Masimo, the innovator of Signal Extraction Pulse Oximetry announced the release of Masimo SET, Version Three (V3). V3 will make its debut in live side-by-side demonstrations at the American Society of Anesthesiologists 2000 annual meeting in San Francisco (October 15-17th).

With the release of Masimo SET V3, Masimo is also debuting FastSat, which for the first time allows pulse oximeters to accurately track rapid saturation changes with unprecedented fidelity while rejecting false alarms due to motion artifact and low perfusion. V3 also features Signal IQ, a unique visual indication, which displays the acquired signal quality and the timing of the arterial pulse even under motion and low perfusion.

Existing Masimo SET customers can take advantage of V3 without hardware change. Most Masimo SET products can get upgraded to V3 via software upgrade.

Masimo SET technology has been clinically proven, in more than 25 independent studies, to be the most accurate pulse oximetry under the most challenging conditions of motion and low perfusion and when it's needed the most. These studies have shown significant improvements in false alarm rejection, true alarm detection, drop outs (failure to operate), and accuracy, as well as cost savings from fewer blood gases, decreased oxygen usage and improved sensor longevity.

Masimo SET V1 was first introduced in 1997 in Europe and Japan. In 1998, after receiving clearance for accuracy during motion, Masimo SET V2 pulse oximeters were introduced in the US in patient monitoring products, such as the Datascope Passport. Masimo SET has undergone 6 years of testing in all of the toughest environments. The new Masimo SET V3 represents the third generation of Signal Extraction Technology. "With the introduction of Masimo SET, we proved that monitoring during motion and low perfusion was possible and not an inherent limitation of pulse oximetry. We reduced false alarms by over 90 percent and improved the detection of true alarms. Our goal is simple: make pulse oximeters perfect. Masimo SET V3 brings us closer to our goal," stated Joe E. Kiani, president and CEO of Masimo Corporation.

In addition, V3 uses a new technology called FastSat that accurately tracks very rapid changes in arterial oxygen saturation. FastSat is capable of tracking changes in saturations that went unnoticed before, and pointing to the troughs and peaks in arterial saturation that were not seen before. Clinicians who have seen V3 believe that FastSat will spur new research that may shed more light on patient oxygenation.