In the medical field, ultrasound imaging is extremely important. It's effective with many parts of the body (and tissues); it's real-time and cost-effective; and is portable. There is also no radiation exposure.
In fact, according to a report from InMedica, the market for ultrasound devices is expected to go from $4.4 billion in 2006 to $5.7 billion 2010.
Capitalizing on things, one of the fast-growing players in the space, ZONARE Medical Systems, has filed to go public.
The company's core product -- called the z.one ultrasound system -- uses sophisticated data acquisition and image formation approaches (called Zone Sonography). Apparently, this is more effective than the traditional method, which involves line-by-line acquisition. What's more, ZONARE has a portfolio of 32 US and foreign patents.
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