Health Canada clears Zargis Cardioscan device for sale in Canada

Zargis Medical Corp., a majority-owned subsidiary of Speedus Corp. (Nasdaq: SPDE), today announced that Health Canada, the Canadian equivalent of the U.S. FDA, has cleared the Zargis Cardioscan(TM) device for sale in Canada.

The Cardioscan heart sound analysis software connects wirelessly to a Bluetooth®-enabled electronic stethoscope and is designed to help physicians analyze cardiac sounds for the identification and classification of suspected heart murmurs. As previously announced, Zargis Medical was a co-recipient of Popular Science magazine's 2009 "Innovation of the Year" award for Cardioscan.

With 62,000 physicians treating a population of nearly 34 million people, Canada represents a significant market for Zargis. Furthermore, Cardioscan's optional telemedicine capabilities are well suited for the Canadian healthcare system, which has embraced telemedicine as a core initiative. The introduction of Cardioscan into this market will provide benefits during face-to-face patient encounters and allow healthcare providers to extend the use of auscultation (listening with a stethoscope) to situations and environments where face-to-face encounters are not always feasible.

"We've been seeing increasing interest among the Canadian medical community in Cardioscan and its telemedicine functionality, which is predictable given Canada's geography and the nature of its population distribution," stated Zargis CEO John Kallassy.

This clearance allows Zargis to immediately begin marketing Cardioscan and the accompanying stethoscope in Canada.