BOTHELL, WA - September 14, 2009 - Sonosite, Inc. (Nasdaq:SONO), the world leader and specialist in hand-carried and point-of-care ultrasound, announced today new patient safety technology and mobile power solutions for vascular access applications. The company will be showcasing the new products and capabilities at the annual scientific meeting of the Association for Vascular Access (AVA) being held in Las Vegas September 14th - 18th, 2009.
The Nanomaxx™ Ultrasound System
Sonosite will be showing the 6-pound NanoMaxx ultrasound tool1, the latest addition to its suite of specialised products for point-of-care visualisation in medicine. Combining one-button optimisation technology with a fluid resistant touch screen user interface, the NanoMaxx system is highly sophisticated, easy to use and easy to disinfect. While other touch screens require a stylet to activate system controls, the sensitivity of the NanoMaxx touch screen allows the user to operate the system with the touch of a finger while wearing sterile gloves. The image quality and colour flow mapping on the NanoMaxx provide increased utility versus alternatives by giving users the ability to identify nerve bundles and distinguish veins from arteries, delivering the visualisation needed for safe and effective line placements.
1Availability in the US pending FDA 510(k) clearance.
“The NanoMaxx is just the system that we have been waiting for,” said Patricia Santulli, R.T.R., R.N., BSN, and PICC Line Coordinator at Harbourview Medical Centre, Seattle. “With its high resolution, it will be easy to avoid accidently puncturing a nerve. The one button control and touch screen are ideal and its small size will make it easy to fit into crowded spaces or rest on the patient’s bed.”
As with Sonosite’s other advanced ultrasound products, the NanoMaxx system and its transducers exceed military specifications for ruggedness and durability and are built to withstand a 3-foot drop onto a hard surface. The NanoMaxx system is backed by Sonosite’s industry-leading, standard 5-year warranty, eliminating the expense for an annual service contract.
Lumenvu™ Catheter Guidance System
At the AVA, Sonosite will also be showing as a works-in-progress its LumenVu Catheter Guidance System, for visualising the placement of Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters (PICC) at the point-of-care. Sonosite expects to begin shipping LumenVu systems at the end of 2009, subject to FDA 510(k) clearance. The LumenVu system couples near infrared light with standard catheter technology to enable visual tracking of a catheter tip in real time as it advances from the access vein to the superior vena cava. Sonosite’s ultimate goal is to reduce or potentially eliminate the need for x-ray and/or fluoroscopy to confirm accurate line placement in hospital environments.
Incorrect catheter insertion is relatively common with bedside placement of PICC lines and reinsertion adds considerable time and cost. A recent large study showed only 70% of insertions were successful on the first attempt.2 As a result, the company believes that this technology could offer cost reduction and safety opportunities for hospitals and other provider environments where PICC lines are inserted.
2Trerotola, S.O., Thompson, S., Chittams, J., Vierregger, K.S. Analysis of Tip Malposition and Correction in Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters Placed at Bedside by a Dedicated Nursing Team. J Vasc Interv Radiol 2007; 18: 513-518.
Sonosite® Mobile Power Solutions - Power Port and Power Pack
To ensure true mobility at all times to point-of-care locations around a hospital, Sonosite is offering innovative, integrated power solutions with its new ergonomic Universal Stands. Configurable with the M-Turbo®, S Series™, NanoMaxx™ and MicroMaxx® product lines, Sonosite’s Universal Stands are light, easy to configure and highly manoeuvreable in the hospital setting and can be optimally positioned by the patient beside or in other space-constrained areas.
Sonosite’s Power Port eliminates the need for connecting a system docked in its stand to an electrical outlet and instead allows the user to simply charge the system when it’s parked in the Power Port. Sonosite’s Power Pack triples battery life and can keep a system charged for 6 hours or more allowing clinicians the flexibility needed to see more patients on a single charge. The Power Pack is easily instaled on the column of the Universal Stand.
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. The company employs approximately 750 people worldwide.
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.