Thursday, June 11, 2009

SonoSite Begins Customer Shipments of Ultrasound Remote Control

BOTHELL, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SonoSite, Inc. (Nasdaq:SONO), the world leader and specialist in hand-carried ultrasound for point-of-care medicine, announced today that it has begun customer shipments of the SonoRemote™ Control, a compact voice or touch activated solution for adjusting ultrasound controls at a distance when using SonoSite M-Turbo® or S Series™ systems.

Approximately the size of an iPhone® and using Bluetooth® technology, the SonoRemote Control is capable of adjusting essential system parameters – Depth, Gain, Freeze and Save – within 10 meters of the ultrasound system. With voice activation or when used in a sterile sheath, the SonoSite remote control eliminates the need to break the sterile field during interventional procedures. And with a tactile reference keypad the user does not have to look at the remote to identify which button to press—even the touchpad has been designed with increased workflow in mind.

Dr. Ben DuBois, MD, orthopedic shoulder specialist in San Diego, explains how the remote can help in his practice: “With any ultrasound guided needle placement for joint injections I am using both hands and am unable to save or freeze the ultrasound image without having a medical assistant in the room to help. However, tying up my assistant just to push a button is not an efficient use of their time; it slows down patient flow, and limits the number of patients we can see in a day. With the remote I would be able to do the injection and run the ultrasound system myself without having to waste anyone’s time.”

source: Business Wire