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JUNE 24th, 2005
SonoSite's New Hand-Carried Ultrasound Systems Begin Shipment
- Custom ASIC Design is Basis
As an alternative to heavy, 200 pound ultrasonic imaging machines, SonoSite, Inc. (NASDAQ:SONO),
has begun shipments of its new eight pound design, called MicroMaxx. The new ultrasonic imager takes advantage of new advances
in integrated circuit technology, which permits more electronic functions to be placed into a standard sized chip package.
Kevin M. Goodwin, SonoSite President and CEO noted that the market
was once again receptive to its product, "Over the last several weeks we have introduced the MicroMaxx system to physicians,
sonographers and hospital administrators across the medical spectrum in the US and international markets. Although still in
the early stages, we have been pleased with the high degree of enthusiasm expressed for the product. Once again the SonoSite
team has executed an on-time launch and on-time delivery of a new product platform."
SonoSite, spun off and founded as a portable ultrasonic company,
had revenue growth of 37% in 2004. The company with $116 million. in sales is considered one of the leaders in the hand-carried
ultrasound market, with over 20,000 units installed.
JUNE 20th, 2005
Analogic Reports Healthy Medical Sales in Quarterly Report
Analogic Corporation (NASDAQ: ALOG) with its fiscal third quarter
report, for the period ended April 30, 2005 indicated that sales of its advanced medical subsystems, which include Data Acquisition
Systems (DASs) for Computed Tomography (CT), and power systems for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), have continued to grow.
The company also reported strength in the sale of its system products, which include medical and security CT systems.
The company's President, John Wood, also commented on the direction
of its medical imaging focus as well as its component and integrated circuit product lines, "We are also confident of our
direction in medical imaging," Wood said. "During the quarter we generated considerable customer enthusiasm for the first
prototypes of a new generation of compact, modular, liquid-cooled radio frequency amplifiers for MRI. Subsequent to the quarter,
we also delivered the first prototypes of a compact, proprietary Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) for a new
generation of CT data acquisition systems. Our medical subsystems business is very strong and growing."
Mr. Wood also noted that some product sales were below expectations,
"The results from operations, excluding the effect of the asset writedowns, were a modest improvement over the prior year's
third quarter. As we had anticipated, sales of Camtronics cardiac information management equipment were below original expectations
as a result of its revenue recognition issues earlier in the year. Fortunately, those issues are being resolved and there
are clear indications that the new management at Camtronics is affecting a turnaround of the business. Sales of Digital Radiography
(DR) systems through our ANEXA subsidiary and DR subsystems through our Anrad subsidiary were also lower than originally expected.
In addition, shipments of patient monitors were less than expected due to an OEM customer's decision to discontinue marketing
one of the models that we developed and manufactured for them."
JUNE 17th, 2005
Following a trend, Moore's Law, which has guided semiconductor advances
over the last 40 years, Affymetrix Inc. (NASDAQ:AFFX) reports that its new GeneChip Scanner (GCS) 3000 7G is able to scan
microarrays with feature sizes which range from 2.5 micron to 0.51 micron. The ability to scan such small features gives the
scanner the ability to analyze 500 percent more data than past generations.
Chip Leveille, Vice President of Product Technologies Group at Affymetrix
summarized the achievement, "The GeneChip Scanner 3000 7G combines advanced design improvements with high-resolution scanning
to dramatically improve efficiency in genetic analysis for gene expression and DNA analysis applications. We designed the
original GCS 3000 to be forward-compatible, requiring only a simple upgrade to support the next-generation of high-density
microarrays that develop as GeneChip technology continues to advance."
In comparison, today's most advanced digital semiconductors are
built with process technologies with feature lengths in the order of 0.09 microns, about five times smaller than the feature
length of the current biochips.
JUNE 14th, 2005
Siemens with the formation of its Siemens Medical Solutions Molecular
Imaging division, through a series of business combinations, has molecular plans that are expected to change the way diseases
are treated and diagnosed. Behind Siemens business strategy is a scientific premise that states that the onset of disease
is preceded with observable characteristic changes at the molecular and cellular level. The goal of molecular imaging is to
use molecules and cells to diagnose a disease at the very earliest stage. According to Siemens, "With molecular imaging,
earlier diagnosis of disease will be possible, since changes at the molecular level always precede anatomical structural changes.”
Molecular imaging systems may eventually also significantly reduce
health costs. According to Erich Reinhardt, Ph.D., President and CEO, Siemens Medical Solutions, "By strengthening our leadership
position in identifying disease earlier at the molecular level, we continue to transform the delivery of healthcare by improving
patient care while reducing costs."
JUNE 7th, 2005
In order to assist doctors in their diagnosis of breast cancer,
without a biopsy, a new tool from Cedara Software Corp. is expected to be available soon in the United States. That tool,
the Cedara B-CAD, a Computer Aided Detection (CAD) solution for breast ultrasound, which has just received 510(k) clearance
from the United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA), according to the company is particularly well-suited for the
analysis of palpable masses in young, pregnant, and lactating women.
Jennie Sharpe, Clinical Specialist at Cedara Software, in apparant
reference to pregnant women, implied the tool would help eliminate the need for many unnecessary and traumatic biopsies "Today's
acid test for malignancy in breast cancer is the core biopsy. This is an invasive procedure that can be particularly traumatic
for women already concerned about their health. This said, statistics show that approximately 50% of biopsies ordered are
benign. It is our hope that further improvements to diagnostic imaging will help radiologists assess the need to biopsy a
selected nodule." The company also noted that trauma wasn't the only issue here, scar tissue as a result of the biopsies can
often complicate the non-invasive imaging process.
Speaking about the ultrasound based tools diagnostic capability
was also Dr. A. Thomas Stavros, MD of The Sally Jobe Breast Center, "This tool should facilitate acceptance and utilization
of the ACR BI-RADS Ultrasound Lexicon by radiologists as a standard upon which the foundation of CAD enabled ultrasound can
be built. Ultrasound CAD has many possible indications including assisting radiologists in analysis of solid breast nodules,
which is a significant first milestone. This tool may improve a radiologist's interpretive confidence."
Jeff Collins, CEO of Medipattern, the company that developed B-CAD,
noted applications of the tool to other diseases, "We have every intention of extending our pattern recognition platform to
other indications and modalities to help in the earliest possible detection and intervention for cancer and other diseases."
Medipattern Corporation (Toronto: MKI), develops Computer Aided Detection (CAD) software for the medical imaging market.
Cedara Software Corp., also a medical software company, is a division
of Merge Technologies Incorporated (NASDAQ: MRGE) (Toronto: MRG). Cedara, with the announcement, noted that approximately
216,000 new cases of non-invasive breast cancer were recorded in 2004. Breast cancer incidences have risen from 1 in 20 in
1960 to 1 in 8 today. In citing those statistics, Cedara referenced the American Cancer Association.
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