Acist Medical Systems

Industry analysts estimate that currently there are about 7 million cardiac and non-cardiac angiograms performed worldwide annually, with just over 2 million of them taking place in the US. According to executives at Acist Medical Systems , the worldwide market for contrast media injection systems, its specialty, exceeds $1 billion—including cath lab radiology, ultrasound, and computed tomography. And the potential for growth is high, particularly in ultrasound; currently only about 1% of the ultrasound procedures include the use of contrast agents, and analysts expect that number to increase to about 20% over the next 3-5 years.

An angiogram procedure involves taking pictures of the inside of the blood vessels by inserting a catheter into an accessible...