Masimo provides Aurora with technology and sensor standardization across its
facilities - creating efficiencies and cost savings
IRVINE, Calif., July 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Masimo, the inventor of
Pulse CO-Oximetry and Measure-Through-Motion-and-Low-Perfusion Pulse Oximetry,
announced that Aurora Health Care has completed a system-wide conversion to
Masimo SET pulse oximetry technology. The integrated health care provider with
13 hospitals and more than 100 clinics performed an independent evaluation of
pulse oximetry technologies and chose Masimo over all other available
technologies to unify patient monitoring capabilities across their entire
network.
"The decision to convert all of our hospital and surgery facilities to
Masimo SET pulse oximetry originally grew out of clinical preference in the
Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
because of Masimo's superior performance during the most challenging of
patient conditions," stated Alan Gresch, Corporate Manager of Clinical
Engineering, Aurora Health Care. "Performance preference soon gave way to
clinical efficiencies and cost savings created by standardization to the
Masimo SET technology platform. Now, in addition to better technology across
the board, our staff no longer has to change sensors or monitors when patients
are transferred between departments."
Aurora Health Care is a not-for-profit Wisconsin health care provider and
a national leader in efforts to improve the quality of health care. Aurora
offers care at sites in more than 90 communities throughout eastern Wisconsin,
including 13 hospitals, more than 100 clinics and over 130 community
pharmacies. Prior to their system-wide conversion, hospitals and surgery
centers in the Aurora Health Care system struggled with pulse oximetry
technology and sensor incompatibility issues.
"I've been sold on Masimo SET pulse oximetry ever since I first saw that
it worked accurately on the tiniest of fingers and under the most difficult of
patient conditions," stated Sharon O'Hara, BSN, RN, CAPA, Perianesthesia
Supervisor, PACU, Aurora Bay Care. "In this practice setting, SpO2 is the
most important parameter. It can also be difficult to measure under typical
PACU patient conditions, which can include hypothermia and shivering. Masimo
SET eliminates artifact so we get accurate data before treating the patient."
By making the conversion to Masimo, Aurora Health Care joins many of the
top hospitals in the United States -- including four of the top five -- as
listed on the US News & World Report Honor Roll, which have all adopted Masimo
SET as their primary pulse oximetry platform. Masimo SET has been clinically
proven in more than 100 independent and objective studies to provide the most
trustworthy SpO2 measurements, even under the most difficult clinical
conditions such as patient motion or low peripheral perfusion. These studies
demonstrate that Masimo SET delivers improvements in outcomes, safety and
efficiency.
In addition to the clinical benefits realized by the adoption of Masimo
SET pulse oximetry technology, Aurora officials noted that the level of
service and support they received from the Masimo implementation team
throughout the multi-facility conversion process impressed them. "I must admit
that I was not looking forward to a system-wide technology conversion
involving 13 hospitals and 3 surgery centers," stated Gresch. "But from the
very start, the service, training and support we received from the entire
Masimo clinical implementation team was spectacular."
"Masimo's implementation plan was so detailed, carefully orchestrated and
executed in such a professional manner that there were absolutely no
surprises," continued Gresch. "In addition, they were there whenever we needed
them, answering every question we had about the process or the equipment, and
providing our entire team with a solid understanding of the technology and its
clinical application."
As part of the conversion, hospitals in the Aurora Health Care network
will also have the ability to noninvasively measure many blood constituents
with Masimo Rainbow SET Pulse CO-Oximetry that previously required invasive
procedures. Masimo Rainbow SET is the first-and-only technology platform that
continuously and noninvasively measures total hemoglobin (SpHb(TM)), oxygen
content (SpOC(TM)), carboxyhemoglobin (SpCO), methemoglobin (SpMet), and PVI,
in addition to oxyhemoglobin (SpO2), perfusion index (PI), and pulse rate.
Developed as a scalable and upgradeable technology platform, Masimo Rainbow
SET enables clinicians and hospitals to do more with their Masimo devices by
building and expanding the noninvasive measurements, capabilities and features
within the platform. This allows hospitals to make an investment in patient
safety today that won't become obsolete tomorrow.
Rick Fishel, President of Masimo Americas, stated, "Aurora Health Care is
a nationally recognized healthcare leader with a successful approach to
enhancing heath care quality using a combination of demonstrated best
practices and patient-centered care management. As a medical technology
innovator, Masimo shares this vision, and we are proud to provide innovative
solutions that can facilitate Aurora's plan to create better care processes
for all of their patients. Masimo SET pulse oximetry and Masimo Rainbow SET
Pulse CO-Oximetry solutions provide noninvasive capabilities that can help
Aurora advance patient safety and improve the way care is delivered in a
variety of clinical settings."
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)), oxygen content (SpOC(TM)),
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 Masimo SET and Masimo Rainbow SET will
deliver a sufficient level of clinical improvement over alternative pulse
oximetry and noninvasive patient monitoring systems to allow for further
adoption of the technology at other hospitals, risks related to our assumption
that this agreement with Aurora Health Care will serve to substantially
increase revenues, and 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, as well as other factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section
of our annual report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 29, 2008, filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 1, 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-Q for the quarter ended March 29,
2008, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise,
except as may be required under the federal securities laws.
Contact:
Dana Banks
Masimo Corporation
949-297-7348
Masimo, SET, Signal Extraction Technology, Improving Outcomes and
Reducing Cost of Care by Taking Noninvasive Monitoring to New Sites and
Applications, Rainbow, SpCO, SpMet, PVI, Pulse CO-Oximetry and Pulse
CO-Oximeter are trademarks or registered trademarks of Masimo Corporation.
SOURCE Masimo Corporation