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GE Medical Systems Information Technologies |
Released Products with Masimo SET:
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GE MEDICAL SYSTEMS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES FORMS ALLIANCE WITH MASIMO CORPORATION FOR PATIENT MONITORING PULSE OXIMETRY TECHNOLOGY
GE First to Introduce High-Acuity Patient Monitoring Systems with Masimo SET
MILWAUKEE, Wis., (February 26, 2001) - GE Medical Systems Information Technologies today announced an alliance with Masimo Corporation, the innovators of an enhanced noninvasive pulse oximetry technology that indicates if vital organs and tissues are receiving an adequate supply of oxygen, called Signal Extraction Technology (SET). This alliance allows GE to incorporate Masimo SET Pulse Oximetry into all major GE patient monitoring systems, which can help clinicians treat patients by significantly reducing false alarms, and more accurately tracking pulse oximetry in patients with poor perfusion or weak pulses.
“The agreement with Masimo is an important strategic addition for GE. After evaluating the various pulse oximetry technologies available, we decided to strengthen our relationship with Masimo because we believe they have created a distinct technology that will strongly benefit health care providers and their patients,” said Greg Lucier, president and CEO of GE Medical Systems Information Technologies.
In conjunction with the companies’ expanded alliance, GE is introducing the industry’s first high-acuity patient monitoring system that utilizes Masimo’s advanced SET Pulse Oximetry, called the GE Solar® SpO2 Module with Masimo SET®. GE will also offer the Masimo SET technology as an option to its existing and future Solar monitoring systems. In addition, GE plans to incorporate Masimo SET Pulse Oximetry into its full line of patient monitoring systems including TRAM, DASH® and DINAMAP® Pro.
“By incorporating a complete collection of best-in-class parameters in our patient monitoring systems, including Masimo SET Pulse Oximetry, GE provides clinicians with a ‘one-stop-shop’ for the reliable, real-time vital signs information,” said Kevin King, vice president of Clinical Systems for GE. “Our strategy to integrate the most advanced technologies into our patient monitoring systems creates a new level of monitoring performance that is clinically essential and fully supportive of our customers’ efforts to create a comprehensive electronic patient medical record.”
Before the advent of Masimo SET Pulse Oximetry, nine-out-of-ten pulse oximeter alarms were false alarms, causing clinician indifference to pulse oximeter alarms. In the past six years, more than 40 published clinical studies have demonstrated that Masimo SET virtually eliminates false alarms while improving the detection of true alarms. Some of these studies suggest that Masimo SET has helped to save lives and improve patient care, while reducing the cost of care as a result of its unprecedented accuracy and reliability. The latest study, which earned the Best ASA Abstract Award by the Society for Technology in Anesthesia for Dr. Charles Durbin at University of Virginia, suggests that Masimo SET could help reduce human errors linked to unnecessary mortality and morbidity.
“Clinicians in acute care settings have trusted GE to give them the best vital signs monitoring systems and arrhythmia analysis technology for more than 30 years. We are proud to have been selected as GE’s standard Pulse Oximetry offering and committed to the complete integration of our technology into GE’s patient monitoring systems,” said Joe E. Kiani, president and CEO of Masimo Corporation. “GE’s vast distribution channels will make our technology available to clinicians at health care institutions around the world - and to the patients they treat.”
Pulse oximetry is a noninvasive monitoring method that shows how well a patient’s cardiovascular and respiratory system is functioning, and indicates whether vital organs and tissues are receiving an adequate supply of oxygen. Changes in the oxygen level provide one of the earliest, most crucial signs of possible patient distress - up to four minutes in advance of critical problems, compared to as little as ten seconds for an electrocardiograph monitor.
About GE Medical Systems Information Technologies
GE Medical Systems Information Technologies is a global leader in providing solutions for the reliable and efficient acquisition, analysis and management of patient data in health care facilities around the world. The company’s offerings include cardiology, patient monitoring, image management, clinical information systems and performance management services. Information Technologies is a GE Medical Systems Company with global headquarters in Milwaukee, Wis.
GE Medical Systems is a $7 billion global leader in medical technology and services. Additional information about GE Medical Systems and Information Technologies can be found on the company’s Web site at www.gemedicalsystems.com.
