BOTHELL, WA – May 3, 2010 – Sonosite, Inc. (Nasdaq:SONO), the world leader and specialist in hand-carried ultrasound for the point-of-care, and Physio-Control, Inc., the global leader in the development and delivery of emergency medical response solutions, today announced a market development collabouration for point-of-care ultrasound in the emergency medical services (EMS) market. This alliance will enable Sonosite to expand its presence in the pre-hospital settings with the support of Physio-Control resources and extensive sales force. Under the terms of the agreement, the Physio-Control sales organisation will assist in introducing Sonosite’s products to the EMS market.
The implementation of Sonosite’s hand-carried ultrasound systems allows first responders to bring improved care and immediate diagnostics directly to the point of patient care. With the ability to quickly assess, diagnose and triage patients at the scene of an accident, medical personnel in first response vehicles such as ambulances and helicopters will be able to pre-notify hospitals of a patient’s arrival, which could lead to improved clinical outcomes.
One of the first physicians to integrate ultrasound into first responder vehicles, Dave Spear, MD, EMS Medical Director, Odessa, Texas, said, “Working for the Odessa fire department, I have spent the last 10 years training paramedics on how to use ultrasound in the pre-hospital setting. Sonosite’s systems are incredibly simple to use, portable, durable and have truly changed the dynamic in which first responders can diagnose a patient at the point-of-care. Quickly, paramedics can scan a patient for internal bleeding, and then determine whether they need to call the surgeon to head into the local trauma centre. Sonosite has placed valuable technology in the hands of EMS providers and as a result, they have brought major benefits to patients at the point-of-care.”
“I believe that within the next 3-5 years ultrasound will become a standard for delivering better patient care in the pre-hospital emergency setting,” commented David Hildebrandt, NREMT-P, CCEMT-P, Hennepin County Medical Centre, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
“Sonosite intends to maintain and extend its leadership in driving access to point-of-care visualisation with our unique solutions,” said Kevin M. Goodwin, Sonosite President and CEO. “EMS is often the first point-of-care, and the potential to expand the use of ultrasound in this setting for the benefit of clinicians and patients is enormous. We have high confidence that Physio-Control will be a strong partner as we work to develop this market.”
“Physio-Control has been committed to providing lifesaving tools to lifesaving teams for over 55 years,” said Brian Webster, President of Physio-Control. “We have introduced many leading-edge technologies to our EMS customers during that time and our goal is to continue to consistently deliver new clinical innovation to benefit patients. We believe ultrasound may be the next clinical advancement with positive patient care impact in EMS. We have a history of developing markets for new clinical applications and then integrating them into our products such as the LIFEPAK 15® monitor. We will be looking for similar synergies with Sonosite technology.”
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 ten subsidiaries and a global distribution network in over 100 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.
About Physio-Control
Physio‐Control, Inc., is headquartered in Redmond, Wash. Physio‐Control pioneered defibrillation technology over 55 years ago. The company is the world’s leading provider of external defibrillation and monitoring technology for the treatment of sudden cardiac arrest and other cardiorespiratory emergencies. To find out more about Physio‐Control, go to www.physio-control.com or call 1‐800‐442‐1142.
Forward-looking Information and the Private Litigation Reform Act of 1995
Certain statements in this press release relating to the potential benefits of Sonosite’s future products and technology are “forward-looking statements” for the purposes of the safe harbour provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of our management at the time the statements are made and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expected or implied by the forward-looking statements. These statements are not guaranties of future performance, are based on potentially inaccurate assumptions and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, the risk that these products and technology will not yield the expected potential benefits, and the other factors contained in Item 1A. “Risk Factors” section of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We caution readers not to place undue reliance upon these forward-looking statements that speak only as to the date of this release. We undertake no obligation to publicly revise any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
