BRANFORD, Conn., June 28, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CAS Medical Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:CASM) (CASMED) today announced the online early publication of the study "Cerebral Tissue Hemoglobin Saturation in Children With Sickle Cell Disease" in the Pediatric Blood and Cancer journal. In an NIH-funded study, researchers used CASMED's FORE-SIGHT® Oximeter to measure absolute oxygen saturation levels in the brain of children with sickle cell disease (SCD) and found that cerebral oximetry is a useful non-invasive tool to identify those who are at risk for brain injury and could help guide neuroprotective therapies for these patients.
This study contrasts with earlier inconclusive studies, which used a cerebral monitor that measured only relative changes from a baseline and, according to researchers, "may have been too inaccurate to resolve the relatively small overall contributions" of certain parameters to cerebral oxygenation levels. A pre-publication version of the paper is available at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pbc.24227/abstract.
Charles T. Quinn, MD, MS, Professor of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and Michael M. Dowling, MD, PhD, MSCS, Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology, U.T. Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas conducted the study, which was sponsored by a grant from National Institutes of Health and First American Real Estate Services, Inc. In the largest study of cerebral oximetry in SCD patients to date, the authors enrolled 149 participants in the main study where they used FORE-SIGHT to "spot check" cerebral oxygenation values, and enrolled another 10 patients with continual FORE-SIGHT monitoring during transfusions.
"The FORE-SIGHT Absolute Oximeter provided unique information that is critical to understanding the effect of sickle cell disease on the brain," said Dr. Quinn. "The brain oxygen saturation of patients with sickle cell disease can be affected in a number of ways, including vascular blockage, reduced oxygen carrying capacity of the blood, and patient-specific physiologic compensation to chronic anemia. We found great patient to patient variability in brain oxygenation levels that could not be predicted by other monitoring modalities. Therefore, measuring cerebral oxygenation directly with the FORE-SIGHT Oximeter provided unique information about low oxygen saturation in the brain that could otherwise have been unrecognized."
"Because of the FORE-SIGHT monitor's superior accuracy and its ability to provide absolute rather than relative values, regardless of darker skin tones, we were able to identify some significant biological correlations that had been overlooked previously," Dr. Dowling added. "Patients with SCD can experience significant neurologic and cognitive injury and we believe the FORE-SIGHT data will allow us to improve patient care."
Commenting on the study, Thomas M. Patton, President and Chief Executive Officer of CASMED, said, "The body of scientific evidence regarding the importance of measuring absolute values of brain oxygenation during surgery and in the treatment of other diseases has been growing rapidly. We are pleased that the SCD researchers had the confidence in FORE-SIGHT's accuracy to use it in their study and found it to be more useful as both a "spot check" monitor and a continuous monitor, particularly on dark-skinned patients where other monitors can struggle. This publication takes CASMED one step closer to our goal of making FORE-SIGHT the standard of care in cerebral oximetry and in broadening the awareness of the negative implications for oxygen desaturation in the brain across a wide patient population."
About CASMED® – Monitoring What's Vital
CASMED is a leading developer and manufacturer of medical devices for non-invasive patient monitoring. The Company's FORE-SIGHT Absolute Cerebral Oximeter provides a highly accurate, non-invasive, continuous measurement of absolute cerebral tissue oxygen saturation. Direct monitoring of tissue oxygenation provides a superior and powerful tool to alert clinicians to otherwise unrecognized and dangerously low levels of oxygenation of the brain and other tissues, thereby allowing them to intervene appropriately in the care of their patients. In addition to FORE-SIGHT Oximeters and accessories, the Company provides a line of bedside patient vital signs monitoring products, proprietary non-invasive blood pressure monitoring solutions for OEM use, neonatal intensive care supplies, and service. CASMED products are designed to provide unique monitoring solutions that are vital to patient care.
For further information regarding CASMED, visit the Company's website at www.casmed.com.
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