LID.L Regulatory News (LID)

9 Oct 2006 14:00

For immediate release 9 October 2006 LiDCO Group Plc ("LiDCO" or "the Company") R&D Open Day showcasing the significant improvements in new software available in Q4 06 LiDCO the cardiovascular monitoring company is today holding an Open Day forinvestors and analysts at St Thomas' Hospital, London, from 2pm until 5pm. Thepurpose of this Open Day is to brief investors on LiDCO's R&D strategyincluding details of the latest software Version 4.0 and the new research andclinical audit product LiDCOview.The new software package, Version 4.0, in combination with the LiDCOviewdemonstrates how LiDCO's technology has made a significant leap forward ingraphical user interface development compared with the market's current andolder, non-PC based hemodynamic monitoring products.Significant improvements to the new software package include: * Improvements have been developed to allow the user to target and monitor specific oxygen delivery goals - the use of the LiDCOplus Monitor to maintain oxygen levels in high-risk surgery patients has already been demonstrated to reduce mean hospital stay by 12 days. * New measurement for improved fluid management and improved graphical user interface - the LiDCO sensor now provides Intra Thoracic Blood Volume ("ITBV"). Correct fluid management of patients in surgery, trauma and intensive care locations improves cardiac performance and critically the oxygen delivery to vital organs which has been shown to reduce hospital bed stay. The ITBV has been reported* as being a much more sensitive guide to the fluid management of patients than the traditional invasive catheter based measurement of pulmonary artery wedge pressure. * Improvements to the calibration consistency - calibration is now more automatic, simpler and includes an audit function that highlights if a calibration has occurred successfully or should be repeated. Accurate measurement of oxygen delivery is important, modest shortfall in oxygen delivery for extended periods of time leads to tissue and organ failure that is avoidable and if occurs has enormous clinical and financial implications. * LiDCOview a Windows based software product that is designed to help clinical staff to view historical LiDCOplus files. In its simplest form the LiDCOview allows the re-creation of the monitor trend screen seen at the bedside. Particularly, difficult cases and their management strategy can then be discussed in clinical forums in order to pass on these experiences to other physicians and nurses. * Source: O Goedje et al Chest 2000 Vol 118 PP 775-781For more information please contact:LiDCO Group Plc Tel: +44 (0)20 7749 1500 Terry O'Brien - Chief Executive Hugh McGarel-Groves - Finance Director Rob Lamb - Company Secretary Buchanan Communications Tel: +44 (0)20 7466 5000 Tim Anderson, James Strong Presentations made at the LiDCO R&D open day will be downloadable from www.lidco.com on the 10 October & LiDCO's interim results and investorpresentation `LiDCO's Interim Results - six months ended 31 July 2006 will beavailable from the LiDCO website on the 18 October 2006.Notes for EditorsAbout LiDCO Group PlcLiDCO 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. Use of LiDCO's technology has been shownto significantly reduce the complications (particularly infections) and costsassociated with major surgery. The technology was invented in the Department ofApplied Physiology based at St Thomas' Hospital, London.The Company's manufacturing facility is in Hoxton, London N1 and its currentproducts are:¢â‚¬¢ LiDCOplus and PulseCO monitors: computer-based platforms for displaying arange of real-time, continuous hemodynamic parameters including cardiac output,oxygen delivery and fluid volume;¢â‚¬¢ LiDCO disposables: used in conjunction with the LiDCOplus Monitor toaccurately determine cardiac output in a minimally-invasive manner.Distribution Network:The Company has now achieved registration of its products in 14 markets inEurope, the USA, Brazil and Japan. It sells direct in the UK and USA, andelsewhere through a worldwide network of specialty critical care distributors.Further InformationLiDCO's product strategy is to apply a combination of physiological expertise,sensor and computing technology to monitor and display in a simple form therelationship and trends of important physiological variables. Improving theuser interface transforms complex physiological data into useable informationon the patient's status. The goal is to avoid traditional approaches tomonitoring which can lead to data overload. This is achieved through the use ofsimple "at a glance" screens that help detect changes quicker, reduce responsetimes and thereby improve outcomes. Changes to version 4.0 have been customerdriven at every stage of its development.The accuracy of the LiDCOplus technology has been validated extensively anddemonstrated to reduce the hospital stay of high-risk surgery patients bytwelve days using the technique of early goal directed therapy - saving ‚£4,800per patient treated. Extrapolated to the whole of the UK this would equate to asaving of ‚£500 million per annum for the National Health Service. LiDCO'sminimally invasive sensor technology in combination with it's unique signalprocessing and user interface is intended to take hemodynamic monitoring into anew era where the costs and risks of using the technology are far outweighed bythe clinical, human and financial returns. Thus St George's Hospital, Londonestimate a saving of approximately ‚£2 million pounds per annum is possiblethrough use of our technology to better manage surgery patients.Specifically the Version 4.0 software introduces significant improvements inthree areas: * Oxygen transport (delivery and consumption) its targeting and optimisation. The use of the LiDCOplus Monitor to maintain oxygen delivery levels inhigh-risk surgery patients has already been demonstrated to reduce meanhospital stay by 12 days. The user can now both target and monitor a specificoxygen delivery goal. This is a unique feature to the LiDCO technology. Thissimplifies the adoption and implementation of an early goal directed protocolof care by hospitals that has been demonstrated to dramatically reducecomplications, infections and length of stay. * Improved graphical user interfaces and a new measurement (Intra Thoracic Blood Volume) for improved fluid management. Most acute care patients require fluid support. The question is how much togive - too little or too much can cause problems that can increase hospitallength of stay, or worse. A number of new and unique features have been addedto allow the nurse or doctor to assess the likely fluid status and thesubsequent response. These include a trend display of two preload responsevariables. The user chooses from stroke volume variation, pulse pressurevariation, heart rate variation and systolic pressure variation. This featureis supplemented with an Event Response / Fluid Challenge Screen. Both thesefeatures are unique to LiDCO and together significantly improve the managementof fluids in any patient who has an arterial line fitted.Physicians endeavor to increase the thoracic blood volume in order to rehydratepatients in surgery, trauma and intensive care locations. Correct fluidmanagement improves cardiac performance and critically the oxygen delivery tovital organs that has been shown to reduce hospital bed stay. The lithium ioninjection is currently used by LiDCO as a marker substance to measure cardiacoutput. Combining this existing measurement with the time taken for the lithiummarker to transit from the injection point to the LiDCO sensor provides a newmeasurement - the Intra Thoracic Blood Volume (ITBV). The ITBV has beenreported as being a much more sensitive guide to the fluid management ofpatients than the traditional invasive catheter-based measurement of pulmonaryartery wedge pressure. LiDCO expects that this new measurement will haveapplication in the improved fluid management of patients- particularly thosepatients who are not fully ventilated or suffering from heart arrhythmias wherepreload response variables are unreliable. The Company are researching theprovision of further blood volume parameters directly derived from the lithiumion dilution curve. It is likely that there are additional useful applicationsof this core technology such as the derivation of pulmonary and/or heartvolumes. We will keep investors informed of progress in this area.Overall we see this increased functionality, both in terms of the graphicalinterface and ITBV, as particularly addressing fluid management in surgerypatients - both within the operative room and post operatively. We estimatethat there are 5 million risk surgery patients per annum who could benefit. * Improvements to calibration consistency Accurate measurement of oxygen delivery is important, modest shortfall inoxygen delivery for extended periods of time leads to tissue and organ failurethat is avoidable and if occurs has enormous clinical and financialimplications. The LiDCOplus Monitor is the only product available to providecalibrated continuous oxygen delivery data from a radial artery catheter i.e.minimally invasively. The calibration method uses LiDCO's patented lithiumdilution technology. The calibration process is therefore key - particularlyfor high-risk patients - where specific levels of oxygen delivery are targeted.The changes we have introduced are designed to make the calibration processmore automatic, simpler and to include an audit function that highlights if acalibration has occurred successfully or should be repeated. * The new LiDCOview The LiDCOview product is a Windows based software product that is designed tohelp customers view historical LiDCOplus files. In its simplest form theLiDCOviewSE allows the recreation of the monitor trend screen ie recreates theview seen at the bedside. It also offers the ability to review and analyse dataoffline. This way of looking at data, without having to use Excel, is veryuseful for clinical audit / education purposes and research centres. Forexample, those high risk surgery patients undergoing early goal directedtherapy using the LiDCOplus can be easily assessed for how quickly they wereresuscitated after surgery and to what extent were they maintained at targetoxygen delivery levels. Particularly, difficult cases and their managementstrategy can then be discussed in clinical forums in order to pass on theseexperiences to other physicians and nurses. LiDCO feels that this product helpsto bring high quality management and audit techniques into the reach ofhospitals treating acutely ill patients thereby enhancing efficiency andproductivity.ENDLIDCO GROUP PLC