Point-of-care ultrasound maker SonoSite inked a distribution deal with ultrasound merchant United Medical Instruments in an effort to move deeper into the private practice market, SonoSite announced Tuesday.

Under the agreement, UMI, a San Jose, Calif.-based supplier and servicer of used and new ultrasound equipment and a DOTMed 100 company, will sell SonoSite's M-Turbo and laptop-sized MicroMaxx ultrasound units to small private medical practices, SonoSite said. UMI will also act as a re-seller for used SonoSite and competitive products from trade-ins, the company said.

"The purpose of aligning with UMI is to better serve small practice customers," Scott Ronk, vice president of enterprise sales at SonoSite, told DOTmed News.

As for UMI, the company expects "tremendous success in the physician offices," president and CEO Mansoor Ghanavati said in a statement.

Bothell, Wash.-based SonoSite Inc.'s shares rose nearly 2 percent to hit $28.38 on NASDAQ in recent trading Tuesday.

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