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Masimo and the International Association of Fire Chiefs Launch Nationwide Health & Safety Program to Reduce Firefighter Death and Injury

Friday, September 18, 2009 General News
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IRVINE, Calif., Aug. 18 Masimo (Nasdaq: MASI), the inventor of Pulse CO-Oximetry(TM) and Measure-Through Motion and Low-Perfusion pulse oximetry, and the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) jointly announce a new health and safety program designed to help fire departments across the nation implement new rehabilitation and medical monitoring standards to reduce the duty-related health hazards that claim the lives of hundreds of the nation's firefighters each year. The IAFC Firefighter Rehabilitation and Medical Monitoring Program provides the tools, training and resources fire departments need to put new national standards into practice.
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Numerous published studies have shown that heart damage resulting from CO poisoning is a frequent and significant predictor of mortality, requiring appropriate screening for the detection of such injuries.(1-4) Last year, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) revised its national codes and standards for Section 1584, "Standard on the Rehabilitation Process for Members During Emergency Operations and Training Exercises," to include the routine use of CO screening.
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"Evidence shows that mortality and morbidity increase following CO exposure, which is the most commonly encountered contaminant found in environmental studies of firefighters," stated Mike McEvoy, EMS Director for the New York State Association of Fire Chiefs. "However, a significant number of these injuries and deaths are preventable, simply through the implementation of careful medical monitoring and thorough rehabilitation efforts."

The new IAFC Firefighter Rehabilitation and Medical Monitoring Program, jointly developed and sponsored by Masimo and the IAFC, addresses vital occupational health and safety hazards for firefighters to meet a previously unmet need without draining department resources. The program offers free onsite and online training, educational resources and materials, development tools for standard operating procedures, guidance, and support to help fire departments implement and comply with NFPA 1584 required standards.

"This program provides fire departments with the materials they need to properly implement the national codes and standards, and train their members," said IAFC President Chief Larry J. Grorud, CFO, MIFireE. "Any delay or failure to implement these critical health and safety measures could increase injury and death rates for firefighters and reduce work capacities, manpower and efficiency for their departments."

NFPA 1584 mandates that "Any firefighter exposed to CO or presenting with headache, nausea, shortness of breath, or gastrointestinal symptoms at an incident where CO is present should be assessed for carbon monoxide poisoning."

The program identifies eight key elements for effective firefighter rehabilitation at incident scenes and training exercises, including: relief from environmental conditions, rest and recovery, temperature regulation, hydration, calorie and electrolyte replacement, medical monitoring, member accountability and tracking systems, and release for return to duty.

Masimo Founder and CEO, Joe E. Kiani, stated, "We are proud to work with the IAFC on this Firefighter Rehabilitation and Medical Monitoring Program. Our goal is to make it easier for fire departments to put the procedures and resources in place to meet the rehabilitation needs of their firefighters at every incident scene. The more successful we are, the safer firefighters will be."

(1) Hampson NB, Rudd RA, Hauff NM. "Increased Long-term Mortality Among Survivors of Acute Carbon Monoxide Poisoning." Crit Care Med. June 2009; 37(6):2116-8.

(2) Williams J, Lewis II RW, Kealey GP., "Carbon Monoxide Poisoning in Myocardial Ischemia in Patients with Burns." J Burn Care Rehabilitation. 1999; 12:210-213.

(3) Hedblad B, Engstrom, Janzon E, Berglunf G, Janzon L. "COHb% as a marker of cardiovascular risk in never smokers: Results from a population-based cohort study." Scand J Pub Health. 2006;34:609-615.

(4) Duenas-Laita A., Perez-Castrillon J. L., Ruiz-Mambrilla M., Raymond L. W., Barringer T. A., Konen J. C., Kales S. N., Soteriades E. S., Christiani D. C. "Heart Disease Deaths among Firefighters." N Engl J Med 2007; 356:2535-2537, Jun 14, 2007.

About the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC)

IAFC represents the leadership of over 1.2 million firefighters and emergency responders. IAFC members are the world's leading experts in firefighting, emergency medical services, terrorism response, hazardous materials spills, natural disasters, search and rescue, and public safety legislation. Since 1873, the IAFC has provided a forum for its members to exchange ideas and uncover the latest products and services available to first responders. www.iafc.org

About Masimo

Masimo (NASDAQ: MASI) develops innovative monitoring technologies that significantly improve patient care--helping solve "unsolvable" problems. In 1995, the company debuted Measure-Through Motion and Low-Perfusion pulse oximetry, known as Masimo SET((R)), which virtually eliminated false alarms and increased pulse oximetry's ability to detect life-threatening events. More than 100 independent and objective studies demonstrate Masimo SET provides the most reliable SpO2 and pulse rate measurements even under the most challenging clinical conditions, including patient motion and low peripheral perfusion. In 2005, Masimo introduced Masimo Rainbow SET((R)) Pulse CO-Oximetry(TM), a breakthrough noninvasive blood constituent monitoring platform that can measure many blood constituents that previously required invasive procedures. Masimo Rainbow SET continuously and noninvasively measures total hemoglobin (SpHb(TM)), oxygen content (SpOC(TM)), carboxyhemoglobin (SpCO((R))), methemoglobin (SpMet((R))), and PVI(TM), in addition to oxyhemoglobin (SpO2), pulse rate (PR), and perfusion index (PI), allowing early detection and treatment of potentially life-threatening conditions. Founded in 1989, Masimo has the mission of "Improving Patient Outcomes and Reducing Cost of Care by Taking Noninvasive Monitoring to New Sites and Applications." Additional information about Masimo and its products may be found at www.masimo.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, in connection with the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations about future events affecting us and are subject to risks and uncertainties, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control and could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in our forward-looking statements as a result of various risk factors, including, but not limited to: risks related to our assumption that Pulse CO-Oximetry will become the preferred method of noninvasive CO assessment for the IAFC and NFPA, risks related to our belief that SpCO will improve the clinical assessment of CO poisoning in firefighters and offer a measureable improvement over existing medical monitoring capabilities to enhance firefighter rehabilitation efforts, as well as other factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of our most recent reports, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), which may be obtained for free at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, we do not know whether our expectations will prove correct. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of today's date. We do not undertake any obligation to update, amend or clarify these forward-looking statements or the "Risk Factors" contained in our most recent reports, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under the applicable securities laws.

Masimo, SET, Signal Extraction Technology, Improving Outcomes and Reducing Cost of Care by Taking Noninvasive Monitoring to New Sites and Applications, Rainbow, SpHb, SpOC, SpCO, SpMet, PVI, Radical-7, Rad-87, Rad-57,Rad-9, Rad-8, Rad-5,Pulse CO-Oximetry and Pulse CO-Oximeter are trademarks or registered trademarks of Masimo Corporation.

Media Contact: Dana Banks, Masimo Corporation 949-297-7348

SOURCE Masimo Corporation
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