SonoSite and Soma Access Systems Partner on Groundbreaking Needle Guidance Technology

New needle guidance solution helps make central venous catheter procedures “point-and-shoot” simple to improve care quality and reduce healthcare costs

BOTHELL, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SonoSite, Inc., a subsidiary of FUJIFILM Corporation and the world leader and specialist in bedside and point-of-care ultrasound, today announced a partnership with Soma Access Systems LLC to bring AxoTrack™ needle visualization technology to market on SonoSite ultrasound systems. This innovative technology combines traditional ultrasound imaging with advanced magnetics to provide clinicians with a real-time update of the needle position that can be visualized as it travels through tissue to its intended target. This capability is ideal for placing central venous catheters (CVC) as clinicians try to quickly gain vascular access while avoiding critical structures.¹

“We are proud to partner with SonoSite to bring AxoTrack to market as we work together to help make healthcare safer, simpler and more cost effective.”

“The integration of AxoTrack technology into SonoSite’s product portfolio will help to address the ‘multi-tasking’ challenges faced by many clinicians during the performance of CVCs,” said Kevin M. Goodwin, SonoSite’s President and CEO. “Avoiding the lung while coordinating the needle and ultrasound probe during these procedures can be difficult. Pre-existing health conditions, like low blood pressure, create a greater patient risk. AxoTrack’s proprietary needle guidance capabilities coupled with its ‘point-and-shoot’ simplicity help clinicians follow the needle position and make confident decisions to successfully complete these procedures. Based on the overwhelmingly positive response already from physicians across the globe, we believe that AxoTrack will advance the practice of ultrasound-guided CVCs, improving patient outcomes, and will ultimately reduce costs from complications like pneumothorax.”

This revolutionary technology engineered by Soma is intended to improve the safety and accuracy of central venous access by providing clinicians with specific, real-time knowledge of the needle location throughout an entire procedure. An in vitro study using AxoTrack resulted in vascular access procedures that were successful on the first pass and first stick 99.3% of the time versus just 37.1% of the time when compared to the standard freehand method for ultrasound-guided central venous access.²

“AxoTrack represents a major advance in needle guidance for medical procedures. Our patented technology, engineered during eight years of research and development, is designed to improve the safety of CVCs. We also believe that it will enhance the quality of care for a broad range of other needle-guided procedures, like biopsy, nerve block, cyst aspiration, arthrocentesis, thoracentesis and paracentesis,” said M. Dexter Hagy, President and CEO of Soma Management LLC. “We are proud to partner with SonoSite to bring AxoTrack to market as we work together to help make healthcare safer, simpler and more cost effective.”

SonoSite will be featuring the AxoTrack technology this fall in its booth at the American College of Emergency Medicine (ACEP) Scientific Assembly in Denver, October 8-11, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) annual conference in Washington, D.C., October 13-17, and the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) annual conference in Atlanta, October 20-25.

For more information regarding AxoTrack technology, including videos and images, visit http://www.sonosite.com/announcements/soma-access-systems.

About SonoSite

SonoSite, Inc. (www.sonosite.com), a subsidiary of FUJIFILM Corporation, is the innovator and world leader in bedside and point-of-care ultrasound and an industry leader in ultra high-frequency micro-ultrasound technology and impedance cardiography equipment. Headquartered near Seattle, the company is represented by ten subsidiaries and a global distribution network in over 100 countries. SonoSite’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.

About Soma Access Systems

Soma Access Systems LLC was co-founded by Stephen F. Ridley, MD and M. Dexter Hagy in 2004 as a medical technology company that develops innovative devices to solve real-world medical problems while making healthcare safer, simpler and more cost effective. Visit www.SomaAccessSystems.com for more information about Soma Access Systems LLC and AxoTrack.

¹ AxoTrack™, AxoTrack™ Needle Guidance Solution, and AxoTrack™ Needle Guidance Technology are trademarks of Soma Access Systems LLC. The AxoTrack™ Needle Guidance Technology has been cleared under FDAⁱ 510(k) K113680 and K112953. SonoSite AxoTrack-equipped ultrasound probes require 510(k) clearance and are not commercially available in the U.S.A.

² Ferre, R.M., et al. The Use of a Novel Device Improves Real‐Time Ultrasound Guided IV Access. Supplement to Annals of Emergency Medicine, Sept. 2010; 56:3:S74.