Masimo
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Masimo Corporation is a $250 million [1] Irvine, California-based manufacturer of noninvasive patient monitoring technologies that sells its products, both direct and through a network of OEM partners, to hospitals and health care professionals around the world. [2] The company was founded in 1989 by a young electrical engineer named Joe E. Kiani, who was soon joined by his friend and fellow engineer Mohamed Diab. Together, the two initially operated the company out of Kiani's condo in Mission Viejo, California. [3] Masimo today is best known for the invention of Measure-Through Motion and Low Perfusion pulse oximetry, which the company markets as Masimo SET (for Signal Extraction Technology). Kiani, 43, is currently Chairman and CEO of the global corporation. [4]
Numerous clinical studies have shown that Masimo SET virtually eliminates false alarms and increases pulse oximetry's ability to detect life-threatening events. [5] [6] [7] The company is recognized as one of the most innovative companies in the medical device industry. [8] Masimo won one of the largest patent infringement lawsuits of the decade when it sued the Nellcor division of much larger Tyco Healthcare (now known as Covidien) for willfully infringing on its patents for Measure-Through Motion and Low Perfusion pulse oximetry and received more than $300 million in damages when the suit was settled in in 2006. [9]
In 2005, Masimo introduced Masimo Rainbow SET, a noninvasive blood constituent monitoring platform that can measure many blood constituents that previously required invasive procedures. Rainbow SET continuously and noninvasively measures carboxyhemoglobin (SpCO) and methemoglobin (SpMet), pleth variability index (PVI), in addition to oxyhemoglobin (SpO2), perfusion index (PI) and pulse rate, allowing early detection and treatment of potentially life-threatening conditions. [10] In 2007, the company introduced a product called Patient SafetyNet, a remote monitoring and clinician notification system that helps keep at-risk patients safe on general care floors. [11]
In 2008, Masimo introduced the first technology ever to be able to noninvasively measure a patient's total hemoglobin levels. Noninvasive and continuous hemoglobin monitoring with Masimo Rainbow SET technology (pending FDA clearance), has the potential to help improve patient outcomes and reduce the cost of care by allowing for real-time anemia monitoring—providing the opportunity for fewer lab tests, fewer blood transfusions and a reduction in blood transfusion-related morbidity through more precise blood delivery. [12]
The company went public in 2007 in one of the most successful IPOs of the year and is currently traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange uner the symbol MASI. [13] [14]
