HONOLULU and IRVINE, Calif., Aug. 31, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — The
healthcare professionals at Shriners Hospitals for Children® –
Honolulu, which perform hundreds of orthopaedic surgeries on
children each year, are using the latest in medical technology from
Masimo (NASDAQ:
MASI) to noninvasively monitor patient blood levels during
selected surgeries. Without the use of needles, the innovative
technology instantly lets the healthcare team know if a patient has
internal bleeding so they can initiate a lifesaving blood
transfusion the moment one is needed. Masimo
noninvasive and continuous hemoglobin (SpHb®) monitoring
technology is also helping the nonprofit Honolulu hospital save
precious time and money associated with lab results and unnecessary
blood transfusions.
(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110831/LA59374)
“Knowing whether a patient’s hemoglobin blood level is improving
or falling to a critical point where a blood transfusion is
necessary provides a good outcome for our young patients,” said
Harlan Klein, MD, Chief of Anesthesiology at Shriners Hospitals for
Children® – Honolulu, who monitors vital signs of patients
during surgeries.
According to National Institutes of Health (NIH) estimates,
about five million patients receive blood transfusions each year in
the United States, and more than half of heart surgery patients
need at least one transfusion of red blood cells.(1) Blood
transfusions, which replenish blood lost during surgeries, can be
lifesaving, but they can also cause life-threatening complications.
Blood transfusions can improve outcomes only when used in the right
patient, at the right time, and in the right dose. Masimo SpHb
allows healthcare professionals to accur
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