Esaote launches AU5 Harmonic scanner

Italian vendor Esaote released its AU5 Harmonic ultrasound scanner at the Congress of the World Federation for Ultrasound Medicine and Biology in Buenos Aires, Argentina, earlier this month. In its standard configuration, the multidisciplinary scanner allows users to optimize ultrasound studies via the use of a contrast agent, according to the Genoa-based company.

AU5 includes both color and power Doppler functions and can accommodate specialized probes, such as high-frequency probes up to 20 MHz, for superficial imaging as well as transducers targeted to intraoperative and surgical applications. It also offers networking capabilities that allow the user to send images and patient data through both a local area network and the Internet, according to Esaote.

The scanner appears to be the enhanced version of Esaote's AU4 system that the vendor has been working on with Bracco (SCAN 7/17/96). According to Esaote, the scanner's dedicated hardware and software that can utilize the second-harmonic imaging method are the first results of an ultrasound contrast research program established by Esaote in cooperation with Bracco.

AU5 is available for sale in international markets except for the U.S., where Esaote expects to be able to sell the scanner next year. The scanner is CE marked, according to Esaote.