Shriners Hospitals for Children uses Masimo SpHb during selected surgeries

The healthcare professionals at Shriners Hospitals for Children® - Honolulu, which perform hundreds of orthopaedic surgeries on children each year, are using the latest in medical technology from Masimo (NASDAQ: MASI) to noninvasively monitor patient blood levels during selected surgeries. Without the use of needles, the innovative technology instantly lets the healthcare team know if a patient has internal bleeding so they can initiate a lifesaving blood transfusion the moment one is needed. Masimo noninvasive and continuous hemoglobin (SpHb®) monitoring technology is also helping the nonprofit Honolulu hospital save precious time and money associated with lab results and unnecessary blood transfusions.

"Knowing whether a patient's hemoglobin blood level is improving or falling to a critical point where a blood transfusion is necessary provides a good outcome for our young patients," said Harlan Klein, MD, Chief of Anesthesiology at Shriners Hospitals for Children® - Honolulu, who monitors vital signs of patients during surgeries.

According to National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimates, about five million patients receive blood transfusions each year in the United States, and more than half of heart surgery patients need at least one transfusion of red blood cells. Blood transfusions, which replenish blood lost during surgeries, can be lifesaving, but they can also cause life-threatening complications. Blood transfusions can improve outcomes only when used in the right patient, at the right time, and in the right dose. Masimo SpHb allows healthcare professionals to accurately and reliably track hemoglobin changes occurring in real-time—providing earlier indications of directional changes than intermittent invasive hemoglobin values.

"In the past, we've only received glimpses of our patients' hemoglobin levels from lab measurements, but now we have complete and real-time hemoglobin visibility," said Richard DiBucci, RN, Inpatient and Surgical Services Manager of the Honolulu hospital. "We not only can spot hemoglobin changes as they occur, but also can see where they are heading. This helps us to identify upward and downward hemoglobin trends on a second-by-second basis, which has been of tremendous value."