SonoSite’s next generation

Published 9:00 pm Monday, April 18, 2005

BOTHELL – SonoSite Inc. has unveiled its next generation hand-carried ultrasound systems, an 8-pound device that looks like a laptop computer and can produce images comparable to those produced by 200-pound units.

The new MicroMaxx will begin shipping to hospitals and medical clinics around the world in June, Kevin Goodwin, chief executive officer at Bothell-based SonoSite, said Monday.

“(This) represents the technology crossover point between hand-carried and cart-based systems,” Goodwin said in Monday’s product announcement. “With this new combination of performance and portability, the MicroMaxx system addresses traditional ultrasound markets such as radiology and cardiology, while further expanding ultrasound’s utility in areas such as emergency medicine, anesthesiology and surgery.”

Since it was spun off in 1998 from ATL Ultrasound, SonoSite has captured about 60 percent of the hand-carried ultrasound market, even while battling heavyweight competitors such as General Electric. Its devices have been used in a variety of settings, from big hospitals to the U.S. military’s field hospitals in Iraq.

Last year, SonoSite’s revenues grew 37 percent to approximately $116 million and the company made its first full-year profit.

Like the company’s other systems, the MicroMaxx uses patented technology that is able to put a variety of specialized ultrasound functions onto one microchip, producing sharp image processing at a relatively low cost. The MicroMaxx incorporates four such postage-stamp-sized chips, according to SonoSite.

The ultrasound device also can handle scanning in a wider bandwidth, which makes it capable of handling transducers used for breast exams, abdominal and obstetrical scanning and other areas previously not handled well by SonoSite devices.

Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.