LID.L Regulatory News (LID)

LIDCO GROUP PLC

("LiDCO" or the "Company")

Premier of LiDCOrapid v2 incorporating Unity Software

LiDCO Group Plc (AIM: LID), the cardiovascular monitoring company, is pleased to announce the new LiDCOrapid v2 with Unity software, which will be on preview at both the American Society of Anesthesia (ASA) annual meeting in Washington, US and the European Society of Intensive Care (ESICM) meeting in Lisbon, Portugal this week. This monitor cements LiDCO's commitment to progressive parameter integration to provide a single monitor displaying multiple complementary parameters of surgery patients.

The Unity software incorporated into LiDCOrapid v2 will allow the connection of two modules to the LiDCOrapid to co-display Covidien's depth of anesthesia and add the convenience of CNSystem's continuous non-invasive blood pressure monitoring. This will address a growing requirement for monitoring solutions that are more comprehensive and can effectively replace multiple single parameter monitors. 

The product will be usable in all surgery patients, with or without an existing arterial blood pressure catheter, and potentially doubles the number of surgery patients suitable for fluid and hemodynamic monitoring. Existing LiDCOrapids can be upgraded to provide the new functionality.

LiDCOrapid v2 with Unity software is the result of a three-year research and development programme to integrate multiple complementary parameters and functions into the existing LiDCOrapid monitor platform. The goal was to produce a single monitor, applicable to a broader spectrum of surgery patients, providing enhanced fluid and anesthetic monitoring. Such monitoring is increasingly acknowledged to reduce complications and hospital length of stay. The project represents the most complex combined software and hardware development project LiDCO has undertaken since its flotation.

Dr Terry O'Brien, CEO of LiDCO, commented: "We expect the availability of this additional functionality will increase high margin disposable use in both our existing and the future installed base of LiDCOrapid monitors. We estimate that the addition of non-invasive blood pressure and hence non-invasive fluid monitoring could take the worldwide surgery market potential to approximately 10.5 million patients per annum with a potential disposable revenue stream of US$1.72 billion per annum. The recent purchase of BMEYE by Edwards demonstrates the move toward non-invasive hemodynamic monitoring and provides further validation of the development of the LiDCOrapid v2."

Dr Jürgen Fortin, CEO of CNSystems, commented: "Studies performed on more than 600 patients have demonstrated high levels of user confidence, ease-of-use and accuracy. The collaboration with LiDCO enlarges the field of application for our continuous non-invasive blood pressure technology into high-risk surgical procedures and the associated higher levels of recurring revenue."

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About LiDCO Group Plc

LiDCO is a supplier of minimally invasive hemodynamic equipment to hospitals, to monitor the amount of blood flowing around the body and ensure that vital organs are adequately oxygenated. LiDCO's products facilitate the application of hemodynamic optimization protocols for high risk patients in both critical care units and in the operating theatre. 

Increasingly clinical studies are showing that the optimization of patients' hemodynamic status in high risk patients produces better outcomes and reduced hospital stay. LiDCO's computer-based technology, developed at St Thomas' Hospital in London, has been shown to significantly reduce morbidity and complications, length of stay and overall costs associated with major surgery.

Key Products:

All LiDCO monitors use single-patient disposables (sensors or smartcards) which provide an ongoing revenue stream.

Clinical Validation & Education

LiDCO has been selected as the sole technology for two ongoing multi-centre government-funded studies in the UK and US. OPTIMISE is sponsored by the UK Government for optimizing cardiovascular management in high-risk abdominal surgery patients and in the US, MOnIToR is a US Government sponsored transplantation donor organ optimization study. The Company has also developed a hemodynamic workshop at St George's Hospital, London.

LiDCO Distribution Network:

LiDCO's strategy is to sell directly to hospitals in the UK, and through a network of specialty critical care and anesthesia distributors in the rest of the world.

LiDCO's sales office is in Cambridge, its manufacturing facility and headquarters are in London and its shares are traded on AIM. For more information please see www.lidco.com.

About CNSystems Medizintechnik AG

CNSystems Medizintechnik AG is a privately owned, venture backed company in Graz, Austria, that develops, manufactures and sells equipment for non-invasive, continuous monitoring of blood pressure and other vital parameters. The company has achieved world-wide sales with the "Task Force® Monitor", a non-invasive hemodynamic expert system combining continuous non-invasive arterial pressure (CNAP®) technology with impedance cardiography and software for the assessment of autonomic function in the cardiology field.

A further development of the CNAP® technology was to expand the product portfolio into non-invasive, continuous blood pressure monitoring for anesthesia and other medical interventions. CNAP® has been validated in more than 600 patients and provides true arterial blood pressure data with an accuracy comparable to arterial line.