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15-Minute Hand-Carried Ultrasound Exam Helps Identify Patients at-Risk for Cardiovascular Disease

Posted on: Tuesday, 9 November 2004, 09:00 CST

SonoSite, Inc. (Nasdaq:SONO):

-- SonoSite Introduces Technology for Early Risk Assessment of Cardiovascular Disease

-- Software Detects Thickened Arterial Walls and Enables Doctors to Treat Patients at the Point of Care With More Confidence

SonoSite, Inc. (Nasdaq:SONO), the world leader in hand-carried ultrasound, today introduced SonoCalc(TM) IMT software, which allows physicians to effectively measure the intima-media thickness (IMT) of the carotid arteries and assess a patient's risk of cardiovascular disease early. The company made the announcement at the American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions 2004 in New Orleans, at which there are a number of clinical presentations addressing the benefits of IMT measurement for cardiovascular disease.

Twenty years of clinical research has shown that the arterial wall lining or IMT of the carotid arteries becomes thickened years before plaque develops within the vessel. This increased wall thickness is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of mortality and disability in the United States today.

"What I have found is that patients with intermediate or limited risk factors, such as moderately elevated cholesterol, who would normally go untreated, may truly be at high risk for a cardiovascular event," said Regina Drueding, M.D., internal medicine physician in Bountiful, Utah and a user of the software. "An IMT scan, using ultrasound at the point of care, provides us the right information to help prevent and better manage the disease. Currently, the most effective way of measuring a patient's IMT is with ultrasound to easily and non-invasively capture images of the carotid artery wall for analysis."

Used in conjunction with the TITAN(TM) system -- SonoSite's high-resolution, hand-carried ultrasound -- the SonoCalc patented, automated edge-detection technology provides physicians the ability to analyze the IMT of the patient's carotid artery and compare it against published population data to generate an individual cardiovascular health profile report for the patient. Equally as important, it enables doctors to visualize disease progression to the patient by showing the patient the IMT scan. SonoSite will be offering IMT screenings in booth 2452 during the AHA Scientific Sessions from November 7-10.

According to the American Heart Association, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S., affecting an estimated 64 million people. Until recently, measuring cholesterol levels or looking for the presence of C-Reactive proteins (acute phase proteins whose levels increase when there's inflammation of blood vessels) have been among the few options in evaluating the risk of cardiovascular disease. However, recent studies have shown a correlation of 95 percent between the disease present in the carotid arteries and the disease present in the coronary arteries. This makes IMT an important tool for diagnosing patients at risk for cardiovascular disease.

"By expanding our hand-carried ultrasound technology into preventive cardiology we believe that we offer physicians a cost-effective and significant tool to help reduce the intractable increase in cardiovascular disease," said Kevin Goodwin, president and CEO of SonoSite. "Our technology is already positively impacting patient care and outcomes in many diagnostic areas. With the introduction of SonoCalc software we're enabling physicians to make an IMT exam a part of the physical exam and providing the opportunity to impact the early stages of cardiovascular disease when treatment is most effective."

SonoCalc's features include:

-- Fully automated, single click IMT measurement

-- Semi-automated, user-guided IMT measurement for difficult images

-- Statistical analysis of multiple IMT measurements

-- IMT measurements stored with corresponding patient information

-- Professional report generation summarizing one or more IMT measurements for a particular patient

About SonoSite

SonoSite, Inc. (www.sonosite.com), headquartered in Bothell, Wash., is the innovator and worldwide market leader in high-performance, hand-carried ultrasound technology. By creating modular, mobile systems that meet customer needs, SonoSite is removing barriers to the use of ultrasound across medicine and positively impacting the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of ultrasound use. SonoSite's products have become known for exceptional durability with a high design value.

Forward-looking Information and the Private Litigation Reform Act of 1995

Certain statements in this press release relating to the market acceptance of our products, possible future sales relating to expected orders, and our future financial and operations results are "forward-looking statements" for the purposes of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of our management at the time the statements are made and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expected or implied by the forward-looking statements. These statements are not guaranties of future performance and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on potentially inaccurate assumptions. Factors that could affect the rate and extent of market acceptance of our products, acceptance by clinicians of IMT measurement as part of a cardiovascular risk profile, the receipt of expected orders, and our financial performance include our ability to accurately forecast customer demand for our products, our ability to manufacture and ship our systems in a timely manner to meet customer demand, timely receipts of regulatory approvals to market and sell our products, the willingness of healthcare providers who do not currently use ultrasound to use ultrasound, the extent to which healthcare insurers reimburse providers for ultrasound procedures, regulatory changes in various national health care markets, constraints in government and public health spending, the ability of our distribution partners to market and sell our products, as well as other factors described under the heading, "Important Factors that May Affect Our Business, Our Results of Operating and Our Stock Price," included in our latest periodic report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We caution readers not to place undue reliance upon these forward-looking statements that speak only as to the date of this release. We undertake no obligation to publicly revise any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

TITAN and SonoCalc are trademarks of SonoSite, Inc.

Source: Business Wire

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