Ultrasound

A new lightweight handheld ultrasound unit may soon be on the U.S. market. The FDA has cleared for sale the Mobilsonic VUE100, a low-cost device weighing less than three pounds. The system was developed by Mobilsonic and will be distributed in the U.S.

There are milestones and then there are milestones. Toshiba Medical Systems is claiming a jim-dandy-the shipment of its 150,000th diagnostic ultrasound system. Contributing to the Tokyo company's achievement are its two latest products: Aplio, an

New PACS software allows the storage of ultrasound cine-loops, which give surgeons an opportunity to better plan certain procedures based on ultrasound's functional evaluation of various organs. Dr. Peter Kovacs and colleagues from University Hospital in

Data storage manufacturer Fujitsu Computer Products of America demonstrated a PC-based display and manipulation solution for ultrasound images at the 10th Congress of the World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology June 1 to 4 in Montreal.

EnVisor, a new ultrasound scanner from Philips Medical Systems, emphasizes ergonomics and scalability, according to the company. Priced under $100,000, EnVisor promises high-performance features, as well as an on-board workstation and external

Tim Chaney has taken the helm of the ultrasound division at Toshiba America Medical Systems. As Toshiba vice president, Chaney will manage the ultrasound field sales organization, the alternate distribution sales channels, and its profit and loss

Hitachi unveiled its fully digital ultrasound system at the American Institute of Ultrasound Medicine convention in San Francisco this month. The Hitachi 6000 platform uses a Microsoft Windows operating system that will support software upgrades. The

The ultrasound group of Siemens Medical Systems last month donated $110,000 in ultrasound equipment and technical training to Albania in an effort to support the United Nations Population Fund in its medical care of Kosovo refugees. The Issaquah,

The diagnostic ultrasound market saw 5% growth in per-site volume in hospital radiology units in 1998, according to the latest Technology Marketing Group report, published last month. The TMG Diagnostic Ultrasound Census, conducted in

Ultrasound vendors Acuson and Siemens Ultrasound are the latest recipients of contracts from HMO Kaiser Permanente. After naming Acuson to be its sole provider of radiology and vascular ultrasound systems (SCAN 9/3/97), Kaiser has also named Acuson its

The battle between ultrasound contrast companies over patents continues to rage on. Molecular Biosystems has announced that it received notice from the U.S. Patent Office (PTO) that the firm's petitions seeking reexamination of two patents held by rival

Competition may heat up soon in the developing ultrasound bone densitometry market. Bone densitometry vendor Norland has acquired rights to distribute worldwide all existing and future ultrasound bone measurement systems developed by Canadian vendor

The Premier group purchasing organization will launch a limited-time promotion of Siemens ultrasound scanners beginning this month and running through September. The program will include special financing programs and extended discounts on Sonoline

Imaging services firm Diagnostic Health Services of Dallas announced last month that it has closed its acquisition of the ultrasound division of Diagnostic Imaging Services of Los Angeles. The division was acquired for a combination of $7.5 million in

Hewlett-Packard has dominated the cardiology ultrasound market for years, and is now preparing to enter the radiology ultrasound market as well. The company's Andover, MA, Medical Products Group plans to unveil a new digital ultrasound scanner at its

Bone densitometry vendor Norland Medical Systems of White Plains,NY, has acquired rights to an ultrasound-based bone measurementsystem through an agreement with Vitel, a Texas company affiliatedwith the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in

The ultrasound group of Siemens Medical Systems will roll outa new line of scanners designed to establish the division as amajor player in the ultrasound market. The line includes the long-awaitedSonoline Elegra premium scanner (SCAN 4/26/95). Elegra is

Interventional equipment vendor C.R. Bard has invested $2 million for a minority equity interestin Diagnostic Ultrasound of Redmond, WA. Bard's patient care andurology divisions will also market Diagnostic Ultrasound's BladderScanBVI 2500 scanner in the

Elastography papers presented at AIUMUltrasound vendors wounded by sluggish scanner sales are lookingfor a means to kickstart the market. One way is to acceleratedevelopment of new applications for the modality that might sparka rally in

Two and a half years after purchasing Teknar, Santa Barbara, CA-basedMentor is bringing that firm's ultrasound product line fully intothe fold. Mentor is reorganizing operations, placing the Teknarscanners in the hands of its existing urology sales and

Researchers want to improve on the transdermal drug delivery technologyused in nicotine patches by employing ultrasound to push drugsdeeper into the skin. But an ultrasound patch will remain a pipedream until super-high-frequency transducers are

Three-dimensional ultrasound sits on the fringe of clinical practiceand will likely remain there until real-time 3-D processing becomesa reality, according to Eugene A. Larson, executive vice presidentof ultrasound vendor ATL. "The question is how

Ultrasound vendors faced intense competition during the secondquarter of this year. Diasonics reported that pricing pressureskept its ultrasound business in the red for the second quarter(end-June). Ultrasound revenue remained at about the same levelas

An ultrasound joint venture between Shanghai Medical ElectronicsInstrument Factory (SMEIF) and Ausonics of Sidney was revitalizedlate last year when the Chinese government granted approval forlocal assembly and sales. The venture was almost aborted two

Ultrasound manufacturers are adept at image acquisition and displaytechnology, but these skills may not be pertinent to the developmentof three-dimensional and other image processing techniques. Vendorsmight be well-advised to outsource this technology

A change at the top of Instrumentarium Medical Imaging in Milwaukeehas apparently led to a reevaluation of the company's interestin an ultrasound OEM supply arrangement. The vendor has veeredaway from the potential relationship with Labsonics promoted