Datascope Corp. (Nasdaq:DSCP), Montvale, N.J. has developed a new
patient monitoring system called NetGuard(tm) that uniquely and
economically monitors the electrical activity of the heart (EKG) in
order to protect the unmonitored hospital patient population in the
event of a life-threatening heart rhythm.
A large majority of patients in hospitals throughout the world are
currently unmonitored. In the United States, the company believes that
more than 100 million hospital patients annually are either not
monitored at all or monitored only during a surgical or other procedure.
Tens of thousands of unmonitored patients in U.S. hospitals die each
year as a result of a dangerous heart rhythm. As the first monitoring
system of its kind, NetGuard opens a potentially large new market in
patient monitoring.
Continuous monitoring of patients allows immediate detection and
early treatment of a dangerous heart rhythm, and has been shown to
significantly increase survival. Yet, greater application of continuous
monitoring is hampered by the cost of conventional patient monitoring
equipment and by the cost of 24-hour staffing required by conventional
central monitoring stations, which often exceeds the cost of the
monitoring equipment. NetGuard was conceived to remove these barriers to
continuous monitoring of unmonitored patients.
Commenting on the origin of NetGuard, Larry Saper, CEO and Founder
of Datascope Corp. said, "We've been concerned for some time
by reports of numerous and high profile incidents of patients dying of
arrhythmia while unmonitored. With advances in technology, and
proprietary innovations from our talented product development staff,
we've been able to develop NetGuard which fulfills our long-awaited
goal of creating a practical monitoring system to protect all patients
who are currently unmonitored."
The company said that patent applications related to NetGuard
technology have been filed, and are pending, in the United States and in
major market countries worldwide.
The FDA approved Datascope's 510(k) submission on September
26, 2007, giving the company clearance to market the NetGuard system in
the U.S. The company plans a market launch in November 2007. The
NetGuard system also has a CE mark, and planning for market launch in
Europe is currently underway.
The NetGuard system is simple, clinically effective and automatic.
The heart of NetGuard is a very small wireless EKG monitor, weighing
less than an ounce. The monitor communicates with a standard personal
computer (PC) at a nurse's station, which gives an alert and an EKG
display when a dangerous rhythm is detected. A nurse typically would
confirm the alert and call an emergency "code" in accordance
with hospital protocol. One PC has the capacity to cover 50 patients.
The system architecture of NetGuard provides for total coverage of a
hospital.
The NetGuard system is also economical. The cost of the wireless
system components, including the reusable portion of the EKG monitor, is
a fraction of the cost of conventional monitors. The single-use
component of the monitor, including batteries, electrode and adhesive
pad are packaged together in a detachable unit that mates neatly with
the reusable electronic unit. The batteries in the NetGuard monitor last
three days -- three times longer than conventional telemeters. Cost of
the single-use component has not yet been established but will be
affordable based on Datascope's market research. The company also
believes that hospitals using the NetGuard System may reduce their
potential exposure to liability from incidents to unmonitored patients
that could have been prevented had monitoring been available. In
addition, the company believes that the availability of NetGuard may
prove to be a competitive advantage to hospitals that use it.
About Datascope Corp.
Datascope Corp. is the global leader of intra-aortic balloon
counterpulsation and a diversified medical device company that develops,
manufactures and markets proprietary products for clinical health care
markets in interventional cardiology and radiology, cardiovascular and
vascular surgery, anesthesiology, emergency medicine and critical care.
The company has four product lines aggregated into two reporting
segments, Cardiac Assist / Monitoring Products and Interventional /
Vascular Products. The company's products are sold throughout the
world through direct sales representatives and independent distributors.
Founded in 1964, Datascope is headquartered in Montvale, New Jersey.
For more information, visit http://www.datascope.com or call
201/307-5435.
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