The US-based SonoSite, Inc., a world leader in hand-carried ultrasound, is keen to tap the Indian healthcare market. It has initiated talks with major Government, Private, Army and Navy Hospitals in the country. India is gradually transforming as a value driven market, Pavan Behl, country manager, SonoSite India, said.

SonoSite ultrasound systems are increasingly being used for procedures, where physicians need non-radiating imaging in diverse applications such as real-time trauma assessment in emergency situations, guiding interventional procedures such as biopsies, nerve blocks and surgery, and in the imaging lab for full diagnostic examinations.

The company's latest brand MicroMaxx is the next generation of hand-carried ultrasound system that produces high-resolution image quality and weighs 3.8 kg. It offers optional SonoCalc software that enables clinicians to quickly measure intima-media thickness of the carotid artery for assessment of arterial wall disease progression and cardiovascular risk. MicroMaxx was introduced last year worldwide, which accounted for about 50 per cent of the company's global revenues. The global hand-carried ultrasound systems market is growing at a rate of over 20 per cent.

Pavan Behl, said, "The company has brought a transformational change in clinical practice by providing point-of-care ultrasound at the patient's bedside or physician's examination table. The system's mobility eliminates delays, which are associated with the outpatient referral process or moving heavy, cart-based systems across hospital departments to scan patients. The systems will potentially reduce healthcare costs through early and rapid diagnosis of disease and conditions."

The company opened its liaison office in Gurgaon in October 2005 to support its exclusive distributor United Medical Instruments (UMI). The company has sold 100 systems so far in India and is spreading its presence across India, aiming to achieve a turnover of USD3 million by the end of current fiscal. The company has introduced the concept of ultrasound imaging in regional anesthesia and is organising a series of knowledge seminars across the country. Three such seminars are lined up in Hyderabad, Pondicherry and Vellore in the near future.

The company launched its first hand-carried ultrasound system in 1999 in the US and since then, radiologists and clinicians across various medical specialties all over the world have been using the system. The company's products are designed for imaging in traditional applications such as radiology, cardiology, vascular medicine and obstetrics and gynecology as well as in applications where ultrasound has not typically been used such as emergency medicine, surgery, critical care, internal medicine and vascular access procedures, he explained.

SonoSite has an installed base of more than 25,000 systems. The company, headquartered near Seattle, Washington is represented by eight subsidiaries and a global distribution network in over 75 countries, achieving global revenues up to USD148 million. The company is hoping to achieve revenues up to USD200 million this fiscal. The company's small, lightweight systems are expanding the use of ultrasound across the clinical spectrum by cost-effectively bringing high performance ultrasound to the point of patient care.

Global medical imaging industry is about USD18 billion globally, of which the ultrasound systems market accounts for about USD3.8 billion. Hand-carried ultrasound systems are estimated to have a market of USD300 million, which are expected to touch USD1 billion by 2010, according to Frost & Sullivan.