IRVINE, Calif., April 16, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- Masimo (Nasdaq: MASI),
the inventor of Pulse CO-Oximetry and Measure-Through-Motion-and-Low-Perfusion
pulse oximetry, today announced an agreement with Atom Medical Corporation, a
leading global manufacturer of neonatal products and technologies, to
integrate Masimo Rainbow SET Pulse CO-Oximetry into its current and future
product solutions.
"Since standardizing on Masimo technology more than 10 years ago, our
neonatal monitoring solutions and customers have greatly benefited from the
superior performance of Masimo SET pulse oximetry," said Kazuo Matsubara,
President of Atom Medical. "Now, with the groundbreaking capabilities of
Masimo Rainbow SET and its ability to provide vital measurements that
previously required invasive lab procedures, we are confident that the
clinical community which we serve will experience even greater clinical and
financial benefits from our solutions."
Masimo Rainbow SET is the first and only technology platform capable of
noninvasively and continuously measuring total hemoglobin (SpHbTM) and oxygen
content (SpOCTM) -- both measurements pending FDA and other regulatory
clearances -- as well as carboxyhemoglobin (SpCO(R)), methemoglobin
(SpMet(R)), and pleth variability index (PVITM), in addition to oxyhemoglobin
(SpO2), perfusion index (PI), and pulse rate (PR).
Masimo Rainbow SET has the potential to help clinicians save lives through
more rapid diagnosis of potentially life-threatening conditions, allowing
faster treatment decisions and improved patient outcomes. The latest Masimo
Rainbow SET measurement, SpHb, may enable medical personnel in both hospital
and outpatient settings to quickly identify anemia or blood loss without
having to draw blood or wait for lab results.
In neonatal settings, the ability to continuously and noninvasively
measure a patient's methemoglobin levels is especially important due to the
risks associated with the use of inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) therapy to treat
hypoxic respiratory failure in newborns, which has been shown to induce
methemoglobinemia. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, "infants
who receive iNO therapy should be monitored according to institutionally
derived protocols designed to avoid the potential toxic effects associated
with iNO administration. These effects include methemoglobinemia (secondary to
excess nitric oxide concentrations), direct pulmonary injury (attributable to
excess levels of nitrogen dioxide), and ambient air contamination."(1)
Masimo Chairman and CEO, Joe E. Kiani, said, "Atom is a long-time Masimo
partner dedicated to developing innovative solutions for the challenging
neonatal clinical setting. The addition of Masimo Rainbow SET affirms their
position as a leading global provider of advanced neonatal product solutions,
leveraging breakthrough technologies to improve the quality of care for the
tiniest of patients. We commend Atom for their commitment to patient care and
product innovation."
About Masimo
Masimo (NASDAQ: MASI) develops innovative monitoring technologies that
significantly improve patient care -- helping solve "unsolvable" problems. In
1995, the company debuted Measure-Through-Motion-and-Low-Perfusion pulse
oximetry, known as Masimo SET, which virtually eliminated false alarms and
increased pulse oximetry's ability to detect life-threatening events. More
than 100 independent and objective studies demonstrate Masimo SET provides the
most reliable SpO2 and pulse rate measurements even under the most challenging
clinical conditions, including patient motion and low peripheral perfusion. In
2005, Masimo introduced Masimo Rainbow SET, a breakthrough noninvasive blood
constituent monitoring platform that can measure many blood constituents that
previously required invasive procedures. Rainbow SET continuously and
noninvasively measures total hemoglobin (SpHb(TM)) and oxygen content
(SpOC(TM)) (both pending regulatory clearances), carboxyhemoglobin (SpCO(R)),
methemoglobin (SpMet(R)), and PVI(TM), in addition to oxyhemoglobin (SpO2),
pulse rate (PR), and perfusion index (PI), allowing early detection and
treatment of potentially life-threatening conditions. Founded in 1989, Masimo
has the mission of "Improving Patient Outcomes and Reducing Cost of Care by
Taking Noninvasive Monitoring to New Sites and Applications." Additional
information about Masimo and its products may be found at
http://www.masimo.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release may include forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements are based on current expectations about future
events affecting us and are subject to uncertainties and factors, all of which
are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control, including:
risks related to our assumption that this agreement with Atom and their
adoption of Masimo technology will serve to substantially increase revenues,
risks related to our assumption that Masimo's new noninvasive
measurements -- total hemoglobin (SpHb(TM)) and oxygen content (SpOC(TM)) --
will deliver a sufficient level of clinical improvement over alternative
hemoglobin testing capabilities to allow for rapid adoption of the technology
and risks related to our assumptions regarding the timing or commercial
availability of SpHb and SpOC, and will be timely cleared, if ever, by
appropriate regulatory bodies, as well as other factors discussed in the "Risk
Factors" section of our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December
29, 2007, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 4, 2008.
Although we believe that the expectations reflected in our forward-looking
statements are reasonable, we do not know whether our expectations will prove
correct. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-
looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. We do not
undertake any obligation to update, amend or clarify these forward-looking
statements or the risk factors contained in our annual report on Form 10-K for
the year ended December 29, 2007, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise, except as may be required under the federal
securities laws.
1. AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS: Pediatrics, Vol. 106 No. 2 August 2000,
pp. 344-345, Use of Inhaled Nitric Oxide, Committee on Fetus and
Newborn.
Masimo, SET, Signal Extraction Technology, Improving Outcomes and Reducing
Cost of Care by Taking Noninvasive Monitoring to New Sites and Applications,
Rainbow, SpHb, SpOC, SpCO, SpMet, PVI, Pulse CO-Oximetry and Pulse CO-Oximeter
are trademarks or registered trademarks of Masimo Corporation.
SOURCE Masimo
http://www.masimo.com