Masimo (Nasdaq: MASI), the inventor of Rainbow Pulse CO-Oximetry™, Rainbow Acoustic Monitoring™, and Masimo SET® Measure-Through Motion and Low Perfusion pulse oximetry, today announced the international limited market release of Masimo Pronto-7 -- a new handheld device designed for quick and easy noninvasive hemoglobin (SpHb®) spot-check testing in virtually any environment. As part of the limited market release, select physician offices, emergency medical services, blood donation centers, and hospitals in eligible countries outside of the United States will be the first to use and benefit from this new point-of-care blood testing capability.
Hemoglobin is one of the most commonly ordered tests in both hospital and non-hospital settings because it is critical to assessing anemia and blood loss. However, traditional lab testing requires a painful needle stick for the patient, time-consuming blood draws for the clinician, and typically provides delayed results. The Pronto-7 represents a breakthrough solution for measuring hemoglobin in less than one minute -- without the needles, time-consuming laboratory analysis, risk of blood contamination, hazardous medical waste, and patient discomfort associated with traditional blood tests. The Pronto-7 is also the first Masimo device to feature Rainbow 4D™ -- designed for fast and accurate spot-check SpHb measurements -- along with SpO2 and pulse rate -- even in low perfusion conditions.
The palm-sized Masimo Pronto-7 -- with dimensions of just 13 cm x 7.2 cm x 2.5 cm (5.1" x 2.8" x 1") and weight of 296 grams (10.5 ounces) -- puts the power of noninvasive hemoglobin spot-check testing into any clinician's hands in almost any environment. Because of the device's embedded 802.11 b/g and Bluetooth communication capability, wireless printing or emailing of test results is enabled and future upgrades will allow for wireless transmission to electronic health record (EHR) systems.
A low hemoglobin level is called anemia, a pervasive blood disorder that, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), affects two billion people worldwide and causes one million deaths a year. A top ten risk factor contributing to the global burden of disease, anemia results in lost cognitive function and productivity that costs $50 billion annually in gross domestic product (GDP) losses worldwide. Anemia can be chronic or acute. Chronic anemia is characterized by consistently low hemoglobin levels that can be the result of a diet deficiency or illness such as cancer. Acute anemia is characterized by a sudden drop in hemoglobin levels that can result from internal or external bleeding due to surgery or trauma.
Masimo Founder and CEO, Joe Kiani, stated: "The portable Pronto-7 device is a revolutionary new product that offers speed, functionality, simplicity, and accuracy in a completely noninvasive manner. It's the perfect complement to existing Masimo Rainbow devices currently used in hospitals throughout the world to help clinicians continuously assess hemoglobin, detect internal bleeding, and aid in blood transfusion management. We believe that the Pronto-7 will have significant appeal to clinicians whose patients don't require continuous hemoglobin monitoring, but do appreciate the immediate and noninvasive anytime/anywhere testing capability it offers."
With CE Marking and the international limited market release underway, the Pronto-7 can now be demonstrated and quoted by Masimo direct and distributor representatives in Europe, Asia, Canada, Australia, and South America.
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