Physicians Use Cardioscan To Evaluate Student Athletes During Sports Physicals

Main Category: Sports Medicine / Fitness
Also Included In: IT / Internet / E-mail;  Medical Devices / Diagnostics
Article Date: 21 Feb 2008 - 0:00 PDT

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Zargis Medical Corp., a spin-off from Siemens Corporate Research (NYSE: SI) and a majority-owned subsidiary of Speedus Corp. (Nasdaq: SPDE) announced that Cardioscan(R) is being used at the middle and high schools in Long Branch, New Jersey to evaluate student athletes during preparticipation sports physicals.

The Cardioscan evaluation is being undertaken in conjunction with The Children's Hospital at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, which provides school physicians for the district. The school nurses for the district have been actively administering Cardioscan to athletes and the results are being interpreted by physicians. Following the conclusion of the program, which will involve nearly 800 students over the next 12 months, the Center's Director of Pediatric Inpatient Services, Dr. Richard DeGroote, and Dr. Rhea Salonga, will interpret the findings and intend to submit the results for publication.

According to Dr. DeGroote, "There is clearly a need for a cost-effective screening method which could be an adjunct to the preparticipation sports physical exam in the early identification of certain potentially lethal cardiovascular abnormalities in young athletes. Although rare, the death of a young athlete from a previously undetected cardiovascular abnormality (an event commonly referred to as Sudden Cardiac Death or "SCD") is a tragedy that impacts an entire community and receives a great deal of media attention. I am very pleased that the Long Branch school district is the first school in the country to incorporate Cardioscan into student physicals."

According to Zargis CEO John Kallassy, "Our Cardioscan device could be a cost effective addition to any school system's sports preparticipation screening program. As a result, we believe that Cardioscan could one day become a standard of care in pre-sports physicals in physicians' offices or at the more than 26,000 secondary schools in the U.S. as well as in school systems in numerous overseas markets."

As part of the evaluation protocol, the entire nursing team for the Long Branch district, led by head nurse Kathy Celli, has undergone training in the use of Cardioscan.

About Zargis Medical Corp.

Zargis Medical Corp. develops advanced diagnostic decision support products and services for primary care physicians, pediatricians, cardiologists and other healthcare professionals. Zargis was formed in 2001 when Siemens Corporate Research, a division of Siemens AG (NYSE: SI), and Speedus Corp. co-invested to develop and market an advanced acoustic technology designed to detect heart abnormalities identified through analysis of heart sounds.

About Cardioscan

Zargis has developed Cardioscan, the first and only computer-assisted medical device designed to support physicians in analyzing heart sounds for the identification of suspected systolic and diastolic murmurs. Cardioscan is a non-invasive device that is easy to use, portable, and takes just minutes to perform. The device implements voice-guided protocol and a graphical user interface while maintaining an efficient physician workflow. Cardioscan provides a summary of findings in terms that are readily understood by physicians and offers an additional range of quantitative auscultatory information that cannot be obtained through listening alone. Cardioscan is intended to enhance auscultation-a procedure that has been universally employed through a stethoscope for nearly two-hundred years. The interpretations of heart sounds offered by Cardioscan are only significant when used in conjunction with physician over-read as well as consideration of all other relevant patient data.

Statements contained herein about Zargis that are not historical facts, including but not limited to statements about Zargis' product, corporate identity and focus, may be forward-looking statements that are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by Zargis, including, but not limited to, the continuing development of Zargis' sales, marketing and support efforts.

Zargis Medical Corp.
http://www.zargis.com

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