Jim Lucas
General Manager Western Europe, SoniSite UK
Q: What is your role at SonoSite, and what does it involve?
A: Since I joined SonoSite I have been overseeing the dealer network, together with the area directors in Eastern Europe and Middle Eastern Africa. Later, I took over as the area director of Western Europe. I have started my new position as the General Manager Western Europe in January 2007, to oversee sales and marketing in countries throughout that territory, including UK, France and Spain.
Q: What is your background, and why did SonoSite appeal to you?
A: My clinical background is as a cardiac respiratory technician. I trained in Cardiff, and I have been the head of a cardiorespiratory department in Swansea. In 1993 I left the clinical arena to work as an applications specialist and in sales, then as an account manager, and I joined SonoSite in 2002. SonoSite is a rapidly growing company in a very rapidly expanding environment, and we’re addressing both the traditional and emerging markets, throughout the world. Hand-carried ultrasound is the fastest moving environment I have ever had the privilege to work in and SonoSite continues to drive innovation, addressing the various and expanding clinical needs.
Q: How has SonoSite’s dealer network grown over the last couple of years, and what has been your role?
A: Being of a clinical background I am a big advocate of supporting education. A lot of our success with hand-carried ultrasound over the past few years hasn’t been restricted to the traditional environments like obstetrics, gynaecology and radiology – we have also been expanding into emerging markets such as anaesthetics with nerve blocks. It is important that we are involved from the beginning as an education medium for practitioners in all these areas. The courses we run help people to realise the value of hand-carried ultrasound, and how it actually contributes to their practice. Through education, many practitioners have been introduced to the benefits of hand-carried ultrasound. Physicians are now able to perform procedures more safely as a result of being able to use ultrasound for visualisation.
Q: Do you think that a lot of practices are already equipped with cart systems, meaning they can’t justify acquiring hand-carried systems?
A: Hand-carried ultrasound complements hospital cart systems. For example, rather than making patients wait in a radiology department while a cart system is wheeled across a hospital to another patient’s bedside, the cart system can continue to work in the department while the hand-carried system can be taken quickly and easily out into the wards. Hand-carried systems can save hospitals money by providing point of care ultrasound, and the patients can have an immediate diagnosis at the point of care rather than having to be taken to where the cart system is based.
Q: How do you see the future direction of SonoSite, specifically in terms of the UK?
A: With the advanced capabilities of the latest SonoSite MicroMaxx® system the traditional core ultrasound specialities are clearly becoming increasingly interested in hand-carried ultrasound, and that’s also going to be an essential part of our growth over the next couple of years throughout Europe. Our focus is going to be on demonstrating the cost effectiveness of hand-carried ultrasound. SonoSite systems have been shown to increase hospital efficiency and reduce costs by bringing ultrasound to the point of care. We believe our systems are perfect for the future of the NHS due to the cost effectiveness of our products and SonoSite’s ability to demonstrate how hand-carried ultrasound can reduce patient waiting time.
Q: How will SonoSite ensure all of those very diverse markets are managed?
A: SonoSite has been extremely successful due to our unique and innovative products. We have had to grow quickly to ensure that our customers are receiving the best possible education and after-sales service, and we make continued efforts to provide ever greater support to our customers. We are also working with other key industry partners in the UK such as Diomed and Abbott, pursuing various initiatives to work towards our future.
For more information about SonoSite products, please contact:
SonoSite
Alexander House,
40A Wilbury Way,
Hitchin SG4 0AP
T +44 (0)1462 444 800
F +44 (0)1462 444 801
europe@sonosite.com
www.sonosite.com
© 2007 kdm communications limited