RCT Licenses Ultrasound Tissue Harmonic Imaging Technology to SonoSite

Business Wire, June 9, 2008

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Research Corporation Technologies (RCT) has granted SonoSite Inc. a nonexclusive license to pioneering patents owned by RCT that broadly cover ultrasound tissue harmonic imaging (THI). SonoSite (www.sonosite.com) is the innovator and world leader in hand-carried ultrasound. Headquartered near Seattle, the company is represented by 10 subsidiaries and a global distribution network in more than 100 countries. The company employs more than 600 people worldwide. With more than 40,000 systems sold since 1999, SonoSite products are known for exceptional performance, ease of use and durability.

Tucson-based RCT manages the THI technology for its partner, the University of Rochester in Rochester, New York. Seminal work in the early 1990s by P. Ted Christopher, Ph.D., at the University's Center for Biomedical Ultrasound resulted in a new mode of ultrasound imaging that has become an essential part of diagnostic ultrasound today. Christopher's invention showed that the second and higher-order harmonic response of native tissue to a propagated ultrasound beam could be employed to produce a sharper, higher-contrast image than that of the fundamental emitted frequency.

RCT received U.S. Patent No. 7,104,956, in September 2006; U.S. Patent No. 7,004,905 in February 2006; and U.S. Patent No. 6,206,833 in March 2001. Two other U.S. patents are pending.

In addition to SonoSite, Biosound Esaote, Acuson Corporation [?] a Siemens company, Royal Philips Electronics and General Electric are licensees of the THI technology. RCT continues its efforts to license the technology broadly to the ultrasound industry. All licensing agreement terms are confidential.

"This license to SonoSite, the industry leader in hand-carried ultrasound, marks the fifth license under RCT's program and confirms the importance of these patents and the value of THI," said RCT President and CEO Shaun Kirkpatrick. "RCT looks forward to working with other manufacturers to grant nonexclusive access to this technology."

The Rochester Center for Biomedical Ultrasound (www.ece.rochester.edu/projects/rcbu) unites the University's medical and engineering communities. Center researchers investigate use of very high-frequency sound waves in medical diagnosis and treatment, and other medical imaging applications.

Research Corporation Technologies (http://www.rctech.com) is a technology investment and management company that provides early-stage funding and development for promising biomedical companies and technologies from universities and research institutions worldwide. RCT carries on a vision of nearly 100 years that champions the commercialization of academic innovation. RCT has assets of more than $300 million to advance technology development through venture investment, partnerships and special licensing programs.