Medwave Inc has entered into an agreement to perform a clinical study at the University of Arizona Medical Center in Tucson, Arizona. The study will compare the Medwave Vasotrac Monitor to an invasive arterial catheter with patients undergoing various surgical procedures. The goal of the study is to determine if the use of the Vasotrac in specific surgical patients will allow for the elimination of the invasive arterial catheter as a monitoring tool.

Currently, invasive arterial catheters are inserted into surgical patients undergoing specific procedures, such as vascular surgery, neurosurgery, trauma surgery, orthopedic procedures, and cardiac procedures. Invasive catheters are inserted into these patients because conventional blood pressure cuffs do not provide the level of accuracy or the frequency of measurement required in these cases. At another institution, it has been recently reported that the Vasotrac has been used in specific patients, particularly vascular procedures, instead of an invasive arterial catheter. In this particular situation, the institution was able to reduce the need for invasive catheters used over a 9-month period, and eliminated the need to place invasive catheters in approximately 150 patients.

"Dr. Steven Barker of the University of Arizona Department of Anesthesiology and his team are world renown for their work in validating the usefulness of new or improved monitoring during anesthesia. Medwave has numerous clinical studies underway, as well as several which are completed regarding its technology and how it can assist clinicians in a variety of clinical environments and situations. Medwave has even received reports of reductions of invasive arterial catheter use in some surgical procedures. However, this new agreement with the University of Arizona involves a prospective study that will deliberately include a variety of specific types of patients that are historically known to be candidates for an invasive arterial catheter during surgical procedures.

“We are interested to see how effective our technology will be in reducing the number of catheters used with these patients, and how, in the future, the Vasotrac may become a new standard of care in many of these procedures," stated Tim O'Malley, President and CEO of Medwave Inc.

Medwave develops, manufactures, and distributes non-invasive blood pressure products. Its Vasotrax Hand Held Monitor, the Vasotrac APM205A NIBP Monitor, and the MJ23 OEM Module are new approaches to non-invasive blood pressure monitoring. Medwave has received the necessary regulatory clearances to market its technology in Europe, Asia, and North America. Medwave is ISO9001/EN46001/MDD93/42/EEC certified, and all of its products are CE marked. Medwave has entered into distribution agreements throughout various parts of the world and Medwave's technology is installed in over 500 hospitals and clinics worldwide. The company trades on the NASDAQ small cap market under the symbol MDWV.