LONGMONT, CO -- Sonora Medical Systems, Inc., a leading supplier of after market products, services and test equipment to the medical imaging ultrasound and MRI markets, announces that the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office awarded U.S. Patent No. 7,278,289 to Sonora Medical System, the first patent awarded for its unique FirstAssist ultrasound system testing device.

The inventors are James Gessert, G. Wayne Moore and William Phillips. Commenting on the patent award G. Wayne Moore President and CEO of Sonora, said, "This patent marks the 7th US patent awarded to Sonora and the 1st patent specific
to our exciting new FirstAssist device. FirstAssist directly interrogates diagnostic ultrasound systems by injecting signals of various amplitudes, phases and frequencies through a computer controlled probe simulator interface connected to the ultrasound system's probe port.


The device tests the various performance characteristics of the ultrasound system's B-mode, Doppler, and Color Flow modalities. FirstAssist is used by Biomedical Engineers and Medical Imaging Physicists, to establish a baseline of performance for any given system as part of acceptance testing, as an integral part of an ongoing hospital-based ultrasound EBQA program, and for system troubleshooting. As a leader in the development of products and services for both the ultrasound and MRI markets, we believe our FirstAssist device, as well as our other proprietary technologies, such as FirstCall and the Nickel, provide us with a significant competitive advantage to better serve the industry. FirstAssist has multiple patents pending. The FirstAssist system and other Sonora ultrasound test devices will be featured at the 2007 Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) meeting in Chicago, South Building, Hall A, Booth Number 3392.

About Sonora Medical Systems, Inc.:

Sonora Medical Systems is an ISO-9000/13485 certified provider of high quality products and services to the diagnostic ultrasound and MRI markets. Its products and services are marketed on a direct basis to healthcare providers, dealers and service organizations in North America, and others directly and through distribution partners in non-U.S. markets. Customers include large and small hospitals, stand-alone imaging centers, clinics, Independent Service Organizations (ISOs) and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). Additional information on Sonora is available at its web site at www.4sonora.com.

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