First Nursing Facility Installation of Masimo Patient SafetyNet(TM) Goes Live With 'Remarkable' Results

June 26, 2008

State-of-the-art, remote monitoring and clinician notification system helps keep nursing facility patients safe and clinicians happy

IRVINE, Calif., June 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Masimo (Nasdaq: MASI), the inventor of Pulse CO-Oximetry and Measure-Through-Motion-and-Low-Perfusion pulse oximetry, today announced the first installation of the Masimo Patient SafetyNet remote monitoring and clinician notification system outside of a hospital setting. The East Tennessee Respiratory Center at Hillcrest North, a skilled nursing facility in Knoxville, TN, installed the Patient SafetyNet system after Respiratory Support Services (RSS) -- the center's respiratory care providers -- outlined the significant clinical benefits that were possible with the system.

Masimo Patient SafetyNet has made a remarkable difference in almost every aspect of respiratory care at the Hillcrest North facility, stated Gene Gantt, Chief Executive Officer of RSS. Evidence of Masimo Patient SafetyNet's effect on patient safety is undeniable. After installation, we immediately noticed a reduction in false alarms by more than 60 percent and a marked reduction in hospital readmissions and acute care transfers, while the effectiveness of our ventilator weaning program and our clinical efficiency has improved.

Skilled nursing facilities are private institutions that present a unique challenge to patient monitoring. There are no glass windows to make observation of a patient in the privacy of their own room easy. Without an appropriate remote monitoring and clinician notification system, physiological early warning indicators -- such as decreases in oxygen saturation and pulse rate, which often precede respiratory distress or cardiac arrest -- may go unobserved.

In this setting, it is difficult to adequately monitor patients without compromising their privacy or comfort, said Scott Gantt, Chief Operating Officer of RSS. Masimo Patient SafetyNet allows us to monitor patients remotely and provides early warning alarms that tell us when the physiological parameters we have set for the patient are violated. This enables clinicians to immediately respond to the patient's bedside and initiate care before a potentially more severe event occurs.

Combining the gold standard Measure-Through-Motion-and-Low-Perfusion performance of Masimo Rainbow SET Pulse CO-Oximetry technology with wireless clinician alerts via pager, Patient SafetyNet provides a new level of safety to patients in settings that preclude the level of direct surveillance required and recommended to preempt adverse events. Masimo Rainbow SET Pulse CO-Oximetry is the first-and-only technology platform capable of continuously and noninvasively measuring many blood constituents that previously required invasive procedures, including total hemoglobin (SpHb(TM)), oxygen content (SpOC(TM)), carboxyhemoglobin (SpCO(TM)), methemoglobin (SpMet(TM)), pleth variability index (PVI), oxyhemoglobin (SpO2), perfusion index (PI) and pulse rate. At the heart of the system is Masimo SET pulse oximetry, clinically proven to have the highest sensitivity (98 percent) and specificity (97 percent) through conditions of motion and low perfusion.(1)

We are very excited about the Masimo Patient SafetyNet system and the improvements in care that we have already realized since implementing the system at Hillcrest North, stated Carolyn Pointer, BSN, MPH, NHA, President and CEO of Hillcrest HealthCare Communities. In fact, we look forward to expanding the benefits of Patient SafetyNet to other facilities within our network and continuing to lead the long-term care arena in advancements in technology, monitoring and patient care improvements.

Rick Fishel, President of Masimo Americas, stated Patient safety and quality of care are critical success factors in any inpatient setting. This installation illustrates the impact and value of Masimo Patient SafetyNet beyond the hospital setting. Respiratory Support Services and Hillcrest North are pioneering the use of this advanced patient monitoring technology in long-term care facilities with results that not only show improvements in patient safety, but also in patient outcomes. We applaud them for their vision, leadership and commitment to making a difference in the care of patients.

(1) Shah N, Estanol L. Impact of Motion and Low Perfusion on SpO2 & Pulse Rate in Three New Generation POs in Volunteers. Anesthesiology 2006; 105: A1433.

About Respiratory Support Services (RSS)

RSS is a full service post-acute care network providing respiratory therapy (RT) personnel, equipment and supplies, as well as consultancy and management services, to facilities like Hillcrest North in five southern states. In addition, RSS has successfully lead efforts to add continuous pulse oximetry monitoring to the Tennessee Standards for Ventilator Care in Rehabilitation Facilities and the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) Quality Respiratory Care Recognition Program.

About Hillcrest HealthCare

Hillcrest HealthCare offers services in four locations throughout Knox County, Tennessee. Hillcrest North, the largest campus with two buildings and 271 licensed beds, provides both skilled and long-term care. Hillcrest West and Hillcrest South are long-term care facilities with 194-beds and 95-beds, respectively, and LakeBrook Place is a 28-bed assisted-living facility.

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. Masimo 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 the positive results and clinical outcomes represented by Respiratory Support Services at the Hillcrest North Skilled Nursing Facility will be repeated at other hospitals, Masimo Patient SafetyNet will deliver a sufficient level of clinical improvement over alternative remote monitoring systems to allow for rapid adoption of the technology on general care floors, as well as other factors discussed in the Risk Factors section of our quarterly 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 quarterly 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, SpHb, SpOC, SpCO, SpMet, PVI, Radical-7, Rad-87, Rad-57, Rad-9, Rad-8, Rad-5, Pulse CO-Oximetry and Pulse CO-Oximeter are trademarks or registered trademarks of Masimo Corporation.

SOURCE Masimo Corporation

CONTACT: Dana Banks of Masimo Corporation, +1-949-297-7348

Web site: http://www.masimo.com