Welch Allyn Announces Technology Integration Agreement with Oridion.

Relationship Enables Development of Ventilation Vital Sign Monitoring Devices with Microstream[R] Capnography Technology

SKANEATELES FALLS, N.Y. -- Welch Allyn, a leading manufacturer of frontline medical products and solutions, today announced it has entered into a technology integration agreement with Oridion, a medical device company that manufactures products for ventilation patient monitoring. This agreement will allow the Welch Allyn family of electronic vital signs monitoring devices to integrate Oridion's Microstream[R] branded capnography boards and accessories which are used to monitor end-tidal carbon dioxide (EtCO2) non-invasively in patients.

"By teaming with Oridion, we will be able to offer multiparameter vital sign monitoring devices with the world's leading capnography technology," said Doug Linquest, executive vice president, Monitoring and Defibrillation at Welch Allyn. "Providers are under constant pressure to screen and diagnose safely and accurately, and treat patients quickly without compromising care. Together, we'll be able to deliver a continuous ventilation monitoring feature that improves patient safety by giving an early warning of respiratory depression."

Capnography is a non-invasive method for monitoring the level of carbon dioxide in exhaled breath to assess a patient's ventilatory status. A capnograph produces both an EtCO2 value as well as a waveform, or capnogram. Capnography is essential for monitoring ventilator status, warning of airway leaks and ventilator circuit disconnections, and ensuring proper endotracheal tube placement. Capnography also helps clinicians make treatment decisions, assess efficacy of code efforts and predict outcomes.

Welch Allyn Agreement with Oridion

Microstream[R] makes EtCO2 monitoring feasible with both intubated and non-intubated patients and broadens the applications for capnography beyond the more traditional functions. For example, capnography can alert clinicians to episodes of hypoventilation as well as help them assess ventilation and treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It also provides safety monitoring during procedural sedation, keeping with current American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) standards that recommend CO2 monitoring for all anesthetized patients, whether they are intubated or not.

Alan Adler, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of Oridion Systems Ltd. said: "Oridion has pioneered the development of devices and specialized consumables for Capnography monitoring outside of the operating room environment for the past decade and has become the recognized global leader in this rapidly growing market. Welch Allyn is a leading provider of professional patient monitoring systems, and we are pleased that they have joined our growing list of OEM partners choosing to offer Microstream[R] capnography with their future monitors."

About Welch Allyn

Welch Allyn, Inc. was founded in 1915 and is today a leading manufacturer of innovative medical diagnostic and therapeutic devices, cardiac defibrillators, patient monitoring systems, and miniature precision lamps. Headquartered in Skaneateles Falls, New York, USA, Welch Allyn employs more than 2,300 people and has numerous manufacturing, sales, and distribution facilities located throughout the world. Additional information on Welch Allyn and its products may be found at www.welchallyn.com.

About Oridion

Oridion Systems Ltd. is a global medical device company specializing in patient safety monitoring. The company operates through wholly owned subsidiaries in the United States, Europe, and Israel. Oridion develops proprietary medical devices and patient interfaces, based on its patented Microstream[R] technologies, for the enhancement of patient safety through the monitoring of the carbon dioxide (CO2) in a patient's breath. These products provide effective, proven airway management and are used in various clinical environments, including procedural sedation, pain management, operating rooms, critical care units, post-anesthesia care units, emergency medical services, transport, alternate care and other settings where patients' ventilation may be compromised and at risk. Additional information about Oridion may be found at www.oridion.com.