Masimo Showcases Best-in-Class Patient Safety Solutions at the AACN Conference

May 6, 2008

Masimo introduces the new Rad-87 Pulse CO-Oximeter, Patient SafetyNet, and noninvasive hemoglobin

IRVINE, Calif., May 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Masimo, the inventor of Pulse CO-Oximetry and Measure-Through-Motion-and-Low-Perfusion Pulse Oximetry, will showcase the latest technology for patient safety solutions at the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN), National Teaching Institute (NTI) & Critical Care Exposition in Chicago on May 6-8, 2008. Live demonstrations of the new Masimo Rad-87 Pulse CO-Oximeter(TM), Masimo Patient SafetyNet(TM) and continuous, noninvasive hemoglobin (SpHb(TM)) (pending FDA clearance) will show how Masimo technologies can help critical care clinicians advance patient safety, improve patient outcomes, and increase clinical efficiencies.

This year, the Joint Commission, an independent, not-for-profit organization that accredits and certifies more than 15,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, recognized improved recognition and response to changes in a patient's condition as one of their key National Patient Safety Goals.

A key foundational component to improving patient safety on the general floor is the unprecedented sensitivity and specificity of Masimo SET pulse oximetry. Before Masimo SET, pulse oximeters were reported to falsely alarm more than 90% of the time. In fact, one major hospital attempted to monitor patients on the general floor before the advent of Masimo SET and reported thousands of false alarms per month.

Another key component to improving clinician response to changing patient conditions on the general care floor is Masimo Patient SafetyNet-a new easy-to-use remote monitoring and clinician notification system that reliably and cost-effectively delivers patient alarms to assigned clinicians. Combining the "gold standard" performance of Masimo SET(R) pulse oximetry with wireless clinician notification via pager, Patient SafetyNet provides a new level of safety to patients on general care floors.

A perfect complement to Masimo SET and Patient SafetyNet is the new Masimo Rad-87 bedside monitor. The Rad-87 is an easy-to-use, yet fully-featured Pulse CO-Oximeter with a built-in 802-11a/b/g radio for bidirectional wireless communication with the Patient SafetyNet system. Recently cleared by the FDA, it features a simple, intuitive user-interface design with an easy-to-read, high-contrast display that allows clinicians to clearly see the Masimo Rainbow SET measurements-even from across the room. Alarms and alerts can be enabled at the bedside or remotely, via the Patient SafetyNet system. Rad-87 allows activation of many features with only a single touch and its unique visual display allows users to quickly confirm if the alarm settings are appropriate for the patient environment.

Rad-87 also features Masimo Rainbow SET, the first-and-only noninvasive blood constituent monitoring platform measuring carboxyhemoglobin (SpCO(R)), methemoglobin (SpMet(R)), and PVITM, in addition to oxyhemoglobin (SpO2), perfusion index (PI), and pulse rate. A cost-effective solution for critical care customers who value ease-of-use and versatility, Rad-87 will also be capable of displaying Masimo's newest Rainbow measurement-noninvasive total hemoglobin (SpHb(TM)) (pending FDA clearance).

As the Anesthesiology Patient Safety Foundation (APSF) has recommended, continuous monitoring of oxygenation (pulse oximetry) and ventilation should reduce the incidence of preventable postoperative death and injury on the general care floors.(1) Rad-87 and Patient SafetyNet should help hospitals provide the level of care their patients on the general floors need without the burden of excessive false alarms on their already stretched resources.

In addition, Rad-87's ability to provide noninvasive and continuous hemoglobin monitoring should help improve patient outcomes and reduce the cost of care by providing real-time anemia monitoring-potentially allowing clinicians to perform fewer lab tests, better manage blood transfusions, speed detection of internal bleeding, and more efficiently assess chronic anemia.

Joe E. Kiani, CEO of Masimo, stated, "Masimo has had a longstanding commitment to 'do what is best for patient care' through innovation. The new Rad-87, Patient SafetyNet and Rainbow SET technologies that we are presenting to the critical care community at the AACN underscore our commitment and highlight our continued focus on developing innovative monitoring solutions to empower healthcare professionals to provide more advanced and comprehensive care to their patients."

Sponsored by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, the NTI & Critical Care Exposition is the largest and most comprehensive trade show for acute and critical care nurses.

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 Masimo Patient SafetyNet, Rad-87, Masimo SET and Masimo Rainbow SET technologies will deliver a sufficient level of clinical improvement to allow for further adoption of pulse oximetry or Pulse CO-Oximetry on the general care floors 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 invasive 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 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.

(1) Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (ASPF) Initiatives: "Safety During Patient-Controlled Analgesia"; October 13, 2006. http://www.apsf.org/initiatives/pca.mspx

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, 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

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

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