Longmont, CO -- Sonora Medical Systems, a leading supplier of after market products, services and test equipment to the medical imaging market, announces a seminal ultrasound probe study that was recently presented in Sweden at the country's annual clinical engineering meeting in Goteborg. The title of the paper presented was "Defective Ultrasound Transducers in Swedish Hospitals." It was presented by the School for Technology and Health, the Royal Technical University, the Biomedical Engineering Department of Karolinska University Hospital and the Department for Clinical Physiology of Karolinska University Hospital. A summary of this study can be downloaded at www.4sonora.com.

Using the Sonora FirstCall™ probe testing system the authors tested 704 probes in clinical use from 30 hospitals representing seven ultrasound manufacturers. They found that 39.8% of the transducers tested had functional failures and that there was no statistical difference in the number of probe failures discovered on systems under service contract or not on service contract. They also reported that "small" probe errors which do not appear to affect B-mode image quality can result in large measuring errors in spectral and color Doppler. Among the conclusions presented was "tests of transducers on a regular basis is, in our opinion, a necessity in order to minimize the risk that defective transducers are in use in our hospitals."

Commenting on this important study, G. Wayne Moore, President and CEO of Sonora Medical Systems said, "We have long known that as few as two dead elements in a transducer can materially impact the spectral Doppler in terms of both spectral broadening and mean velocity errors. Previously published studies on transducers in clinical use have shown 25% to 30% have undiagnosed functional failures. The Swedish study underscores the need to test transducers on a regular basis to ensure the clinical efficacy of the ultrasound examination, as well as the safety of the patient. The FirstCall transducer tester has become a standard in hospitals around the world in ensuring the proper functionality of these ultrasound transducers."

In addition to designing and manufacturing industry unique ultrasound test devices and repairing thousands of diagnostic ultrasound probes per year, Sonora Medical Systems, located at 1751 S. Fordham Street, Suite 100, Longmont, CO 80503, is the largest and fastest growing ultrasound and MRI depot-level repair company in the world and its operations are certified to ISO9001/13485 quality standards. Sonora Medical recently celebrated its 12-year anniversary in business.

For additional information concerning Sonora products or to view a summary of this seminal study, visit www.4sonora.com

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