Devices Surgery

 News Release - April 26, 2006

KARL STORZ Announces Marketing Agreement Reached with Global Care Quest

Companies Will Promote Wireless Solutions to Give Surgeons Remote Access to Vital Patient Data

CULVER CITY, Calif.--(HSMN NewsFeed)--April 26, 2006--KARL STORZ Endoscopy-America, Inc., a global leader in endoscopy products and solutions for operating room integration, announces that it has reached an agreement with critical health care systems developer Global Care Quest Inc. (GCQ) to collaborate on marketing the companies' advanced OR technologies for surgeons. Among these technologies are the KARL STORZ OR1® integrated operating room and GCQ's mobile, wireless patient information retrieval and display system, ICIS.

OR1® is the first fully integrated operating suite to be installed in the United States that places total control of OR functions in the hands of surgeons and OR nurses. OR1® streamlines the entire OR environment, functioning almost as if it were an added member of the surgical team. Centralized control of integrated systems is provided through the Karl Storz Communication Bus (SCB®). The SCB® is capable of managing up to 31 separate medical devices, as well as an unlimited number of environmental systems.

"This agreement provides the foundation for both KARL STORZ and GCQ to expand market access for our most innovative technologies," says Steve Martin, Manager, Alliance and Business Development, OR1®, KARL STORZ. "Combining the advantages of our OR1 surgical suites with GCQ's ICIS products will give surgeons extraordinary new capabilities. They will have unprecedented command of the surgical environment, but will also gain real-time remote access to most types of critical patient data."

GCQ's Integrated Clinical Information System (ICIS) delivers remarkably powerful and flexible tools directly into the hands of healthcare providers to help them make faster, more informed patient care decisions. The GCQ system integrates digital medical records, bedside charting, vitals monitoring and laboratory results to create the most comprehensive digital data integration and delivery system of its kind. This state-of-the-art software solution advances existing technology by offering PDA and cellular smart phone access to real-time data from bedside ICU monitors, as well as X-ray and CT/MRI scan imaging studies. Physicians can access medical data throughout a medical center using the hospital's wireless network, or remotely, outside the hospital, through high-speed cellular network connections.

About KARL STORZ

KARL STORZ Endoscopy-America, Inc. is an affiliate of Karl Storz GmbH & Co. KG, an international leader for more than 60 years in reusable endoscope technology, encompassing all endoscopic specialties. Based in Tuttlingen, Germany, Karl Storz GmbH & Co. KG is a family-owned company that designs, engineers, manufactures and markets all its products with an emphasis on visionary design, precision craftsmanship and clinical effectiveness. For more information, call 800-421-0837 or visit the company's Web site at www.karlstorz.com.

About GCQ

Global Care Quest is the developer of the Integrated Clinical Information System (ICIS) which performs real time integration and delivery of digital medical records, charting, bedside monitoring equipment and laboratory results to physicians and medical teams via stationary and wireless PCs as well as handheld wireless devices. ICIS improves access to patient data, enhances patient safety, and trims the cost of care by delivering critical patient information when and where it's needed. Founded in 2005, the company is venture backed by Lexington Ventures and headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California. For more information on Global Care Quest and ICIS, please contact Global Care Quest, 65 Enterprise, Suite 430, Aliso Viejo, California 92656, tel: 949-330-7450, or visit the GCQ website at www.globalcarequest.com.

Source: Karl Storz Endoscopy-America

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