Union believes many cardiac arrests experienced by fire fighters may be
attributable to CO exposure
IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Masimo (Nasdaq: MASI),
the inventor of Pulse CO-Oximetry and Read-Through Motion and Low Perfusion
pulse oximetry, today announced that the International Association of Fire
Fighters (IAFF) has issued education materials to more than 3,000 local union
presidents in the United States and Canada calling for routine carbon monoxide
(CO) screening using a Pulse CO-Oximeter for all fire fighters potentially
exposed to CO. The IAFF, representing more than 287,000 full-time,
professional fire fighters and emergency medical personnel who protect 85
percent of the nation's population, is the primary advocate for providing fire
fighters and paramedics with the tools they need to perform their jobs,
including implementation of new training programs and equipment.
In a letter to all local union presidents in North America, the IAFF
highlighted the need for a new protocol whereby any fire fighter potentially
exposed to CO and presenting with headache, nausea, shortness of breath, or
gastrointestinal symptoms should be assessed using a Pulse CO-Oximeter. IAFF
General President Harold A. Schaitberger acknowledged the prevalence, severity
and frequency of the detrimental effects of CO. "We believe that many of the
cardiac arrests fire fighters are experiencing may well be attributable to CO
exposure," President Schaitberger said.
Because CO is present in every fire and its symptoms are nonspecific and
easy to miss, the dangers of acute and prolonged CO poisoning are more
pronounced for fire fighters. According to the IAFF, the risk of prolonged CO
exposure during a fire does not end once the fire is controlled. The
"overhaul" phase of fire control, when fire fighters seek out and extinguish
any remaining fires to eliminate rekindles and stabilize both the structure
and scene, can be time consuming and expose firefighters to CO levels high
enough to cause death or permanent impairment. Additionally, repeated or
accumulated exposures present an even greater risk to fire fighters.
Even a single high level exposure, or prolonged exposure to low levels of
CO, has the potential to cause long-term cardiac, neurocognitive and
psychiatric damage. The long-term effects of CO -- including Parkinson-like
syndromes affecting motor skills and speech, dementia, cortical blindness,
acute renal failure, muscle cell death, and more -- can be devastating for
fire fighters and their families.
According to Mike McEvoy, EMS Director, NYS Association of Fire Chiefs,
"Two facts are widely known -- CO is the most common poison in the world
today, and dead firefighters often have significantly elevated CO levels. The
proactive use of the Pulse CO-Oximeter advocated by IAFF will help to ensure
that no firefighters slip through the system with undetected CO poisoning in
the line of duty."
The IAFF is the driving force behind nearly every advance in the fire and
emergency services in the 20th century, from the introduction of shift
schedules early in the last century to the enactment of SAFER in 2003. With
recognized experts in the fields of occupational health and safety, fire-based
emergency medical services and hazardous materials training, the IAFF has
established professional standards for the North American Fire Service. In
addition to city and county fire fighters and emergency medical personnel, the
IAFF represents state employees, federal workers and fire and emergency
medical workers employed at certain industrial facilities, including over
3,000 local unions in more than 3,500 communities throughout the United States
and Canada.
The National Association of EMS Educators (NAEMSE) issued similar guidance
to its membership recommending that EMS professionals "screen patients for
carbon monoxide poisoning that have had a suspected exposure, or present with
any of the signs or symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning." These two
organizations are examples of a growing trend with industry-leading emergency
services associations converging toward a new standard of care for the
proactive screening of CO-exposed patients and emergency services personnel by
Pulse CO-Oximetry.
Joe E. Kiani, Chairman and CEO of Masimo, stated, "Firefighters and EMS
personnel are among our greatest heroes. They fight tirelessly to save our
lives, homes, property and land from the ravages of fire -- often sacrificing
their own lives and health in the process. The Masimo Rad-57 Pulse CO-Oximeter
was designed with saving lives and preserving health in mind. We applaud IAFF
for taking this proactive step to ensure the health and well-being of the
heroes who care for us all."
About Masimo
Masimo (Nasdaq: MASI) develops innovative monitoring technologies that
significantly improve patient care -- helping solve "unsolvable" problems. In
1995, the company debuted Read-Through Motion and Low Perfusion pulse
oximetry, known as Masimo SET, and with it virtually eliminated false alarms
and increased pulse oximetry's ability to detect life-threatening events. More
than 100 independent and objective studies have confirmed that Masimo SET
technology allows clinicians to accurately monitor blood oxygen saturation in
critical care situations. Our Masimo SET platform has significantly addressed
many of the previous technology limitations, has substantially contributed to
improved patient outcomes and has been referred to by several industry sources
as the gold standard in pulse oximetry. In 2005, Masimo introduced Masimo
Rainbow SET Pulse CO-Oximetry, which, for the first time, noninvasively
monitors the level of carbon monoxide and methemoglobin in the blood, 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 Masimo Rad-57 Pulse CO-Oximeter will
deliver a sufficient level of clinical improvement over alternative devices to
allow for rapid adoption of the technology, and other factors discussed in the
"Risk Factors" section of our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter
ended September 29, 2007, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on
November 1, 2007. 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 September 29, 2007, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be
required under the federal securities laws.
Contact:
Tom McCall
Masimo Corporation
949-297-7075
Masimo, SET, Signal Extraction Technology, Radical, Radical-7, Rad-57,
APOD, Improving Outcomes and Reducing Cost of Care by Taking Noninvasive
Monitoring to New Sites and Applications, Rainbow, SpCO, SpMet, and Pulse
CO-Oximeter are trademarks or registered trademarks of Masimo Corporation.
SOURCE Masimo Corporation