Astute Medical, Inc. to Host Kidney Injury Symposium at 33rd Annual ISICEM

- Event Highlights Groundbreaking AKI Risk Assessment Biomarkers

SAN DIEGO, March 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Acute kidney injury (AKI) is on the rise worldwide, striking millions of hospitalized patients each year. Leading critical care experts will discuss groundbreaking techniques for assessing risk of AKI at an educational symposium being held on Wednesday, March 20, 2013 at 12.30 during the 33rd International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (ISICEM) in Brussels, Belgium. Interested participants can visit AKIAssessment.com to register online. Event participants and others can follow the live event via Twitter @ACuteKidneyMan.

Dr. John Kellum of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center will examine the pathogenesis of AKI and present the latest research [VIEW STUDY] highlighting two biomarkers found to be both highly accurate in the assessment of AKI risk [VIDEO], and superior to current methods. Dr. Lakhmir Chawla of George Washington University and Dr. Andrew Shaw of Duke University Medical Center will discuss cell cycle arrest biomarkers in AKI and practical implications for management of AKI.

Increasingly, hospital physicians worldwide are expressing concern about the health risk and cost burden of AKI.

"With an incidence similar to heart attack and high mortality rates, kidney attack should be considered as severe a medical emergency as heart attack," says Dr. Claudio Ronco, director of the department of nephrology at San Bartolo hospital in Vicenza, Italy. "However, unlike heart attack, AKI is silent, without signs and symptoms that guide risk assessment. If undetected and unchecked, AKI can result in substantial kidney damage that can hinder quality of life, raise the risk of readmission or even result in death."

Dr. Ronco is the author of a recent commentary on AKI in Critical Care.

The symposium is hosted by Astute Medical, Inc., which recently commenced European commercialization of the NephroCheck® Test for AKI risk assessment. Astute Medical is an exhibitor at the ISICEM meeting, the largest and most prestigious critical care medicine conference in the world, attracting approximately 6,000 key opinion leaders, physicians, and other healthcare personnel each year. Astute Medical's booth is located at 2.65-2.68 in the main exhibit hall.

This year, Astute Medical is a sponsor of the 2013 World Kidney Day, which is focused on acute kidney injury. Through its "Stop Kidney Attack!" campaign, organizers hope to raise awareness of AKI and stimulate discussion, education and policy development leading to improved prevention and treatment of this major public health issue across the globe. Click here for more information.

The NephroCheck® Test and the Astute140™ Meter are not available for sale in the United States.

About AKI

Acute kidney injury is a complex and increasingly prevalent condition associated with high mortality in critically ill patients. Although it occurs quickly (over the course of hours), there is commonly a challenge in risk assessment due to the inadequate tools currently available to physicians. Failure to recognize and manage AKI in the early stages can lead to devastating outcomes for patients and increased costs to the healthcare system. For more information on incidence, costs and other aspects of AKI visit the Astute Medical media room.

About Astute Medical, Inc.

Named by the Wall Street Journal as one of the Top 10 Healthcare Start-Ups of 2012, Astute Medical is dedicated to improving the diagnosis of high-risk medical conditions and diseases through the identification and validation of protein biomarkers that can serve as the basis for novel diagnostic tests. The Company's focus is community- and hospital-acquired acute conditions that require rapid diagnosis and risk assessment. Astute Medical's current areas of interest include abdominal pain, acute coronary syndromes, cerebrovascular injury, kidney injury and sepsis.

For additional information, please visit www.astutemedical.com.

The NephroCheck® Test and the Astute140™ Meter are not available for sale in the United States. For information regarding trademarks and other intellectual property applicable to this product, including international trademarks, please see AstuteMedical.com/about/intellectual-property.

PN 0165 Rev B 2013/03/08.