LID.L Regulatory News (LID)

24 Mar 2005 07:02

LiDCO Group Plc24 March 2005 For immediate release 24 March 2005 LiDCO GROUP PLC ("LiDCO" or "the Company") LAUNCH OF SOFTWARE UPGRADE LiDCO Group plc, (AIM: LID) the UK-based cardiovascular monitoring company, ispleased to announce today that it has launched its new upgraded proprietarysoftware for the LiDCOplus monitor at the 25th International Symposium onIntensive Care and Emergency Medicine in Brussels. As announced in May 2004, a contract was signed with Philips Medical Systems ("Philips") to create a communications link between LiDCO's proprietarystand-alone monitoring system and the Philips' patient monitor. This has nowbeen completed and incorporated into the new LiDCOplus monitor. The VueLink communications link allows Philips customers' access to theminimally invasive hemodynamic data provided by the LiDCO system. The provisionof such critical care parameters and hemodynamic data allow the complete pictureof the patient's condition and history to be displayed and accessed throughoutthe hospital. As well as the Philips VueLink protocol, LiDCO also provide a real-time Ethernetbased communication feature capable of delivering beat-to-beat data using a TCP/IP protocol for hospitals without Philips monitors. LiDCO monitors are now ableto be interfaced with all hospital information systems through both proprietaryand inexpensive non-proprietary protocols. These communication methods offer thepotential for data to be uploaded automatically to hospital information systems,without introducing key stroke or other human errors. Commenting on the launch, Dr Terry O'Brien, LiDCO's CEO, said; "We are very pleased to be able to announce these further capabilities to our PCplatform monitor. This software has been designed to enable all hospitals toimplement and audit the Early Goal Directed Therapy (EGDT) protocol that weannounced earlier this week. In a study at St Georges Hospital London this careprotocol has been demonstrated to save more than 10 bed days per patient and thereduction in complications such as infections." For further information please contact: LiDCO Group PlcTerry O'Brien (CEO) terry@lidco.com 020 7749 1500Theresa Wallis (Chairman) theresa.wallis@lidco.com Buchanan CommunicationsTim Anderson tima@buchanan.uk.com 020 7466 5000Mary-Jane Johnson mary-janej@buchanan.uk.comJames Strong jamess@buchanan.uk.com Durlacher Ltd (Broker & Nomad)Grant Harrison (Head of Corporate Broking) 020 7459 3600 Notes for Editors: Post surgical EGDT is an ideal application for the minimally invasive LiDCOplusmonitor: LiDCO's technology is less invasive as it does not require the insertion ofadditional catheters into the heart. It can be used in conscious orunconscious patients, and is designed to be quick and easy to set up. Themonitor can be used by both doctors and nurses to measure and display beat tobeat trends in blood flow and oxygen delivery to the body. Using this technologythe maintenance of a target oxygenation level and/or the 'early' and rapid payback of any oxygen debt incurred during surgery can be both achieved and,importantly, documented. The LiDCOplus monitor screen software has beenspecifically designed to be highly visible at a distance for routine monitoringonce the patient is stabilized, whilst also providing more detailed feedbackwhen the clinician or nurse is administering the intravenous fluids andpowerful drugs that are used to increase blood flow and oxygen delivery. Summary of the advantages of the LiDCOplus technology in the treatment of highrisk surgery patients: • No additional staff are needed to set and achieve oxygen delivery targets • The technology can be used by a nurse and does not require a specialist clinician • It can be set up quickly and easily • The monitor is specially designed to be make precise critical measurements easy to read and interpret, enabling swift corrective action to be taken when needed • The technology enables an audit trail of medical data to be recorded and passed to the hospital's patient information system • Significantly less invasive with commensurately lower infection rate reduced risk of tissue damage and less trauma for the patient than with older catheter based technologies • Collectively, these factors mean better clinical outcomes for patients, lower demands on critical care units staff, and lower costs overall for the healthcare provider. TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) TCP/IP is the basic communication language or protocol of the Internet. It canalso be used as a communications protocol in a private network (either anintranet or an extranet). General Notes about LiDCO Plc LiDCO is a UK based AIM traded developer, manufacturer and leading supplier ofminimally invasive, computer-based hemodynamic monitoring equipment anddisposables used primarily for the management of critical care andcardiovascular risk hospital patients. The technology was invented in theDepartment of Applied Physiology based at St Thomas' Hospital, London where theCompany maintains a research base. The Company's manufacturing facility is in Hoxton, London and its currentproducts are: • LiDCOplus and PulseCO monitors: computer-based platforms for displaying a range of real-time, continuous hemodynamic parameters including cardiac output, oxygen delivery and fluid volume; • LiDCO disposables: accurately determine cardiac output in a minimally-invasive manner. The Company has achieved registration of its products in 13 markets in Europe,the USA and Japan. It sells direct to the NHS in the UK, and through aworldwide network of specialty critical care distributors. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange