Mafraq Hospital Becomes First in United Arab Emirates to Deploy Masimo rainbow SET Pulse CO-Oximetry for State-of-the-Art Noninvasive Patient Monitoring

IRVINE, California and DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, February 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

- Largest Hospital in the UAE Converts to Pulse CO-Oximetry Technology-Offering Advanced Monitoring of Blood Constituents and Multiple Physiological Parameters Without Invasive Procedures

Mafraq Hospital (http://www.mafraqhospital.ae) and Masimo (http://www.masimo.com) (Nasdaq: MASI) jointly announced the hospital-wide conversion of Mafraq Hospital to Masimo rainbow(R) SET Pulse CO-Oximetry(TM) technology for advanced noninvasive patient monitoring capabilities. The conversion makes Mafraq Hospital the first hospital in the UAE to feature Masimo's technologically and clinically-advanced oximetry and noninvasive patient monitoring solutions.

The Masimo rainbow SET Pulse CO-Oximetry technology platform allows hospitals to noninvasively measure and continuously monitor multiple blood constituents and physiological parameters that previously required invasive procedures-including: total hemoglobin (SpHb(R)) (http://www.masimo.com/hemoglobin), oxygen content (SpOC(TM)), carboxyhemoglobin (SpCO(R)) (http://www.masimo.com/spco), methemoglobin (SpMet(R)) (http://www.masimo.com/spmet), Pleth Variability Index (PVI(R)) (http://www.masimo.com/pvi ), and acoustic respiration rate (RRa(TM)) (http://www.masimo.com/rra/index.htm), in addition to the 'gold-standard' Measure-Through Motion and Low Perfusion performance of Masimo SET(R) (http://www.masimo.com/whymasimo/difference.htm) 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.

"Mafraq Hospital takes great pride in the skills and experience of its physicians and the fact that we have some of the world's most advanced equipment available, so that we can provide the best medical care and treatment services in one of the fastest growing areas in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi," stated John Nickens, CEO at Mafraq Hospital. "We saw tremendous value in the superior performance and futuristic noninvasive capabilities of Masimo rainbow SET Pulse CO-Oximetry and wanted to extend its positive clinical impact and patient care benefits to all of our patients throughout the hospital."

Mafraq Hospital, managed by Bumrungrad International and owned and operated by the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company PJSC (SEHA), which is responsible for all the curative activities of public hospitals and clinics in Abu Dhabi, is a major referral hospital and comprehensive tertiary healthcare provider in the UAE for 510,000 patients each year. The conversion ensures that all multiparameter patient monitors, stand-alone oximeters, and sensors throughout the hospital will feature the advanced noninvasive patient monitoring capabilities of Masimo rainbow SET-allowing Mafraq Hospital clinicians to easily and painlessly obtain and continuously track vital blood and physiological data for patients in real-time. Mafraq Hospital initially launched the new technology platform hospital-wide with Masimo SET pulse oximetry measurements (SpO2, PI, and PR), enabling the hospital to quickly and easily upgrade to Masimo rainbow Pulse CO-Oximetry measurements (SpHb, SpOC, PVI, SpCO, SpMet) as needed.

According to Mafraq Hospital Chief Nursing Officer, Gail Smith, "This conversion provides an exciting new medical first-noninvasive and continuous hemoglobin (SpHb), which allows our clinicians to perform trauma-free hemoglobin blood tests and get immediate results. And, as the only hospital in the UAE equipped with SpHb, we not only have the ability to quickly measure hemoglobin levels without removing a drop of blood from the patient, but we can now continuously track hemoglobin levels in real-time without having to perform repeated, painful blood draws and time-consuming lab analyses."

Masimo Founder and CEO, Joe Kiani, stated, "We are happy to be partnering with Mafraq Hospital as they lead the UAE in advancing the care and safety of patients. Mafraq Hospital's adoption of Masimo rainbow SET now makes it possible for hospital clinicians to noninvasively monitor and continuously track key indicators of a patient's relative physiological status-including hemoglobin and other blood constituents as well as fluid volume and respiration rate-to immediately and painlessly identify abnormalities and detect potentially life-threatening conditions much earlier."

The CEO of Emitac Healthcare Solutions (EHS), Masimo's distributor in the UAE, Mr. Raghavan Srinivasan considers it a matter of pride to partner with Masimo in deploying this solution to Mafraq Hospital, stating that: "This is a progressive step by the hospital to adopt innovative means to providing quality healthcare in the country."

About Mafraq Hospital

Mafraq Hospital was established in 1983 and is one of the largest tertiary referral treatment hospitals in the United Arab Emirates, with 451 licensed beds. Its specialist services include medicine, obstetrics, pediatrics, as well as surgical and critical care services. Mafraq Hospital operates the largest burn unit in the country and is a Center of Excellence for ENT and Thoracic surgery. The hospital also operates two primary healthcare clinics at Bani Yas and Al Nahda. Mafraq Hospital is part of the SEHA Health System and is owned and operated by Abu Dhabi Health Services Company PJSC (SEHA) which is responsible for the curative activities of the public hospitals and clinics of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. It is managed by Bumrungrad International (BIL), one of the most noted hospital management companies in Asia. Mafraq Hospital physicians are amongst the best in their specialist fields with international qualifications and world class expertise. The medical staff is supported by a capable and professional nursing and paramedical staff who are well trained and motivated to provide quality healthcare services. Emiratization is extremely important to Mafraq Hospital and many of the hospital's highly skilled physicians are UAE Nationals. The hospital also believes in customer service excellence and in providing quality healthcare with integrity and service excellence in a caring environment.

About the SEHA Health System and the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company PJSC (SEHA)

SEHA is health in Arabic. The Abu Dhabi Health Services Company PJSC - whose marketing identity is SEHA - is an independent, public joint stock company created to develop the curative activities of the public healthcare system in Abu Dhabi. The company owns and operates all the public hospitals and clinics of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi which together make up the SEHA Health System. SEHA is committed to providing high quality, cost effective healthcare in a socially responsible way on par with international standards measured through accessibility, affordability, choice and satisfaction. SEHA has partnered with internationally recognized hospital managers to achieve these goals. These include Johns Hopkins Medicine International, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, VAMED, Vienna Medical University and Bumrungrad International. SEHA owns and operates 12 hospitals with 2,644 beds, 62 ambulatory care, family care and urgent care centers and 2 blood banks. SEHA is one of the largest integrated healthcare providers in the Middle East with 16,500 doctors, nurses, ancillary care and administrative personnel in its employ. For more information, visit http://www.seha.ae.

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(R), 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(R) Pulse CO-Oximetry(TM), allowing noninvasive and continuous monitoring of blood constituents that previously required invasive procedures, including total hemoglobin (SpHb(R)), oxygen content (SpOC(TM)), carboxyhemoglobin (SpCO(R)), methemoglobin (SpMet(R)), and Pleth Variability Index (PVI(R)), in addition to SpO2, pulse rate, and perfusion index (PI). In 2009, Masimo introduced rainbow Acoustic Monitoring(TM), the first-ever noninvasive and continuous monitoring of acoustic respiration rate (RRa(TM)). Masimo's rainbow SET platform offers a breakthrough in patient safety by helping clinicians detect life-threatening conditions and helping guide treatment options. 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(R)." Additional information about Masimo and its products may be found at http://www.masimo.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, in connection with the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations about future events affecting us and are subject to risks and uncertainties, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control and could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in our forward-looking statements as a result of various risk factors, including, but not limited to: risks related to our assumptions that the hospital-wide conversion ensures that all Mafraq patients will be cared for using the most technologically and clinically-advanced noninvasive patient monitoring solutions available; risks related to our belief that Masimo rainbow SET provides real-time results for all patients to help clinicians to more rapidly assess, diagnose, and treat every patient; risks related to our belief that SpHb detects low or falling hemoglobin levels that could be the result of internal bleeding; as well as other factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of our most recent reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), which may be obtained for free at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, we do not know whether our expectations will prove correct. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of today's date. We do not undertake any obligation to update, amend or clarify these forward-looking statements or the "Risk Factors" contained in our most recent reports filed with the SEC, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under the applicable securities laws.

    
    Media Contacts:
    Amanda Banham                      Dana Banks
    Mafraq Hospital                    Masimo Corporation
    +971-2-5012443                     +1-949-297-7348
    abanham@mafraqhospital.ae          dbanks@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, Pulse CO-Oximetry, Pulse CO-Oximeter, SpHb, SpOC, SpCO, SpMet, PVI, rainbow Acoustic Monitoring, RRa, Radical-7, Rad-87, Rad-57, Rad-8, Rad-5, Pronto-7, Pronto, Patient SafetyNet, and SEDLine are trademarks or registered trademarks of Masimo Corporation.