SAMU Brasilia Implements ZOLL AutoPulse

Use of Automated CPR Device Continues to Expand in Brazil and Latin America

Business Wire

posted: 5 DAYS 12 HOURS AGO

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ZOLL Medical Corporation (Nasdaq GS: ZOLL), a manufacturer of medical devices and related software solutions, announced today that SAMU Brasilia (Servico de Atendimento Movel de Urgencia—Emergency Mobile Treatment Service), based in the capital city of Brazil and one of the largest EMS services in the country, has equipped its ambulances with the AutoPulse ^®Non-Invasive Cardiac Support Pump.

SAMU Brasilia, which is part of the country-wide public EMS service, has installed AutoPulse units in its fleet of ambulances, one for each vehicle plus four spare training boards, in a contract valued at $500,000 (U.S.). The AutoPulse was granted health clearance in January 2009 and is the only automatic chest compression system available for sale in Brazil.

“The AutoPulse, besides promoting more effective compressions, is a solution for one of the biggest challenges of conventional cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the inability to transport a patient while performing manual chest compressions,” said Rodrigo Caselli, SAMU Manager. “With this device we are able to perform both actions simultaneously, ensuring a faster response time for the application of treatment without compromising the effectiveness of compressions.”

“Use of the AutoPulse continues to expand internationally,” said Jonathan A. Rennert, President of ZOLL. “We’re seeing more and more EMS services and hospitals realize the important value that delivering high-quality, mechanical CPR can have on patient care and rescuer safety.”

SAMU Brasilia is the second EMS service in Brazil to install the AutoPulse, but the largest account to date. Earlier, SAMU Salvador purchased six AutoPulse units for its ambulances. Hospital Muguerza in Monterrey, Mexico was the first customer in Latin America to install the AutoPulse. The AutoPulse is also in use in Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, and more recently in Ecuador and Brazil.

The AutoPulse Non-invasive Cardiac Support Pump is an automated, portable device with an easy-to-use, load-distributing LifeBand ^®that squeezes the entire chest, improving blood flow to the heart and brain during sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). The AutoPulse may offer a significant advantage over manual CPR, moving blood more consistently than human providers. AutoPulse delivers high-quality, uninterrupted chest compressions to maintain myocardial and cerebral perfusion. Additionally, it offers the benefit of freeing up rescuers to focus on other life-saving interventions.

Over 5,000 AutoPulse devices are in use in hospital and emergency service organizations worldwide.

About Sudden Cardiac Arrest

SCA, an abrupt disruption of the heart’s function, which causes a lack of blood flow to vital organs, claims more than 1 million lives each year. It is the leading cause of unexpected death in the world and strikes without warning. Currently, only about 5 percent of victims survive; 95 percent will die from SCA.

About ZOLL Medical Corporation

ZOLL Medical Corporation develops and markets medical devices and software solutions that help advance emergency care and save lives, while increasing clinical and operational efficiencies. With products for defibrillation and monitoring, circulation and CPR feedback, data management, fluid resuscitation, and therapeutic temperature management, ZOLL provides a comprehensive set of technologies which help clinicians, EMS and fire professionals, and lay rescuers treat victims needing resuscitation and critical care.

A NASDAQ Global Select company and a Forbes 100 Most Trustworthy Company for the past three years, ZOLL develops and manufactures its products in the United States, in California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. More than 400 direct sales and service representatives, 1,100 business partners, and 200 independent representatives serve our customers in over 140 countries around the globe.
For more information, visit www.zoll.com.

Certain statements contained in this press release, including statements regarding the future business of the Company, and other statements contained herein regarding matters that are not historical facts, are “forward-looking” statements (as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). Because such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those factors discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on December 10, 2009. You should not place undue reliance on the forward looking statements in this press release, and the Company disavows any obligation to update or supplement those statements in the event of any changes in the facts, circumstances, or expectations that underlie those statements.

Copyright © 2010 ZOLL Medical Corporation. All rights reserved. 269 Mill Road, Chelmsford, MA 01824-4105. ZOLL, AutoPulse and LifeBand are registered trademarks of ZOLL Medical Corporation. All product names are the property of their respective owners.