Aspect Medical Systems and Nihon Kohden Receive Approval From Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour & Welfare for Reimbursement; Important Milestone in a Key International Market.Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers NEWTON, Mass.--(BW HealthWire)--Jan. 23, 2002 Aspect Medical Systems (Nasdaq: ASPM ASPM Abnormal Spindle-Like Microcephaly Associated ASPM Asociación del Secretariado Profesional de Madrid (Spanish: Association of the Professional Secretaryship of Madrid) ASPM Armed Services Procurement Regulation Manual ) and Nihon Kohden Corp. today announced that the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour & Welfare (MHLW MHLW Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (Japan; formerly Ministry of Health and Welfare, MHW) MHLW Mean High Low Water (tide level) ) granted reimbursement Reimbursement Payment made to someone for out-of-pocket expenses has incurred. approval for use of Aspect's BIS(TM) monitors. Commencing immediately, healthcare providers will be eligible to receive partial reimbursement of 1,000 yen, or approximately $7.50, each time the BIS monitor is used. "Anesthesiologists in Japan have been extremely receptive to using BIS technology solely on the basis of the clinical benefits," says Mr. Kazuo Ogino, President and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Nihon Kohden. "Clearly the MHLW also recognizes these benefits and has provided clinicians with the opportunity to seek reimbursement." BIS monitoring is the only commercially available consciousness monitoring technology in Japan - a market with more than 10,000 operating rooms operating room n. Abbr. OR A room equipped for performing surgical operations. . "Approval for reimbursement from the MHLW is an important milestone for Aspect," says Nassib Chamoun, President and CEO of Aspect Medical Systems. "Nihon Kohden has been an excellent strategic partner. They were instrumental in obtaining the rapid marketing approval of the A-2000 BIS monitor last year and now have secured reimbursement only eight months later." Chamoun continued, "This momentum in Japan is further evidence that our strategy to enter worldwide markets with carefully selected partners and bring the benefits of BIS monitoring to patients across the globe has yielded results." About the technology BIS technology monitors a patient's level of consciousness, helping clinicians determine and administer the precise amount of drug each patient needs. Through numerous clinical studies and routine use at hundreds of healthcare institutions worldwide, BIS monitoring has been shown to improve patient care while providing the opportunity to reduce costs, such as drug expenditures. 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 A Bispectral index (BIS) monitor is a modern neurophysiological monitoring device which continually analyses a patient's electroencephalograms during general anaesthesia to assess the level of consciousness during anaesthesia. (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 hospitals in the U.S. (based on a U.S. News & World Report U.S. News & World Report Weekly newsmagazine published in Washington, D.C. U.S. News was founded in 1933 by David Lawrence (1888–1973) to cover important domestic events; he founded World Report in 1945 to treat world news. The two magazines were merged in 1948. ranking) and is available in more than 160 countries. Aspect Medical Systems has recently secured OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) The rebranding of equipment and selling it. The term initially referred to the company that made the products (the "original" manufacturer), but eventually became widely used to refer to the organization that buys the products and agreements with the six largest manufacturers of patient monitoring systems and partnerships with six of the largest group purchasing organizations A group purchasing organization is an entity that leverages the purchasing power of a group of businesses to obtain discounts from vendors based on the collective buying power of the GPO members. Many GPOs are funded by administrative fees that are actually paid by the vendors. in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . Based in Newton, Mass., Aspect employs more than 220 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company's Web site at http://www.aspectmedical.com. About Nihon Kohden Nihon Kohden is Japan's leading manufacturer, developer and distributor of medical electronic equipment with subsidiaries in the USA, Europe and Asia and distributors in nearly every country in the world. Nihon Kohden is a publicly held company listed in the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange Tokyo Stock Exchange Main stock market of Japan, located in Tokyo. It opened in 1878 to provide a market for the trading of government bonds newly issued to former samurai. . Nihon Kohden's domestic sales organization includes 650 sales representatives. For more information, visit the company's Web site at http://www.kohden.co.jp/. 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 expected reimbursement for the company's products, benefits of, and demand and market acceptance for Aspect's products, Aspect's competitive position and success of Aspect's marketing strategies. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. are the results of clinical trials, market acceptance of products and products under development, regulatory approval of products under development, regulatory approval of requests for reimbursement, the scope of Aspect's patent protection and other risks included under the heading, "Factors Affecting Future Operating Results," in Aspect's annual report on Form 10-Q Form 10-Q See 10-Q. for the fiscal quarter ended September 29, 2001 filed on November 9, 2001, with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, the statements in this press release represent Aspect's expectations and beliefs as of the date of this press release. Aspect anticipates that subsequent events and developments may cause these expectations and beliefs to change. However, while Aspect may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, it specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's expectations or beliefs as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Bispectral Index and BIS are registered trademarks of Aspect Medical Systems, Inc. A-2000 is a trademark of Aspect Medical Systems, Inc. |
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