SonoSite Announces Engineering Breakthrough in Image Resolution for MicroMaxx SystemSonoSite's SonoMB technology enhances visual
April 12 2007 - 6:00AM
Business Wire
SonoSite, Inc. (Nasdaq:SONO), the world leader in hand-carried
ultrasound, announced today the introduction of a major advance in
image resolution for the MicroMaxx� system together with a series
of enhancements to improve clinical workflow. The fifth major
technology expansion to the MicroMaxx platform since the system
began shipping in mid-2005, the new capabilities include SonoMB�
technology, a proprietary multi-beam imaging algorithm that
dramatically improves image resolution. Also included are advances
in fundamental and harmonic imaging for abdominal applications,
automated image optimization, and credentialing worksheets for
recording exams in emergency medicine. Existing customers can
easily and securely upgrade their MicroMaxx systems to the new
capabilities via compact flash card at no charge. MicroMaxx systems
incorporating these new advances begin shipping globally today.
�The flexible, highly integrated architecture of the MicroMaxx
system, in conjunction with its programmable transducers, allows
our customers to incorporate advances such as SonoMB technology and
other performance breakthroughs through software upgrades, without
the inconvenience and expense of changing hardware typical of many
other systems on the market today,� said Jim Gilmore, SonoSite Vice
President of Research and Development. Mr. Gilmore also noted that
patents are pending on the new technology. �The new capabilities we
are announcing today are the first of several significant
innovations that we plan to deliver over the next year,� said Kevin
M. Goodwin, SonoSite President and CEO. �Physicians using the new
SonoMB technology have been unanimous in their view that this is a
major advance that dramatically improves image resolution and will
increase their diagnostic information and precision when performing
interventional procedures.� SonoMB Technology: A Major Advance in
Imaging for Adults and Children �SonoMB is a very significant
advance in image resolution for nerve imaging,� said Brian D.
Sites, MD, Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Director of
Regional and Orthopedic Anesthesia at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical
Center. �Image quality is paramount to perform nerve blocks
efficiently and safely. By providing a machine that differentiates
the subtle complexities of tissue, nerve and muscle while being
extremely simple to use, SonoSite has created the perfect world for
the anesthesiologist.� �This is a significant advance in image
quality,� agrees Professor Peter Marhofer, MD, Department of
Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine, Medical University of
Vienna, Austria. �It is much easier to see smaller anatomical
structures which will help with delicate procedures such as
peripheral venous access in babies where the structures are so
small and superficial.� Dr. Marhofer estimates that he sometimes
performs 10 to 12 procedures a day on pediatric patients. �The
better the quality of the image, the higher our confidence and the
better our performance,� he said. �The image quality on the
MicroMaxx system with SonoMB technology is spectacular,� stated
Santhanam Suresh, MD, Associate Professor and Director of Pain
Treatment Services at Children�s Memorial Medical Center, Chicago.�
With the new image enhancement technique, the tip of the needle can
be more easily visualized and we can target our nerve blocks
better.� �Images with SonoSite�s new multi-beam technology are
absolutely beautiful,� said Daniel D. Price, MD, Director of the
Emergency Ultrasound Fellowship and emergency physician at Highland
General Hospital in Oakland, California who also teaches at the
University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine. �The
anatomy is more distinct with finer detail. Images of the joints in
the hand looked almost three-dimensional to me. The SonoMB
technology makes subtle structures such as nerves and tendons
really standout.� �SonoMB is not just another button,� says J.
Christian Fox, MD, RDMS, FACEP, FAAEM, Fellowship Director,
Emergency Ultrasound, Department of Emergency Medicine at the
University of California, Irvine. �The improvement in image quality
is dramatic and will be helpful in guiding regional nerve blocks
and other interventional procedures such as peripheral IV
placements and locating minute foreign bodies.� Outstanding Image
Resolution Another Example of Superior Market Understanding Both
Drs. Sites and Suresh also noted SonoSite�s history and commitment
to a deep understanding of market needs that extends into the
design and function of its systems. �SonoSite has had a
long-standing commitment to anesthesiology and had the foresight to
contact us years ago to gain an understanding of this market long
before others knew we were interested,� Dr. Sites said. �SonoSite
understands the anesthesiologist�s need for portability and
simplicity. At Dartmouth we have a six-room block area where we
teach people from all over the world to perform regional anesthesia
and they migrate to the SonoSite systems because they are so easy
to use.� Dr. Suresh also notes that the MicroMaxx advantage extends
beyond this breakthrough in image quality as well. �The MicroMaxx
system is a very technically advanced machine and yet SonoSite has
made it so simple. I don�t have to adjust 18 different dials. I
press a couple of buttons and am ready to go. I can use the
MicroMaxx in a pinch. I don�t have the luxury of waiting 3 minutes
for a system to start up. To me, user friendly also means that I
can whisk a system from room to room without any concern about
damaging it. It�s not user friendly when you have to worry that you
might break something if you move it around. The MicroMaxx is very
solid. It makes a world of difference in my practice of pediatric
anesthesia.� SonoMB Upgrade Improves Clinical Productivity and
Broadens MicroMaxx Versatility Dr. Price also noted that the other
new features like Auto Gain and the emergency medicine training
worksheets associated with the SonoMB upgrade are significant for
Emergency Medicine because of the impact they will have on
improving productivity and training capacity in a busy, hectic
environment. �The new Auto Gain feature provides another major
advantage,� Dr. Price explained. �Because emergency physicians have
a brief period of time to spend on the ultrasound exam of a
patient, we need a high quality image as quickly as possible. In my
experience, Auto Gain provides a near perfect image almost every
time. It yields a great image that can be fine-tuned to personal
preference if desired but is immediately ready for interrogation
and diagnosis.� �I predict that with advances like SonoMB there
will be a logarithmic increase in the use of regional anesthesia in
emergency medicine,� Dr. Price continued. �It�s frightening to put
a needle through a vessel. Now when we can see where the needle is
going and easily identify the nerves, we�re more likely to use this
valuable technique of regional anesthesia, particularly in
situations where you don�t want to give sedation because a patient
has a head injury, is hypotensive, or is an older adult.� Expanded
Range of Applications and Patients Dr. Fox also noted that the
improvements to the versatile C60 abdominal transducer reinforces
the need to deal with the changes in modern body sizes and shapes
that are frequently presented to physicians in emergency or
life-threatening situations. �Given today�s increasingly obese
population, improvements to the C60 transducer allows imaging to a
depth of 30 centimeters and makes scanning much more comfortable
for larger patients," Dr. Fox said. �We won�t need to physically
push the transducer with as much force into the patient when we are
scanning the abdominal aorta. It will also facilitate scanning a
pregnant trauma victim when you need to see behind the uterus for
internal bleeding.� The C60 improvement in depth penetration is the
second 30-cm depth transducer manufactured by SonoSite. SonoSite
upgraded its P17/5-1 transducer in October 2006 to a 30-cm depth.
About SonoSite SonoSite, Inc. (www.sonosite.com) is the innovator
and world leader in hand-carried ultrasound. Headquartered near
Seattle, the company is represented by eight subsidiaries and a
global distribution network in over 90 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
550 people worldwide. Dr. Daniel D. Price is a principal in Mobile
Medical Media, LLC, a developer of medical education instructional
videos, which produces ultrasound education video modules for
SonoSite.
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