Healthcare Industry News: ZOLL Medical
News Release - May 24, 2007
ZOLL Receives Clearance to Market E Series with See-Thru CPR Technology
Functionality Helps Minimize Interruptions in CPRCHELMSFORD, Mass.--(HSMN NewsFeed)--ZOLL Medical Corporation (NasdaqGS: ZOLL ), a manufacturer of resuscitation devices and related software solutions, today announced that it received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market and sell the ZOLL E Series® with See-Thru CPR(TM) technology. ZOLL's patented See-Thru CPR helps minimize interruptions in CPR--one of the key recommendations of the American Heart Association's (AHA) Guidelines for Advanced Cardiac Life Support.
This CPR quality improvement benefit is provided by extracting the "artifact" (unwanted visual aberrations in the electrocardiograph (ECG) signal) caused by chest compressions. See-Thru CPR's processing technology actually extracts the CPR artifact and shows a "filtered" ECG on the defibrillator screen, allowing rescuers to see organized cardiac rhythm without stopping compressions. The AHA notes that a primary source of interruption of CPR results from stopping to determine if an organized rhythm that can be defibrillated has developed.
"Just like our Real CPR Help(TM), this technology is exclusive to ZOLL in providing both feedback and the ability to deliver non-stop, high quality CPR," said Richard A. Packer, President and Chief Executive Officer of ZOLL. "It contributes to helping rescuers and clinicians save more lives."
All cardiac arrest victims need immediate and effective CPR. Furthermore, less than half of these victims require defibrillation initially since they are experiencing heart rhythms that are not "shockable;" that is, defibrillation will not help these victims' hearts beat normally again. The critical action is CPR, which achieves minimal but effective blood flow to feed oxygen to the heart and brain. CPR is also associated with a return of a "shockable" heart rhythm, making defibrillation possible later in the resuscitation event.
Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is an abrupt disruption of the heart's function, which causes a lack of blood flow to vital organs. This lack of blood flow can result in the loss of blood pressure, pulse, and consciousness. SCA is the leading cause of unexpected death in the world and strikes without warning. In the U.S. alone, there are more than 460,000 deaths each year from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Currently, only about 6 percent of victims survive.
The E Series also features Real CPR Help technology, which allows rescuers to see and hear how well they perform the rate and depth of CPR chest compressions in real time, helping rescuers improve CPR quality performance.
ZOLL E Series: "Rough and Tumble" Resuscitation Device
The rugged E Series is designed to meet the specific demands and extreme conditions that professional rescuers face every day. Manual operation of the E Series for ACLS users is currently Guidelines compliant. Its EasyRead Tri-Mode Display(TM), for use in pitch dark or direct sunlight, provides superior readability and complete views of critical patient information from virtually any angle. Its suitcase-style design and protective roll cage option, allow personnel to carry and store the device more easily. In addition, optional Bluetooth® functionality can provide data transmission capability to a variety of destinations, including transmission of 12-lead ECGs, which AHA Guidelines recommend for out-of-hospital use to help reduce time to perfusion in acute myocardial infarction.
About ZOLL Medical Corporation
ZOLL Medical Corporation is committed to developing technologies that help advance the practice of resuscitation. With products for pacing, defibrillation, circulation, ventilation, and fluid resuscitation, ZOLL provides a comprehensive set of technologies that help clinicians, EMS professionals, and lay rescuers resuscitate sudden cardiac arrest or trauma victims. ZOLL also designs and markets software that automates the documentation and management of both clinical and non-clinical information.
ZOLL markets and sells its products in more than 140 countries. The Company has direct operations, distributor networks, and business partners throughout the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Asia, and Australia.
Certain statements contained in this press release regarding matters that are not historical facts are "forward-looking" statements (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Because such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, ZOLL's ability to compete in the resuscitation business; acceptance of its recently launched products; changes in regulations affecting the healthcare industry; global economic conditions; and those other factors discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in ZOLL's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, which was filed with the SEC on May 11, 2007.
* Clinical references available upon request
©2007 ZOLL Medical Corporation. All rights reserved. 269 Mill Road, Chelmsford, MA 01824-4105. Real CPR Help, See-Thru CPR, and EasyRead Tri-Mode Display(TM) are trademarks of ZOLL Medical Corporation. E Series and ZOLL are registered trademarks of ZOLL Medical Corporation. All product names are the property of their respective owners.
Source: ZOLL Medical
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