SonoSite expands presence in Japan, Germany

Handheld ultrasound pioneer SonoSite announced Jan. 15 that it had received clearance from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare to market and distribute its SonoSite 180PLUS and the SonoHeart PLUS products. They are enhanced versions of other SonoSite products already being sold in the Japanese marketplace by SonoSite in collaboration with Olympus Optical. A week earlier, SonoSite released details about the start of a direct sales operation in Germany. The newly formed SonoSite GmbH officially opened Jan. 2, following introduction of the company's handheld products at the November 2001 Medica meeting in Dusseldorf. Cornel Schoelgens has been recruited to manage German operations as well as distribution in Austria and Switzerland. Schoelgens is a 20-year veteran of the diagnostic imaging industry, having held positions with GE Medical Systems and Acuson. SonoSite has direct sales operations in the U.S., the U.K., France, and Germany. It will soon begin direct sales in Spain.