Citing Need for Early and Accurate Carbon Monoxide Exposure Detection Following Disasters, Agency Unanimously Approves and Authorizes Funds to Purchase Rad-57’s
Irvine, California – Masimo, the inventor of Pulse CO-Oximetry™ and Measure-Through Motion and Low-Perfusion pulse oximetry, announced today that the Masimo Rad-57 Pulse CO-Oximeter has been added to the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) list of required health and safety equipment for all Urban Search & Rescue (US&R) task forces throughout the United States. FEMA authorizes funding for each of its US&R task forces to purchase multiple Rad-57’s, enabling them to quickly, accurately and noninvasively detect carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning on the scene of disaster recovery operations.
FEMA has 28 national US&R task forces staffed and equipped to conduct round-the-clock search and rescue operations following earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, aircraft accidents, hazardous materials spills, and catastrophic structure collapses. Search and rescue operations often function in confined or poorly ventilated spaces with gas-powered equipment producing elevated levels of CO, which until now had been an overlooked hazard. Adding the Rad-57 to its mandatory medical equipment cache now allows FEMA’s US&R task forces to quickly, noninvasively evaluate and address the significant health and safety risks associated with CO poisoning for both civilians and rescue personnel in the urban search and rescue environment—helping to save and sustain lives, minimize suffering and enhance safety.
“Early and accurate CO exposure detection is important for successful mitigation and treatment of carbon monoxide poisoning,” stated Neil Hampson, MD, Medical Director, Center for Hyperbaric Medicine at the Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, Washington. “The Rad-57 will allow FEMA’s US&R teams to swiftly, thoroughly and easily assess and diagnose CO poisoning to increase their public safety efforts in the urban search and response environment.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), carbon monoxide—a common, yet lethal poison produced whenever any carbon-based fuel, such as gas, oil, kerosene, wood, or charcoal is burned—presents a significant two-fold risk during a disaster when “chemicals are most commonly released from businesses and industries, storage tanks, agricultural facilities and homes,” and “when power outages occur, the use of alternative sources of fuel or electricity cause CO to build up.” The most common symptoms of CO poisoning are headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion, while high levels of CO inhalation can cause loss of consciousness and death. Unless suspected, CO poisoning can be difficult to diagnose because the symptoms mimic other illnesses.
Joe Kiani, Founder and CEO of Masimo, stated, “When elevated CO levels are present, disaster often strikes a second time, placing victims and their brave, unsuspecting rescuers in grave jeopardy. This is now a preventable disaster for rescuers and victims alike with Masimo Rad-57 in action on the front lines of U.S. disaster search and rescue efforts.”
About Masimo:
Masimo (NASDAQ: MASI) develops innovative monitoring technologies that significantly improve patient care—helping solve “unsolvable” problems. In 1995, the company debuted Measure-Through Motion and Low-Perfusion pulse oximetry, known as Masimo SET®, which virtually eliminated false alarms and increased pulse oximetry’s ability to detect life-threatening events. More than 100 independent and objective studies demonstrate Masimo SET provides the most reliable SpO2 and pulse rate measurements even under the most challenging clinical conditions, including patient motion and low peripheral perfusion. In 2005, Masimo introduced Masimo Rainbow SET® Pulse CO-Oximetry™, a breakthrough noninvasive blood constituent monitoring platform that can measure many blood constituents that previously required invasive procedures. Masimo Rainbow SET continuously and noninvasively measures total hemoglobin (SpHb™), oxygen content (SpOC™), carboxyhemoglobin (SpCO®), methemoglobin (SpMet®), and PVI™, in addition to oxyhemoglobin (SpO2), pulse rate (PR), and perfusion index (PI), allowing early detection and treatment of potentially life-threatening conditions. Founded in 1989, Masimo has the mission of “Improving Patient Outcomes and Reducing Cost of Care by Taking Noninvasive Monitoring to New Sites and Applications.” Additional information about Masimo and its products may be found at www.masimo.com.