Philips launches affordable compact patient monitors for emerging markets

22 July 2008

Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) has launched a series of portable, compact patient monitors aimed at developing countries to offer an affordable system for smaller clinics.

Now available in India, the new Philips SureSigns VM3 is the first Philips patient monitor designed for emerging markets.

High-end patient monitors are out of reach for many small to mid-sized clinics, forcing doctors and nurses to apply treatment only based on visible symptoms. On occasion, this means they must wait for a patient’s condition to deteriorate before changing treatment. With access to more affordable patient monitoring equipment, clinicians have the ability to observe a patient’s vital signs and make more informed, timely decisions about patient care.

With a growing per capita income and adoption of new lifestyles, healthcare services in India are rapidly changing. In order to meet the increasing demand for quality care, people in urban areas have seen the construction of new, state-of-the-art hospitals and associated satellite facilities, while others are increasingly seeking care at smaller nursing homes and clinics.

This has fuelled the demand for healthcare equipment across segments and the growth of the Indian patient monitoring equipment market is estimated to reach US$42 million in 2010. Philips plans to gain a market share of 40% by 2010 through its diverse range of patient monitoring equipment.

“The SureSigns VM3 leverages the high-quality platform of Philips’ industry leading patient monitoring portfolio,” said Anjan Bose, senior director and business head, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, Philips Healthcare India. “Combining advanced software and technology in a compact economical package, the VM3 is the perfect solution for caregivers across the wide variety of clinical environments we see here in India. This launch reaffirms our commitment to the Indian market, leveraging Philips’ global expertise to introduce technologically-advanced offerings tailored to this market.”

The Philips SureSigns VM3 offers ECG, respiration and pulse oximetry in one compact monitor. It offers vital signs measurement and monitoring in an easy-to-use system that can be used in various departments throughout the hospital, nursing homes, private practices and rural clinics, as well as ambulances and mobile facilities.

The VSV is an affordable, reliable, and simple way to provide the benefits of central viewing and alarming without the complexity and expense of a traditional PC-based central station. Central viewing and alarming can benefit any care area with a high patient-to-caregiver ratio. Having a clear picture of each patient’s status, at a single glance, helps improve patient care and helps relieve stress on nursing staff.

The VSV displays vital signs data and one waveform from up to 12 patient monitors at a time. In fact, with the VSV, customers can add central monitoring for a department for about the cost of a single VM Series monitor.

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