Shriners Hospitals for Children® - Honolulu: First in Hawaii to Implement Masimo Noninvasive Hemoglobin Monitoring Technology

HONOLULU and IRVINE, Calif., Aug. 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The healthcare professionals at Shriners Hospitals for Children® - Honolulu, which perform hundreds of orthopaedic surgeries on children each year, are using the latest in medical technology from Masimo (NASDAQ: MASI) to noninvasively monitor patient blood levels during selected surgeries. Without the use of needles, the innovative technology instantly lets the healthcare team know if a patient has internal bleeding so they can initiate a lifesaving blood transfusion the moment one is needed. Masimo noninvasive and continuous hemoglobin (SpHb®) monitoring technology is also helping the nonprofit Honolulu hospital save precious time and money associated with lab results and unnecessary blood transfusions.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110831/LA59374)

"Knowing whether a patient's hemoglobin blood level is improving or falling to a critical point where a blood transfusion is necessary provides a good outcome for our young patients," said Harlan Klein, MD, Chief of Anesthesiology at Shriners Hospitals for Children® - Honolulu, who monitors vital signs of patients during surgeries.

According to National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimates, about five million patients receive blood transfusions each year in the United States, and more than half of heart surgery patients need at least one transfusion of red blood cells.(1) Blood transfusions, which replenish blood lost during surgeries, can be lifesaving, but they can also cause life-threatening complications. Blood transfusions can improve outcomes only when used in the right patient, at the right time, and in the right dose. Masimo SpHb allows healthcare professionals to accurately and reliably track hemoglobin changes occurring in real-time—providing earlier indications of directional changes than intermittent invasive hemoglobin values.(2)

"In the past, we've only received glimpses of our patients' hemoglobin levels from lab measurements, but now we have complete and real-time hemoglobin visibility," said Richard DiBucci, RN, Inpatient and Surgical Services Manager of the Honolulu hospital. "We not only can spot hemoglobin changes as they occur, but also can see where they are heading. This helps us to identify upward and downward hemoglobin trends on a second-by-second basis, which has been of tremendous value."

Masimo SpHb is part of Masimo rainbow® SET Pulse CO-Oximetry—a breakthrough technology platform that allows hospitals to noninvasively measure and continuously monitor blood constituents and physiological parameters that previously required invasive procedures—including: total hemoglobin (SpHb®), oxygen content (SpOC™), carboxyhemoglobin (SpCO®), methemoglobin (SpMet®), Pleth Variability Index (PVI®), and acoustic respiration rate (RRa™), in addition to the 'gold-standard' Measure-Through Motion and Low Perfusion performance of Masimo SET® oxyhemoglobin (SpO2), perfusion index (PI), and pulse rate (PR). The oximetry standard-of-care at leading hospitals worldwide, Masimo rainbow® SET provides immediate real-time results that enable clinicians to more rapidly assess patients and detect and treat adverse, potentially life-threatening conditions earlier.

(1) National Institutes of Health; NIH News; June 21, 2010; www.public.nhlbi.nih.gov/newsroom/home/GetPressRelease.aspx?id=2710

(2) L. Lamhaut, R. Apriotesei, M. Lejay, B. Vivien, P. Carli. "Comparison Between a New Noninvasive Continuous Technology of Spectrophotometry-based and RBC Count for Haemoglobin Monitoring During Surgery with Hemorrhagic Risk" Eur J Anaesthesiol 2010; 27 (Suppl 47): 3AP7-1.

About Shriners Hospitals for Children® - Honolulu

Shriners Hospitals for Children® – Honolulu provides innovative pediatric orthopaedic care to children in Hawaii and throughout the Pacific Basin. There are two qualifications for care at Shriners Hospital: Children must be under age 18 and have an orthopaedic condition that can be treated. All care at the hospital is provided to a child, regardless of the patient's family ability to pay. More than 28,000 children have received orthopaedic care at the Honolulu hospital since it opened in 1923. There are 22 Shriners Hospitals in the United States, Canada and Mexico providing advanced care for children with orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate.

About Masimo

Masimo (NASDAQ: MASI) is the global leader in innovative noninvasive 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 rainbow SET® Pulse CO-Oximetry™ technology, allowing noninvasive and continuous monitoring of blood constituents that previously required invasive procedures, including total hemoglobin (SpHb®), oxygen content (SpOC™), carboxyhemoglobin (SpCO®), methemoglobin (SpMet®), and Pleth Variability Index (PVI®), in addition to SpO2, pulse rate, and perfusion index (PI). In 2008, Masimo introduced Patient SafetyNet™, a remote monitoring and wireless clinician notification system designed to help hospitals avoid preventable deaths and injuries associated with failure to rescue events. In 2009, Masimo introduced rainbow Acoustic Monitoring™, the first-ever noninvasive and continuous monitoring of acoustic respiration rate (RRa™). Masimo's rainbow SET technology platform offers a breakthrough in patient safety by helping clinicians detect life-threatening conditions and helping guide treatment options. In 2010, Masimo acquired SEDLine®, a pioneer in the development of innovative brain function monitoring technology and devices. Masimo SET and Masimo rainbow SET technologies can be also found in over 100 multiparameter patient monitors from over 50 medical device manufacturers around the world. Founded in 1989, Masimo has the mission of "Improving Patient Outcome 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 www.masimo.com.

Masimo, SET, Signal Extraction Technology, Improving Patient Outcome and Reducing Cost of Care... by Taking Noninvasive Monitoring to New Sites and Applications, rainbow, SpHb, SpOC, SpCO, SpMet, PVI, rainbow Acoustic Monitoring, RRa, Radical-7, Rad-87, Rad-57, Rad-8, Rad-5, Pulse CO-Oximetry, Pulse CO-Oximeter, Adaptive Threshold Alarm, and SEDLine are trademarks or registered trademarks of Masimo Corporation.

SOURCE Masimo Corporation; Shriners Hospitals for Children - Honolulu

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