Medison

Korea-based Medison is hoping to expand its share of the U.S. ultrasound market with systems that offer color digital imaging capability and high-end live 3D rendering of fetal and organ movements. Carrying the load for these aspirations are SonoAce Pico, which is being targeted to private-practice obstetricians and gynecologists, internists, radiologists, emergency departments, and small breast-imaging centers, and flagship Accuvix XQ for routine 2D studies and high-resolution and live 3D scans. (Prototypes of the two systems were unveiled at the 2002 RSNA meeting.)

• SonoAce Pico provides full spectral, color, and power Doppler in a small, portable unit that weighs less than 30 pounds and can be carried like a suitcase. The system makes use of digital beamforming and tissue harmonic imaging technologies, features freehand 3D for 2D and 3D imaging in color and black and white, and has onboard image archiving software.
  
• Accuvix XQ has been designed to provide extremely high resolution 2D imaging, and by means of increased voxel density the system transfers high-resolution 2D imaging into the 3D data set. Multiplanar viewing presents volume data in three 2D views as well as an additional fourth 3D rendering or VolumeCT view. FullSpectrum imaging combines ultrasound information from several frequency bands to reduce speckle and other artifacts. An elastography feature is incorporated into the system.