Mindray Medical introduces new upgraded M5 ultrasound system at RSNA 2009

Mindray Medical International Limited (NYSE: MR), a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of medical devices worldwide, today announced the introduction of a significant new upgrade for the company's popular M5 ultrasound system at the 95th Annual Meeting of the Radiology Society of North America being held in Chicago, November 29 - December 4, 2009. The upgrade includes automatic presets for each new exam and the addition of another state-of-the-art transducer.

"This new upgrade is the third significant upgrade for the M5 platform," said Michael Thompson, vice president of U.S. ultrasound sales for Mindray. "It provides several key performance improvements in addition to ease-of-use advances for this highly reliable system."

The M5 upgrade features factory-installed exam set-ups for difficult adult abdominal and pediatric abdominal imaging. Further enhancements have also been made to pulse wave (PW) Doppler and low-flow color performance (sensitivity) on linear transducers for vascular applications. The new iZoom(TM) feature increases image size which is especially helpful in the operating room or for a special procedures suite where the clinician needs to view the screen across a sterile field, procedure table. Additional connectivity improvements have been added which support seamless file transfers.

"We also have added another new transducer option to the M5, enabling a wider range of imaging applications," said Thompson. "This option offers high frequency imaging for both human medicine and veterinary care needs."

The new L14-6 transducer is designed to provide superb imaging of nerves, musculoskeletal, vascular, pediatric abdomens, superficial structures, biopsy guidance and venous access. The probe is ideal for small animal abdominal exams and equine tendon imaging.

"I have been using the Mindray M5 portable ultrasound machine for more than a year now," said Cody Startin, RDMS, owner of Advanced Ultrasound located in Arizona. "I own a small ultrasound business and scan over 100 patients per month so I need a highly reliable system which the M5 has been. The image quality, penetration and color detection on the M5 competes with some of the best full size machines that I've tested and the ability to upgrade the system provides a substantial performance-to-value ratio for my business."

In addition to the M5 upgrade, Mindray is also showcasing the new DC-7 unit, a premium color Doppler system introduced this fall. The DC-7 is a high performance ultrasound system integrating cutting-edge technologies and superb image quality, along with a host of proven value-added capabilities designed to provide greater clinical information from every scan.

The new system offers real-time 4D imaging for greater detail, iClear(TM) speckle noise reduction, iScape(TM) wide field of view imaging and phase inversion tissue harmonic imaging on all probes. Many automatic features are available including automatic calculations offering LV border detection and IMT, plus automatic image optimization with iTouch(TM) technology using just one button. Mindray's iStation(TM) provides a powerful patient information platform in addition to user defined packages and exam specific reports. Finally, a user friendly, high resolution LCD monitor and touch screen offers greater diagnostic confidence and operator ease-of-use.