-Stethoscope with Bluetooth® Technology Recognized by Popular Science as Revolutionary Innovation-
3M Health Care and Zargis Medical, a majority-owned subsidiary of Speedus Corp. (Nasdaq:SPDE), announced today that the 3M™ Littmann® Electronic Stethoscope Model 3200 with Zargis Cardioscan™ software was named Popular Science’s“Innovation of the Year.” This prestigious honor, part of the publication’s annual “Best of What’s New Awards,” highlights outstanding innovation, vision and execution in technologic, scientific and medical advances for the year.
“Pairing the Littmann Electronic Stethoscope Model 3200 with Zargis Cardioscan software is a gigantic step forward in changing the way clinicians listen to and interpret heart sounds,” said Debra Rectenwald, vice president and general manager, 3M Infection Prevention division. “This award is a testament to the spirit that drives 3M’s innovation to develop and create new ways to improve the delivery of healthcare.”
“Together, 3M and Zargis took the basic electronic stethoscope and transformed it into an advanced clinical tool that can improve diagnostic capabilities,” said John Kallassy, chief executive officer of Zargis Medical. “Cardioscan is a breakthrough in medical technology that has the potential to reduce unnecessary medical referrals while improving outcomes at the same time.”
The Littmann Electronic Stethoscope Model 3200 is the first electronic stethoscope featuring Bluetooth technology, which wirelessly transfers heart, lung and other body sounds from the chestpiece to Zargis Cardioscan or Zargis StethAssist™ software for analysis. The stethoscope and Cardioscan software combination is designed to help clinicians identify suspected heart murmurs and differentiate between those that should be referred for echocardiography and those that should not, based on guidelines issued jointly by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association. Based on the software analysis and their own assessment, physicians can then choose to refer patients for an echocardiogram test, which are conclusive, but are also very expensive.
“For 22 years, Popular Sciencehas honored the innovations that surprise and amaze us—those that make a positive impact on our world today and challenge our views of what’s possible in the future,” said Mark Jannot, Editor-in-Chief of Popular Science. “The Best of What’s New Award is the magazine’s top honor, and the 100 winners—chosen from among thousands of entrants—represent the highest level of achievement in their fields.”
This is the second year in a row a 3M product has received distinction from the publication. In 2008, the company’s MPro 100, a hand held projector was a “Grand Award” winner in the Gadgets category.
About Best of What's New
Each year, the editors of Popular Science review thousands of products in search of the top 100 tech innovations of the year; breakthrough products and technologies that represent a significant leap in their categories. The winners — the Best of What's New — are awarded inclusion in the much-anticipated December issue of Popular Science, the most widely read issue of the year since the debut of Best of What's New in 1987. Best of What’s New awards are presented to 100 new products and technologies in 11 categories: Automotive, Aviation & Space, Computing, Engineering, Gadgets, Green Technology, Home Entertainment, Security, Home Technology, Personal Health and Recreation. The full list of winners can be found at: www.popsci.com/bown2009
About Popular Science
Founded in 1872, Popular Science (www.popsci.com) is the world's largest science and technology magazine, with a circulation of 1.3 million and 7.1 million readers. Each month, Popular Science delivers “The Future Now,” reporting on the intersection of science and everyday life with an eye toward what’s new and why it matters. Popular Science is published by the Bonnier Corporation (www.bonniercorp.com), one of the largest consumer publishing groups in America and the leading media company serving passionate, highly engaged audiences through more than 40 special-interest magazines and related multimedia projects and events.
About 3M Health Care
3M Health Care, one of 3M’s six major business segments, provides world-class innovative products and services to help health care professionals improve the practice, delivery and outcome of patient care in medical, oral care, drug delivery and health information markets.
For more information, visit www.3M.com
About Zargis Medical Corp.
Zargis Medical Corp. develops advanced diagnostic decision support products and services for primary care physicians, pediatricians, cardiologists and other healthcare professionals. Zargis was formed in 2001 when Siemens Corporate Research, a division of Siemens AG (NYSE: SI), and Speedus Corp. (NASDAQ: SPDE) co-invested to develop and market an advanced acoustic technology designed to detect heart abnormalities identified through analysis of heart sounds.
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3MMary Clemens, 651-733-8806mcclemens@mmm.comorWeissComm PartnersMolly Rabinovitz, 312-646-6294mrabinovitz@wcpglobal.comorZargis MedicalPeter Hodge, 888-773-3669 (ext. 23)phodge@zargis.com
