Fusion of Technologies Dramatically Improves Infant Survival Rates Following Congenital Heart Surgery.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

CORAL GABLES, Fla. & EAST WINDSOR, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 13, 2004

Integrating the i-STAT(R) System with Teges i-Rounds(tm) to

Monitor Oxygen Deficiency

Teges Corporation and i-STAT Corporation (Nasdaq:STAT) today announce that the integration of two technologies has led to dramatic improvements in patient care of infants who have undergone congenital heart surgery. The two complementary technologies are the i-STAT(R) System point-of-care testing platform and the Teges i-Rounds(tm) clinical information system. The results of this union are visible in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) at Miami Children's Hospital (MCH) where critical medical data are now available on the bedside monitor of post-surgery patients.

Infants who have undergone heart surgery are at risk of dying, if post-surgical deficiency of oxygen cannot be diagnosed quickly enough. Lactate levels are a sensitive indicator of cumulative oxygen debt. According to Anthony Rossi, M.D., MCH Director of the Cardiovascular Surgery ICU, "Improving the capability to detect oxygen deficiencies increases the ability of physicians to make life-saving treatment decisions." By combining the capabilities of the i-STAT System to quickly determine lactate levels and of i-Rounds to organize and graph data, the CICU has improved their ability to detect changes in oxygen levels from hours to minutes. The rapid protocol for lactate-guided goal directed therapy in neonates and infants has resulted in a 74% reduction in mortality in the highest risk groups and a 63% reduction in total mortality in the less than 1 year old population. This improvement in patient outcomes is a direct result of the rapid bedside monitoring capabilities that are available with the utilization of the i-STAT System and the Teges i-Rounds clinical information system.

Viewing the data as a graph, similar to an EKG display, makes it readily apparent whether lactate trends are increasing or decreasing. According to Robert Laurence Hannan, M.D, Cardiovascular Surgeon at MCH, "The fusion of the i-STAT System and i-Rounds is a critical step in improving critical care outcomes in children." By taking such steps, the MCH cardiac program has an operative mortality rate of 1.8%, the lowest in the U.S. for pediatric heart surgery patients.

Under the leadership of Redmond P. Burke, M.D., Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery, the CICU has been using i-Rounds to collect and organize a range of critical patient data, from medication dosages to respiratory rates. The hospital has also used the i-STAT System to accurately test blood gases, lactate, electrolytes, chemistries and hematocrit levels from just two drops of blood using a handheld analyzer. Once the i-STAT analyzer prints out the results, it can be placed in a docking station for data downloads. At the MCH CICU, this data is downloaded to the i-Rounds system.

Lab tests that previously took hours to collect and manually graph are now almost instantly visible via i-Rounds on any Internet-enabled device with the designated permissions. According to Teges President Christine White, "These capabilities demonstrate how technology such as i-Rounds can help save lives."

About Teges

Teges Corporation(tm) is an emerging leader in the development of Web-based information systems for the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Teges has developed the i-Rounds(tm) integrated clinical information system to provide clinicians instant access to critical patient data through a single Web interface. Users can view and input data whether they are using a desktop computer or a wireless handheld PDA. Teges is a privately held company with headquarters in Coral Gables, Fla.

About i-STAT

i-STAT Corporation develops, manufactures and markets diagnostic products for blood analysis that provide health care professionals critical diagnostic information accurately and rapidly at the point of patient care. Through the use of advanced semiconductor manufacturing technology, established principles of electrochemistry and state-of-the-art computer electronics, i-STAT developed the world's first hand-held automated blood analyzer capable of performing a panel of commonly ordered blood tests on two or three drops of blood in just two minutes at the patient's side.