Vidacare’s EZ-IO® Takes Top Honor in The Wall Street Journal Eighth Annual Innovation Award Competition
Breakthrough emergency medicine technology chosen from 700 entries for its innovative design and industry impact
San Antonio, TX – Vidacare®, the leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of advanced intraosseous (IO) technology, today announced that The Wall Street Journal has named its EZ-IO product system as sole winner in the overall Gold category and winner of the medical device category in the eighth annual Innovation Award competition. 700 entries were submitted; the 15 judges evaluated 160 entries for Gold, Silver and Bronze, and “looked for innovations that broke new ground in their fields and that demonstrated some measurable impact,” according to the publication.
Full coverage of the awards appears in The Wall Street Journal's three global editions today, as well as online. “We are extremely grateful to the judges of The Wall 
Street Journal Innovation Awards, an established and well-respected competition, for recognizing our intraosseous technology as outstanding,” said Phil Faris, CEO, Vidacare. “We have worked hard to bring this innovative, emergency solution to both the pre-hospital and hospital communities, so we’re extremely pleased by the market and technologyvalidation represented with this award.” Vidacaredeveloped the EZ-IO product system in conjunction with The University of Texas Health Science Center—San Antonio. The system consists of a small battery-powered intraosseous driver and needle set that provides fast, safe, and controllable IO access, safely penetrating through bone in seconds. This provides a viable alternative to traditional intravenous (IV) access, which is often difficult to obtain in patients whose veins have collapsed as a result of trauma or dehydration. The system enables emergency health professionals to provide a rapid, secure and safe delivery of lifesaving drugs and fluids. The device “really does seem to be a new technology that already has had a significant clinical impact,” says Anthony Kamaroff, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, editor in chief of Harvard Health publications andone of the Innovation award judges.
Vidacare will be honored at an awards ceremony and dinner October 21, 2008 in Redwood City, California at the Sofitel San Francisco Bay Hotel. Featuring a keynote address by Padmasree Warrior, the chief technology officer of Cisco Systems, the ceremony will be held in conjunction with the Dow Jones Alternative Energy Innovations conference.
About Vidacare Corporation
Vidacare® is the leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of advanced intraosseous (IO) access technology for multiple diagnostic, monitoring and therapeuticapplications. The company’s initial product line, the EZ-IO® product system by Vidacare, serves the emergent care industry as the world’s only lithium-battery powered drill and patented needle set for gaining immediate vascular access when conventional IV access is difficult or impossible. Vidacare’s suite of hematology/oncology products includes a power driver and specially-designed needle sets for bone marrow aspiration and biopsy. The OnControl™ Aspiration System by Vidacare was the first in this series of products and was made commercially available in June 2007. The OnControl™ Biopsy (Trephine) System by Vidacare is the second in the series and will be commercially available in late 2008. Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, Vidacare was founded in 2001. For more information, visit www.vidacare.com.
