Sony Unveils Bevy of New Products at Medica

The countdown has begun.

Earlier this fall, Sony Corp. spent 50 billion yen ($640 million) for an 11 percent stake in scandal-plagued Olympus Corp. in hopes of boosting its position in the medical device market. Sony executives have set an ambitious 200 billion yen ($2.6 billion) revenue goal for its medical division by 2020, and they are counting on their new partner to deliver a considerable portion of those proceeds.

“The biggest aim for this tie-up with Olympus is to accelerate the growth of our medical business and to make it into a Sony pillar as early as possible,” Sony President Kazuo Hirai said when the partnership was announced.

Sony, however, isn’t relying solely on Olympus to attain its 2020 sales goal. The electronics manufacturer—which has been hemorrhaging losses for four consecutive years due to sagging sales of portable music players, flat-panel televisions and smartphones—also is depending on new technology to improve its bottom line.

A sampling of that technology debuted at Medica 2012 World Forum for Medicine in Düsseldorf, Germany, this week.

Capitalizing on a golden opportunity to showcase its latest innovations to the world, Sony launched a new medical 3-D recorder, a new 3-D camera and five new diagnostic displays at the four-day event.

HVO-3000 3-D HD Medical Recorder
The HVO-3000MT 3-D high-definition medical recorder is the industry’s first device capable of recording at a resolution of 1080/60p, according to Sony. It fits with various high-image-quality endoscopes that also support 1080/60p resolution, and it connects to many devices without a converter.

Since it captures the full resolution of high-image-quality endoscopes, the HVO-3000 provides doctors with realistic views of anatomical areas and the surgical procedure. The device also has multiple interfaces to support various camera output formats, including HD-SDI, DVI-D, composite video, S video, stereo audio I/O, analogue RGB input, and for digital images, HD/DK-SDI and DVD I/Os.

MCC-3000MT HD Video Camera
Sony’s newest HD video camera uses a 0.5-inch full-HD 3Chip-CMOS sensor to connect to an operating microscope and deliver precise imaging in three dimensions. As a result, the MCC-3000MT HD video camera records the same view a surgeon sees through the microscope.

The camera’s design allows users to adjust color matching, white balance and similar parameters directly from the control unit. The camera also can be displayed on a 3-D-capable monitor and broadcast to all operating room personnel. Its imaging can be used for teaching and training purposes, and can be sent out over a network so that remote medical staff can provide support.

LMD-DM Diagnostic Displays
Sony is following up the 2011 launch of its PVM-2551MD medical monitor with a series of high-luminance diagnostic displays. The LMD-DM 50, LMD-DM30, LMD-DM30C, LMD-DM20C, and LMD-DM20 provide clear views of MRIs (magnetic resonance imaging), X-rays and digital mammograms.

The LMD-DM50 and LMD-DM30 feature an independent sub-pixel drive (ISD) technology that improves the resolution of monochrome LCDs by three-fold. Available in both the 5MP and 3MP grayscale models, ISD creates reliable image quality for viewing high-resolution diagnostic scans such as CR (computed radiography), DR, CT (computed tomography), MR (magnetic resonance) and full- field digital mammography (where detailed viewing of micro-calculations is possible, of course).

The LMD-DM50 and LMD-DM30 also can be used in digital mammography PACS, while the LMD-DM30C, LMD-DM20C and LMD-DM20 only can be used to display and view images obtained from MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and CT scans.

“With a number of major product launches from our portfolio at this year’s [Medica] show, we are confirming our dedication to the medical profession,” said Philip Brandt, European marketing manager of surgery at Sony Europe. “Twelve months after the launch of the PVM-2551MD medical monitor, Sony’s understanding and product offering in this field has advanced 10-fold. Sony is able to draw upon years of research, development and experience to support medical innovation in an industry where quality is everything.”

Sony’s new products are on display in Hall 10, Stand F57/G57 at Medica through Nov. 17.