Aloka Unveils New ProSound Ultrasound Systems

October 8, 2007

Aloka to Unveil New 'ProSound' Ultrasound Systems at World Congress on Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology

WALLINGFORD, CT - Aloka announced today three new ProSound systems which will be unveiled at the 17th World Congress on Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology, October 7-11, 2007 in Florence, Italy. The ProSound alpha 7 is a powerful, friendly and compact premium ultrasound system; the ProSound 3500SX represents a significant upgrade to Aloka's best selling color system worldwide; and the ProSound 6 is a new premium grayscale ultrasound system.

"Our challenge is to build versatile and high performance ultrasound systems in very compact designs centered around user and patient needs. Environmental care is also a key factor to design, since we are committed to the human healthcare business," said Dr. Yoshihiro Yoshikawa, president of Aloka.

ProSound alpha 7

The ProSound alpha 7 inherits technologies from the company's flagship model ProSound alpha 10. Some of the key features include Directional eFLOW(TM) which visualizes blood flow dynamics from low to high velocity flow without overlapping and with a high degree of accuracy. Also included are basic imaging performance enhancements with Broadband Harmonics(TM), ExPHD(TM) (Extended Pure Harmonic Detection), and high temporal resolution to aid in the diagnoses of fetal heart conditions.

"The eFLOW Doppler technology carried over from Aloka’s premium system brings this valuable application to a wider scale of users. The excellent spatial resolution of this new Doppler imaging modality on the alpha 7 is ideal for the examination of the fetal heart. Both patients and specialists are likely to benefit from this advanced technology," said Dr. Bence Csapo, Department of Obstetrics and feto-maternal Medicine, University of Vienna, Austria.

Real-time 3D / 4D display and AVM(TM) (Automated Volume Measurement) function are also available. With AVM, the operator simply specifies the region of interest and the alpha 7 automatically detects the edge and calculates the hyper-echoic or hypo-echoic part at high degrees of accuracy.

The ProSound alpha 7 employs a full ergonomic design with height adjustable console and monitor. The compact ProSound alpha 7 is the smallest dimension in its class. Both light in weight and compact in size the ProSound alpha 7 is truly mobile. Additionally, the system consumes 40% less electricity than previous models. The alpha 7 is designed for material efficiency with a reduction in the use of chemical materials with recycling in mind.

ProSound 3500SX

The ProSound 3500SX offers significant enhancements to the ProSound 3500. With over 10,000 of the previous ProSound 3500 systems installed worldwide, Aloka is introducing a redesigned ProSound 3500SX with ergonomic enhancements and with a flat panel display. Real-time 3D / 4D is available as an option and the company is preparing several major updates in the coming months.

ProSound 6

The ProSound 6 is a premium grayscale ultrasound system. In a very compact body, ProSound technologies such as ExPHD, MFI(TM) (Multi Frequency Imaging), and edge enhancement function are included as standard features. A variety of transducers are available to cover a wide range of clinical applications; the system offers high resolution imaging on each transducer.

About Aloka

Aloka Company, Ltd. (TSE: 7704)—The Innovator in Ultrasound—has proudly served the worldwide medical community for more than 50 years. As the longest continuously operating ultrasound company, Aloka is one of the most experienced and innovative firms in the diagnostic ultrasound market. Aloka introduced the world to color Doppler technology in 1983. Today, this technique had become an indispensable diagnostic tool for ultrasound examinations in a wide variety of clinical applications. The company has installed more than 200,000 ultrasound systems and has revenues of approximately US$415 million. www.aloka.com

Contact:

Katie Lybrook, Aloka Company, Ltd.
800-872-5652, ext. 206; klybrook@aloka.com