Aspect Medical Systems Promotes Philip Devlin to Lead Neurodiagnostics Initiative.

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

NEWTON, Mass.--(BW HealthWire)--Nov. 27, 2001

Philip Devlin has been promoted to the newly created position of vice president of technology and general manager of neurodiagnostics, announced Nassib Chamoun, president and CEO for Aspect Medical Systems, Inc. Devlin's appointment underscores Aspect's commitment to extend the BIS monitoring platform to diagnose and track neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's and depression.

"The experience we've gained from more than 10 years of research and development in brain monitoring provides a strong foundation for our neurodiagnostic research," Devlin said. "Utilizing our expertise in understanding the brain to explore new applications for BIS and ultimately develop products to aid in the diagnosis of neurological disease is a natural progression for Aspect and I look forward to leading the company in this initiative."

More than 20 million Americans presently suffer from some form of neurological disease and this number is rising steadily due to the aging of the population. BIS technology may help detect disease in these patients because it quantifies changes in brain wave activity, or EEG, and has been shown to correlate with memory and changes in brain metabolism. "Our plan is to further investigate the correlation between the EEG and neurological status and apply what we learn to develop new practical applications," explained Devlin.

Devlin brings more than 20 years of experience with medical device companies to this new position, including 11 years as vice president of research and development at Aspect. He created Aspect's research and development department and spearheaded the design and development of BIS technology for measuring the effects of anesthetics and sedatives on the brain. Prior to working at Aspect, Devlin spent five years performing electrophysiological signal processing research at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston. He also served as manager of software engineering at Lifeline Systems, Inc. and as technical marketing engineer for the Hewlett Packard medical products group. Devlin holds bachelor's and master's degrees in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University.

"Aspect's core expertise is monitoring the brain. We've proven our ability to develop practical clinical applications for BIS technology in anesthesia and sedation. Now, with our neurodiagnostic research initiative lead by Phil, we are in a position to provide a special focus on future applications while continuing to drive development and innovation in our core market," said Nassib Chamoun, president and CEO of Aspect Medical Systems. "Phil has been instrumental in leading Aspect's development of BIS technology, and I can think of no better person to lead our initiatives in neurodiagnostics going forward."

With Devlin moving into this new role, Marc Davidson will be promoted to vice president of engineering reporting to Jeff Barrett, vice president of corporate operations.

About Aspect Medical Systems, Inc.

Aspect Medical Systems (NASDAQ: ASPM) is a global market leader in brain monitoring technology. To date, the company's Bispectral Index (BIS) technology has been used to assess more than four million patients and has been the subject of more than 800 published articles and abstracts. BIS is currently in use in the ORs and ICUs of more than 50 percent of the best-ranked hospitals in the U.S. (based on a U.S. News & World Report ranking of best hospitals) and is available in more than 160 countries. Aspect Medical Systems has recently secured OEM agreements with the six largest manufacturers of patient monitoring systems and partnerships with six of the largest group purchasing organizations in the United States. Based in Newton, Mass., Aspect employs more than 220 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company's web site at http://www.aspectms.com.

Certain statements about Aspect in this release and on Aspect's Web site are forward-looking and may involve risk and uncertainties, including statements with respect to benefits of, and demand and market acceptance for Aspect's products and Aspect's competitive position. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements are successful development and regulatory approval of products under development, market acceptance of products and products under development, the scope of Aspect's patent protection and other risks included under the heading, "Factors Affecting Future Operating Results," in Aspect's quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed on May 14, 2001, with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We are not obligated and do not intend to update publicly any forward-looking statements.

Bispectral Index and BIS are registered trademarks of Aspect Medical Systems, Inc. A-2000 and A-1050 are trademarks of Aspect Medical Systems, Inc.