007. At one stage of
the expedition the MicroMaxx system was unexpectedly used to
examine an emergency casualty, when a North American mountaineer
from another climbing party was suspected of having a stroke. The
Xtreme Everest team rapidly converted their DRASH (Deployable Rapid
Assembly Shelter) laboratory into a high dependency unit, allowing
Dr. Imray to examine the climber using the MicroMaxx system with
the P-17 probe. Dr. Imray explains, "We used the SonoSite equipment
to transmit sound waves through the thin part of his skull and look
for blood flow to the brain. We were able to image his brain and
see that on one side blood flow was absolutely normal and on the
other side there was virtually no flow at all." Having confirmed
that the mountaineer had indeed suffered a stroke, the team
stabilized his condition and made immediate arrangements to
evacuate the casualty, who was rapidly transported to a more
comprehensive medical facility in Kathmandu. The patient has since
returned to North America and is progressing well in a
rehabilitation unit. The MicroMaxx System The laptop-sized, durable
MicroMaxx system represents the technology crossover point between
hand-carried ultrasound and larger, high-performance, cart-based
systems. SonoSite products and technology deliver proven
reliability and durability in conventional medical settings as well
as some far more challenging environments, such as supporting
rescue operations following natural disasters. Extensive quality
controls such as "drop testing" ensure that SonoSite products
continue to set the industry standard for both reliability and
durability. The MicroMaxx system is backed by a five-year warranty,
an industry first, far exceeding warranties available on competing
products. The technology also allows for the system to go from
"off" to scanning within seconds. This is vitally important in many
medical situations where seconds really do count - whether getting
crucial diagnostic information in an emergency or making the best
use of time in a hectic daily schedule. About CASE CASE
(www.ucl.ac.uk/case/) has offices and human performance
laboratories located within the Institute for Human Health
Performance at the University College London archway campus, in the
UK. The group conducts research, teaches courses and offers advice
in the areas of space, aviation, high altitude, remote, dive and
hyperbaric medicine and is comprised of a group of clinicians and
scientists with specialist interests and training in the medicine
and physiology of extreme environments. Central to its work is the
concept that the study of human systems stretched to breaking point
in extreme environments can increase the understanding of
critically ill patients. About SonoSite SonoSite, Inc.
(www.sonosite.com), the innovator and world leader in hand-carried
ultrasound, is headquartered near Seattle and is represented by
eight subsidiaries and a global distribution network in over 75
countries. SonoSite's small, lightweight systems are expanding the
use of ultrasound across the clinical spectrum by cost-effectively
bringing high performance ultrasound to the point of patient care.
The company employs over 500 people worldwide.
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