IRVINE, California, November 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Masimo , the inventor of Pulse CO-Oximetry(TM) and Measure-Through Motion and Low-Perfusion pulse oximetry, announced today that Lyon, France-based Uni.H.A., one of the largest healthcare Group Purchasing Organizations (GPO) in France, has signed a multi-year purchasing agreement for gold standard Masimo SET(R) pulse oximeters. The agreement offers preferred contract pricing to Uni.H.A.'s 53 member hospitals and provides for more than 1,000 Masimo SET bedside pulse oximeters and 650 handheld pulse oximeters to be purchased within four-years.

Masimo pulse oximeters feature the most advanced pulse oximetry technology available to deliver accurate, reliable measurements and meaningful alarms that reflect a patient's true oxygenation status. The superior fidelity of Masimo SET pulse oximetry technology-clinically-proven in more than 100 independent and objective studies to provide the most trustworthy SpO2 and pulse rate measurements, even under the most difficult clinical conditions of patient motion and low peripheral perfusion-allows clinicians to maximize their efficiency by concentrating on caring for their patients, rather than chasing false alarms.

In addition, the agreement provides Uni.H.A.-member hospitals with an upgrade path to the breakthrough noninvasive blood constituent monitoring capabilities available only as part of the Masimo Rainbow SET Pulse CO-Oximetry technology platform. These unique noninvasive measurements-including total hemoglobin (SpHb(TM)), oxygen content (SpOC(TM)), carboxyhemoglobin (SpCO(R)), methemoglobin (SpMet(R)), and PVI(TM) for fluid responsiveness-can be field-installed on Masimo Rainbow-ready devices through a simple software upgrade, allowing hospitals to easily purchase and add them when they are ready. Masimo Rainbow SET measurements enable earlier detection of potentially life-threatening conditions to help increase patient safety, improve the quality of care, and reduce the cost of care.

Jon Coleman, President of Masimo International, stated: This agreement with Uni.H.A. provides many of Europe's most demanding hospitals with direct and open access to Masimo pulse oximetry and noninvasive blood constituent monitoring solutions that facilitate faster, easier and safer health decisions. We are happy to partner with Uni.H.A. in providing their member hospitals with the industry-leading medical technology solutions they need to advance patient care and outcomes.

Uni.H.A. members include 32 Hospital University Centers and 21 major hospitals across Europe that represent 45% of French state hospital expenditures. Today, Masimo SET pulse oximetry technology is at work in more than 100 top-ranked hospitals throughout France, including the largest public hospital system in Europe-Assistance Publique Hopitaux de Paris (AP-HP).

About Masimo

Masimo 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 Masimo Rainbow SET(R) Pulse CO-Oximetry(TM), a breakthrough noninvasive blood constituent monitoring platform that can measure many blood constituents that previously required invasive procedures. Masimo Rainbow SET continuously and noninvasively measures total hemoglobin (SpHb(TM)), oxygen content (SpOC(TM)), carboxyhemoglobin (SpCO(R)), methemoglobin (SpMet(R)), and PVI(TM), in addition to oxyhemoglobin (SpO2), pulse rate (PR), and perfusion index (PI), allowing early detection and treatment of potentially life-threatening conditions. Founded in 1989, Masimo has the mission of Improving Patient Outcomes 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.

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 regarding the repeatability of clinical results, risks related to our assumptions that a sole-supplier agreement with Uni.H.A. will expand European market access to Masimo SET pulse oximeters, risks related to our belief that Masimo SET will deliver sufficient sensitivity and specificity to deliver the most accurate and reliable measurements under all conditions of patient motion and low peripheral perfusion, and risks related to our assumption that this multi-year supplier agreement will serve to broaden the use of Masimo SET pulse oximetry or will serve to provide substantially increased revenues for the company, 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: Dana Banks Masimo Corporation +1-949-297-7348

Masimo, SET, Signal Extraction Technology, Improving Outcomes and Reducing Cost of Care by Taking Noninvasive Monitoring to New Sites and Applications, Rainbow, SpHb, SpOC, SpCO, SpMet, PVI, Radical-7, Rad-87, Rad-57,Rad-9, Rad-8, Rad-5,Pulse CO-Oximetry and Pulse CO-Oximeter are trademarks or registered trademarks of Masimo Corporation.

SOURCE: Masimo

CONTACT: Media, Dana Banks of Masimo Corporation, +1-949-297-7348