University of North Carolina Hospitals Standardizes to Masimo SET® Pulse Oximetry for Improved Patient Outcomes
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Nationally Recognized Healthcare Organization Installs Masimo Patient SafetyNet(TM) for Advanced Patient Monitoring
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. and IRVINE, Calif.- Masimo (NASDAQ: MASI) today announced that the University of North Carolina Hospitals in Chapel Hill, ranked nationally in three adult and 10 pediatric specialties by U.S. News & World Report(2012-2013), has converted to Masimo SET(®) pulse oximetry, the standard-of-care at leading hospitals worldwide.
UNC Hospitals joins a growing list of nationally recognized health organizations using Masimo SET(®), clinically shown to virtually eliminate false alarms(1) and help clinicians detect life-threatening events.(2) More than 100 independent clinical studies have confirmed that Masimo SET(®) technology allows clinicians to accurately monitor blood oxygen saturation in the most challenging conditions - helping to substantially contribute to improved patient outcomes.
"We had been using a competitor's pulse oximeter for many years, but I was very familiar with the data demonstrating the superior results of Masimo's technology," said Carolyn Viall Donohue, Associate Chief Nursing Officer and Associate Vice President at University of North Carolina Health Care System. "We were very excited to do a side-by-side comparison with Masimo on patients under anesthesia, and in the ICU and NICU. During the live trial, Masimo performed very well. While Masimo's pulse oximetry is price competitive, this is not just a money issue. Going with Masimo was an improvement in patient care for us."
She recollects an incident in late 2011. Two young boys were admitted to the burn unit with severe inhalation injuries. Their oxygen levels were low, and the staff were unable to maintain pulse oximeter readings on one of the boys. The hospital called a Masimo sales representative and requested a Masimo Radical-7(®) that the hospital was about to use in a trial of the product. "With the Masimo unit, we got readings on this child when we were not able to get readings from our current pulse oximeter equipment," Viall Donohue said. "The doctors and nurses didn't want to return the (Masimo) pulse oximeter. After this episode the director of respiratory therapy told me, 'I'm a believer in Masimo technology.'"
For 20 straight years, UNC Hospitals - which includes N.C. Memorial Hospital, N.C. Children's Hospital, N.C. Women's Hospital, N.C. Neurosciences Hospital, and N.C. Cancer Hospital - has been included in the U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals list for multiple specialties. Only 3 percent of hospitals in the United States meet the U.S. News Best Hospitals criteria.
In keeping with its commitment to provide state-of-the-art patient care, UNC Hospitals also is installing Masimo Patient SafetyNet(TM), which can help ensure patient safety by noninvasively and continuously measuring and tracking a patient's underlying physiological conditions to assist clinicians in detecting changes or abnormalities that signal declining health status. If a patient's condition deteriorates, the system automatically sends wireless alerts directly to clinicians - prompting a potentially lifesaving response at the patient's bedside. Patient SafetyNet also has been clinically shown to reduce preventable and costly rescue events and transfers to intensive care units.( 3)
"We are honored to be partners with UNC Hospitals, which has an impressive focus on patient empathy and a well-deserved reputation for providing stellar care," said Masimo founder and CEO Joe Kiani. "By comparing Masimo in side-by-side trials, UNC Hospitals demonstrated its ongoing and data-driven commitment to improving patient safety and care by embracing leading-edge technologies. We share this vision and mission, and look forward to working with UNC Hospitals now and well into the future."
1. Shah N, Ragaswamy HB, Govindugari K, Estanol L "Performance of Three New-Generation Pulse Oximeters during Motion and Low Perfusion in Volunteers".J Clin Anesth. 2012 Aug;24(5):385-91.
2. Taenzer, Andreas H.; Pyke, Joshua B.; McGrath, Susan P.; Blike, George T. "Impact of Pulse Oximetry Surveillance on Rescue Events and Intensive Care Unit Transfers: A Before-and-After Concurrence Study." Anesthesiology, February 2010, Vol. 112, Issue 2. Available online here.
3. Taenzer A, Blike G, McGrath S, Pyke J, Herrick M, Renaud C, Morgan J. "Postoperative Monitoring - The Dartmouth Experience." Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation Newsletter Spring-Summer 2012. Available online
About University of North Carolina Hospitals UNC Hospitals is an 824-bed public, academic medical center operated by and for the people of North Carolina. The Hospitals' mission is to provide high quality patient care, to educate health care professionals, to advance research and to provide community service. UNC Hospitals includes North Carolina Cancer Hospital, North Carolina Children's Hospital, North Carolina Memorial Hospital, North Carolina Neurosciences Hospital, and North Carolina Women's Hospital. Each year UNC Hospitals cares for patients from all 100 counties in North Carolina and several surrounding states.
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 help clinicians detect life-threatening events. More than 100 independent and objective studies have shown that Masimo SET(®) outperforms other pulse oximetry technologies, 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(TM)), carboxyhemoglobin (SpCO(®)), methemoglobin (SpMet(®)), and Pleth Variability Index (PVI(®)), in addition to SpO(2), pulse rate, and perfusion index (PI). Additional information about Masimo and its products may be found at www.masimo.com.
Media Contacts:
Tom Hughes
UNC Health Care System
Phone: (919) 966-6047
Email: tahughes@unch.unc.edu
Mike Drummond
Masimo Corporation
Phone: (949) 297-7434
Email: mdrummond@masimo.com
SOURCE Masimo Corporation
Web Site: www.masimo.com
