Aurora Health Care Completes System-Wide Conversion to Masimo SET Pulse Oximetry Technology

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.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Masimo Corporation