2008 NFPA 1584 establishes the routine use of Pulse CO-Oximetry as a way to
protect the lives of the nation's firefighters from the dangers of CO Poisoning
IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Masimo (Nasdaq: MASI),
the inventor of Pulse CO-Oximetry and Measure-Through Motion and Low Perfusion
pulse oximetry, announced today that the National Fire Protection Association
(NFPA) has included Carbon Monoxide (CO) screening by Pulse CO-Oximetry as
part of a new national healthcare standard for firefighters potentially
exposed to Carbon Monoxide poisoning. NFPA's consensus codes and standards
serve as the worldwide authoritative source on fire prevention and public
safety -- virtually every building, process, service, design, and installation
in society today is affected by NFPA documents.
The new standard, which became effective December 31, 2007 and was
recently published, establishes that "any firefighter exposed to CO or
presenting with headache, nausea, shortness of breath, or gastrointestinal
symptoms," should be measured for CO poisoning by Pulse CO-Oximetry or other
approved methods. It also requires every fire department to establish
Standard Operating Guidelines (SOGs) that outline uniform rehabilitation
procedures for firefighters at incident scenes and training exercises.
Too often, even the most skilled first responders miss the chance to treat
carbon monoxide poisoning early because, until Masimo invented Masimo Rainbow
SET Pulse CO-Oximetry in 2005, there wasn't a noninvasive way to detect
elevated levels of CO in the blood. With the Masimo Rad-57 Pulse CO-Oximeter,
fire fighters, EMS professionals and ER clinicians can easily detect carbon
monoxide poisoning by applying a noninvasive LED-based sensor on the victims
or themselves, allowing for prompt and possibly life-saving treatment that can
also limit the likelihood of long-tern cardiac and neurological damage.
Studies have shown that even a single high level exposure, or prolonged
exposure to low levels of CO, has the potential to cause long-term heart,
brain and organ damage. Long-term effects of CO include: cardiac arrests,
Parkinson-like syndromes affecting motor skills and speech, dementia, cortical
blindness, acute renal failure, and muscle cell death.
"Often cited by attorneys within the legal system, NFPA standards
represent complete industry consensus and are supported by a substantial
amount of scientific or medical evidence," said Mike McEvoy, EMS Director,
Board of New York State Association of Fire Chiefs. "This new national
standard adds considerable weight to growing industry guidance calling for CO
screening by leading EMS, EMT and firefighter associations nationwide,
including the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT),
the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF), and the National
Association of EMS Educators (NAEMSE)."
Joe E. Kiani, Chairman and CEO of Masimo, stated "We applaud NFPA for
making CO screening for firefighters a national standard with this latest
revision of NFPA 1584 and for taking the lead in healthcare reform for all of
North America's firefighters. Establishing uniform standards is crucial to
ensuring that the nation's firefighters receive the proper care and attention
required to help keep them safe, healthy and in peak condition to be able to
meet the demands of their life-saving work. We are proud that our Pulse
CO-Oximetry technology can play such a vital role within this standard and in
the lives of our heroic public servants."
A worldwide leader in providing fire, electrical, building, and life
safety to the public since 1896, NFPA's mission is to reduce the global burden
of fire and other hazards on the quality of life by providing and advocating
consensus codes and standards, research, training, and education. NFPA's 300
codes and standards influence every building, process, service, design, and
installation in the U.S. and many other countries. With a membership of more
than 81,000 and over 80 national trade and professional organizations, NFPA is
the authority on fire, electrical, and building safety. Copies of the
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Section 1584, Standard on the
Rehabilitation Process for Members During Emergency Operations and Training
Exercises, are now available through the NFPA.
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, 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 demonstrate that Masimo SET
provides the most trustworthy SpO2 and pulse rate measurements even under the
most difficult 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 Carboxyhemoglobin
(SpCO(TM)) and Methemoglobin (SpMet(TM)), Pleth Variability Index (PVI(TM)),
in addition to Oxyhemoglobin (SpO2), Perfusion Index (PI) and pulse rate,
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 inclusion in the new 2008 NFPA 1584 as a
national standard will serve to substantially increase sales or revenues for
the company and risks related to our assumption that the Masimo Rad-57 Pulse
CO-Oximeter will deliver a sufficient level of clinical improvement over
alternative CO monitoring devices to allow for rapid adoption of the
technology at hospitals, fire and rescue, EMT and EMS units, as well as 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.
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 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