3. May 2010 08:49
SonoSite,
Inc. (Nasdaq:SONO), the world leader and specialist in hand-carried ultrasound for
the point-of-care, and Physio-Control, Inc., the global leader in the
development and delivery of emergency medical response solutions, today
announced a market development collaboration for point-of-care ultrasound in the
emergency medical services (EMS) market. This alliance will enable SonoSite to
expand its presence in the pre-hospital settings with the support of
Physio-Control resources and extensive sales force. Under the terms of the
agreement, the Physio-Control sales organization will assist in introducing
SonoSite's products to the EMS market.
The implementation of SonoSite's hand-carried
ultrasound
systems allows first responders to bring improved care and immediate
diagnostics directly to the point of patient care. With the ability to quickly
assess, diagnose and triage patients at the scene of an accident, medical
personnel in first response vehicles such as ambulances and helicopters will be
able to pre-notify hospitals of a patient's arrival, which could lead to
improved clinical outcomes.
One of the first physicians to integrate ultrasound into
first responder vehicles, Dave Spear, MD, EMS Medical Director, Odessa, Texas,
said, "Working for the Odessa fire department, I have spent the last 10
years training paramedics on how to use ultrasound in the
pre-hospital setting. SonoSite's systems are incredibly simple to use,
portable, durable and have truly changed the dynamic in which first
responders can diagnose a patient at the point-of-care. Quickly,
paramedics can scan a patient for internal bleeding, and then determine whether
they need to call the surgeon to head into the local trauma center. SonoSite
has placed valuable technology in the hands of EMS providers and as a result,
they have brought major benefits to patients at the point-of-care."
"I believe that within the next 3-5 years
ultrasound will
become a standard for delivering better patient care in the pre-hospital
emergency setting," commented David Hildebrandt, NREMT-P, CCEMT-P,
Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
"SonoSite intends to maintain and extend
its leadership in driving access to point-of-care visualization with our unique
solutions," said Kevin M. Goodwin, SonoSite President and CEO. "EMS
is often the first point-of-care, and the potential to expand the use of ultrasound in
this setting for the benefit of clinicians and patients is enormous. We have
high confidence that Physio-Control will be a strong partner as we work to
develop this market."
"Physio-Control has been committed to
providing lifesaving tools to lifesaving teams for over 55 years," said
Brian Webster, President of Physio-Control. "We have introduced many
leading-edge technologies to our EMS customers during that time and our goal is
to continue to consistently deliver new clinical innovation to benefit
patients. We believe ultrasound may be
the next clinical advancement with positive patient care impact in EMS. We have
a history of developing markets for new clinical applications and then
integrating them into our products such as the LIFEPAK 15� monitor. We
will be looking for similar synergies with SonoSite technology."
SOURCE SonoSite, Inc.