Full line of transducers designed to meet the diverse requirements of anaesthesiology BOTHELL, WA - October 16, 2006 - Sonosite, Inc. (Nasdaq: SONO), the world leader in hand-carried ultrasound, announced today at the American Society of Anaesthesiologists' Annual Meeting that it has introduced a new high-frequency broadband transducer, the C11e/8-5. With its small footprint, the C11e transducer provides enhanced image quality and deeper penetration for visualising the delivery of regional anaesthesia and line placement. This is the seventh MicroMaxx system transducer offered by Sonosite for a variety of important anaesthesiology procedures and assessments.
Customer shipments are planned to begin by the end of November. The C11e transducer is optimal for infraclavicular, supraclavicular and femoral blocks. Its curved array format displays the structures surrounding a nerve that need to be monitored while inserting a needle or catheter. "The C11e transducer yields a crisp image for nerve block placement and its small size allows for greater ease-of-use and precision," said Jacques Chelly, MD, Professor and Vice Chair of Clinical Research and Director of Acute Intervention and Perioperatve Pain Service at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre's Presbyterian Shady Side Hospital. "Its addition to the MicroMaxx system's suite of transducers underscores the thoughtful, consistent, and high-quality product design and service that characterise Sonosite's uncommon commitment to the anaesthesiologist."
"Sonosite understands that the regional anaesthesiologists' needs cannot be adequately met with a single transducer," said Thomas J. Dugan, Senior Vice President for Global Marketing and U.S. Sales. "Relying on the input of leading anaesthesiologists, Sonosite designed the easy-to-use MicroMaxx system with the precise features that an anaesthesiologist needs - exceptional 2D image quality to monitor needle-nerve interaction and to visualise local anaesthetic spread; the durability to withstand the rigors of the perioperative care environment, including a water-resistant keyboard that can be wiped down and sanitised; and a proper selection of transducers designed specifically to image multiple anatomical locations and body types.
" Sonosite's line of transducers provides exceptional visual acuity for imageing the interscalene, supraclavicular, infraclavicular, sciatic, femoral, popliteal, lumbar plexus and other epidurals. Sonosite is one of the first ultrasound companies with transducers that have regulatory clearance for epidural and lumbar plexus imageing. The C11e transducer is on display at Sonosite's booth, # 939, at the American Society of Anaesthesiologists' Annual Meeting at McCormick Place in Chicago, October 14 - 18. The C11e ultrasound transducer, newly introduced by Sonosite for the MicroMaxx system, is optimal for imageing the infraclavicular, supraclavicular and femoral nerves for the placement of nerve blocks and catheters. Its curved array format displays the structures surrounding a nerve that need to be monitored while delivering a regional anaesthetic.
About the MicroMaxx System
Weighing less than 8 pounds, the portability and high performance of the MicroMaxx system is rapidly changing patient assessment at the point-of-care in anaesthesiology, emergency medicine, vascular access, critical care and even in the physician's office. A five-year warranty on the system and most of its transducers is a standard feature which dramatically lowers the cost of owning a system in an industry that typically charges 7-10% of a product's purchase price in annual service contracts.
About Sonosite
Sonosite, Inc. (www.sonosite.com) is the innovator and world leader in hand-carried ultrasound, with an instaled base of more than 25,000 systems. The company, headquartered near Seattle, 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 approximately 500 people worldwide.
