EchoCath, Inc., incorporated in 1996, is engaged in developing, manufacturing and marketing medical devices that enhance and expand the use of ultrasound technology for medical applications and procedures. The Company has developed four proprietary ultrasound technologies comprised of one that characterizes blood flow, two that enable ultrasound imaging to, among other things, identify devices during interventional procedures such as needle biopsies and catheterizations, and one that provides intraluminal imaging.
EchoFlow
EchoFlow is the Company's proprietary transcutaneous, epivascular and catheter-based sensor electronics system. It is intended to provide data on the blood flow through internal vessels.
EchoMark
The Company's EchoMark system electronically marks and displays the position of non-metallic objects, eliminating the need to use x-ray to confirm the position of such objects. The Company has developed the EchoMark Salpingography Catheter, utilizing the EchoMark technology, to diagnose fallopian tube blockage. The EchoMark Salpingography Catheter consists of a disposable catheter to which is attached a proprietary sensor connected by wire to a reusable catheter system interface (the EchoMark CSI). The EchoMark CSI provides the interface between the EchoMark products and most commercially available ultrasound imaging systems.
EchoCath has also developed the EchoMark Electrophysiology Catheter, which consists of a conventional electrophysiology catheter augmented by a piezo plastic covered brass sensor connected by wire to the EchoMark CSI. The sensor captures ultrasound signals and relays them back to the EchoMark CSI, which, in turn, displays the position of the sensor in the image of the cardiac structures on the ultrasound-imaging screen.
Additional products that the Company has developed utilizing the EchoMark technology are the EchoMark PTA Catheter, an EchoMark peripheral angioplasty catheter, and the EchoMark Guidewire. The EchoMark CSI may be used with the systems of Acuson, Inc., Advanced Technology Laboratories, Inc., Hewlett-Packard Inc., Siemens Medical Systems Inc., Toshiba and other ultrasound systems.
ColorMark
EchoCath has developed the ColorMark Clip utilizing the ColorMark technology. The ColorMark Clip consists of a disposable clip and a non-disposable drive box. The clip is mounted on the needle or other interventional device and the drive box produces a voltage that is transmitted to a piezo ceramic slab mounted in the clip. The voltage generates vibrations, which, in turn, allows the device to appear in color on the ultrasound-imaging screen, enabling clinicians to more effectively guide needles during therapeutic and diagnostic procedures. The ColorMark Clip is compatible with a wide variety of needles and guidewires, and can operate with most color ultrasound systems.
The ColorMark Clip primarily competes with ATL's Biosponder and Escalon's P.D. Access.
EchoEye
EchoCath is engaged in the research and development of products incorporating the EchoEye technology which, if successfully developed, would allow clinicians to view tissues and organs inside the body in three-dimensional real-time and provide forward-looking images and guidance for minimally invasive ultrasound guided procedures. The Company has performed preclinical testing on the EchoEye technology.
The Company's EchoEye technology competes with Cardiovascular Imaging Systems, Inc., a subsidiary of Boston Scientific, as well as Endosonics Corporation, Endomedix Inc. and Aloka Inc.
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