Acquisition of SonoMetric Health Signals Expansion into Preventive Cardiology
Ultrasound-based Software Helps Determine Cardiovascular Risk
BOTHELL, WA, May 27, 2004 - Sonosite, Inc. (Nasdaq: SONO), the leader in high performance, hand-carried ultrasound, announced today that it has acquired privately held SonoMetric Health, Inc., a developer of proprietary software to assess and manage cardiovascular disease in conjunction with an ultrasound examination. Terms of the agreement with SonoMetric were not disclosed. The transaction is not expected to have a material impact on Sonosite's 2004 financial results.
"This acquisition is the initial step in implementing our preventive cardiology strategy and expanding our focus on providing ultrasound tools for detecting and managing cardiovascular disease," said Kevin M. Goodwin, Sonosite President and CEO. "We believe that the software developed by SonoMetric, when paired with our current and future hand-carried technologies, offers a major opportunity to impact the early stages of cardiovascular disease when treatment is most effective and that this technology can be cost-effectively leveraged throughout the care path, including the patient's physical exam."
SonoMetric's software product, SonoCalc, automatically measures wall thickness of the carotid arteries, the chief vessels that supply blood to the brain. Research on patients with cardiovascular disease has revealed that the arterial wall becomes thickened years before plaque develops within the vessel. The increased wall thickness, or intima-media thickness (IMT), is associated with an increased risk of this systemic disease, the leading cause of mortality and disability in the United States today. SonoCalc software utilizes proprietary algorithms for automated edge detection of the carotid artery wall enabling physicians to quickly and reliably obtain IMT measurements. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted SonoCalc marketing clearance in 2003. Sonosite will release details of the IMT software launch later this year.
"IMT screening provides a safe and noninvasive means for physicians to identify patients with early risk of cardiovascular disease," said Patrick M. Moriarty, MD, FACP, Director of the University of Kansas (Kansas City) Medical Center's Atherosclerosis and LDL Apheresis Center. "The good news for patients is that an IMT has been shown to benefit physicians assessing and managing patients at risk for cardiac and cerebrovascular events."
It is estimated that more than 60 million Americans are affected by one or more forms of cardiovascular disease and that it causes the death of almost one million women and men annually in the United States alone. IMT is currently recommended by the American Heart Association for the evaluation of cardiovascular risk and is an imaging measurement endpoint used by the FDA for evaluating the effectiveness of cholesterol lowering and anti-hypertensive drugs in clinical trials.
"Sonosite has led the ultrasound market in opening new clinical applications through offering innovative, hand-carried ultrasound technology," said Hal Widlansky, former President and CEO of SonoMetric Health. "By joining our technologies, we see a major opportunity to improve patient care by moving the benefits of IMT measurement beyond the research lab into the physician's office."
Ultrasound-based Software Helps Determine Cardiovascular Risk
BOTHELL, WA, May 27, 2004 - Sonosite, Inc. (Nasdaq: SONO), the leader in high performance, hand-carried ultrasound, announced today that it has acquired privately held SonoMetric Health, Inc., a developer of proprietary software to assess and manage cardiovascular disease in conjunction with an ultrasound examination. Terms of the agreement with SonoMetric were not disclosed. The transaction is not expected to have a material impact on Sonosite's 2004 financial results.
"This acquisition is the initial step in implementing our preventive cardiology strategy and expanding our focus on providing ultrasound tools for detecting and managing cardiovascular disease," said Kevin M. Goodwin, Sonosite President and CEO. "We believe that the software developed by SonoMetric, when paired with our current and future hand-carried technologies, offers a major opportunity to impact the early stages of cardiovascular disease when treatment is most effective and that this technology can be cost-effectively leveraged throughout the care path, including the patient's physical exam."
SonoMetric's software product, SonoCalc, automatically measures wall thickness of the carotid arteries, the chief vessels that supply blood to the brain. Research on patients with cardiovascular disease has revealed that the arterial wall becomes thickened years before plaque develops within the vessel. The increased wall thickness, or intima-media thickness (IMT), is associated with an increased risk of this systemic disease, the leading cause of mortality and disability in the United States today. SonoCalc software utilizes proprietary algorithms for automated edge detection of the carotid artery wall enabling physicians to quickly and reliably obtain IMT measurements. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted SonoCalc marketing clearance in 2003. Sonosite will release details of the IMT software launch later this year.
"IMT screening provides a safe and noninvasive means for physicians to identify patients with early risk of cardiovascular disease," said Patrick M. Moriarty, MD, FACP, Director of the University of Kansas (Kansas City) Medical Center's Atherosclerosis and LDL Apheresis Center. "The good news for patients is that an IMT has been shown to benefit physicians assessing and managing patients at risk for cardiac and cerebrovascular events."
It is estimated that more than 60 million Americans are affected by one or more forms of cardiovascular disease and that it causes the death of almost one million women and men annually in the United States alone. IMT is currently recommended by the American Heart Association for the evaluation of cardiovascular risk and is an imaging measurement endpoint used by the FDA for evaluating the effectiveness of cholesterol lowering and anti-hypertensive drugs in clinical trials.
"Sonosite has led the ultrasound market in opening new clinical applications through offering innovative, hand-carried ultrasound technology," said Hal Widlansky, former President and CEO of SonoMetric Health. "By joining our technologies, we see a major opportunity to improve patient care by moving the benefits of IMT measurement beyond the research lab into the physician's office."
About Sonosite
Sonosite, Inc. (www.sonosite.com) is the innovator and world leader in hand-carried ultrasound, with an installed base of more than 20,000 systems. The Company, headquartered near Seattle, Washington is represented by eight subsidiaries and a global distribution netwok 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 450 people worldwide.