Angeion's Medical Graphics Business Awarded National Group Purchasing Contract by HealthTrust

SAINT PAUL, Minn., Feb. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Angeion Corporation (NASDAQ: ANGN) announced that it has signed an agreement with HealthTrust Purchasing Group, L.P., (HealthTrust), to provide its members with Angeion's complete line of MedGraphics® cardiorespiratory diagnostic systems, including related supplies and services.  HealthTrust members will have direct access to specially negotiated pricing and terms for MedGraphics systems. These systems diagnose heart and lung disorders while in their earliest stages and monitor therapy across the spectrum of care for such conditions as heart failure or asthma and other forms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

"We are delighted to have been selected to supply the members served by HealthTrust with our full line of cardiorespiratory diagnostic systems and services," said Gregg O. Lehman, Ph.D., Angeion's president and Chief Executive Officer. "This agreement will provide HealthTrust's acute care facilities, ambulatory surgery centers, physician practices and alternate care sites easier access to our innovative technologies and world-class services to achieve successful outcomes and effective care management for their patients."

MedGraphics provides essential clinical information to healthcare professionals through non-invasive cardiorespiratory assessment to improve the care of patients in leading hospitals, clinics and physician offices throughout the U.S. and in more than 75 countries around the world.

MedGraphics' portfolio includes:

• Pulmonary function from simple spirometry tests (breath flow and volume) to advanced diagnostic assessments (breathing mechanics and effectiveness of gas transport from the lungs into the circulation system);
• Exercise assessment in rehabilitation and therapeutic monitoring centers for assessing respiratory and cardiac capacity to perform activities of daily living; and
• Respiratory measurements combined with caloric assessment to determine essential nutritional requirements for patients in critical care/cardiac units.  

MedGraphics products incorporate information management and connectivity solutions for electronic medical record systems to improve workflow and enhance data access.

About HealthTrust Purchasing Group

HealthTrust Purchasing Group, L.P., headquartered in Brentwood, Tenn., is a group purchasing organization that supports nearly 1,400 not-for-profit and for-profit acute care facilities, as well as 10,600 ambulatory surgery centers, physician practices, and alternate care sites. With an annual purchasing volume by its members of more than $20 billion, HealthTrust is committed to obtaining the best price for clinically recommended products, ensuring their timely delivery, and continuously evaluating and improving its services to the patients, physicians and clinicians it serves. The website is www.healthtrustpg.com.

About Angeion Corporation

Founded in 1986, Angeion Corporation acquired Medical Graphics Corporation in December 1999. Medical Graphics develops, manufactures and markets non-invasive cardiorespiratory diagnostic systems that are sold under the MedGraphics (www.medgraphics.com) and New Leaf (www.newleaffitness.com) brand names. These cardiorespiratory product lines provide solutions for disease detection, integrated care, and wellness across the entire spectrum of health – whether managing chronic illness, promoting fitness, or training for the Olympics. The Company's products are sold internationally through distributors and in the United States through a direct sales force that targets heart and lung specialists located in hospitals, university-based medical centers, medical clinics and physicians' offices, pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, clinical research organizations, health and fitness clubs, personal training studios, and other exercise facilities. For more information about Angeion, visit www.angeion.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Press releases and other statements by Angeion may contain forward-looking statements about Angeion's future financial results and business prospects that by their nature involve substantial risks and uncertainties. You can identify these statements by the use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend," "plan," "will," "target," and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial performance or business plans or prospects. Our actual results may differ materially depending on a variety of factors including: (1) national and worldwide economic and capital market conditions; (2) continuing cost-containment efforts in our hospital, clinics, and office market; (3) any changes in the patterns of medical reimbursement that may result from national healthcare reform; (4) our ability to successfully operate our business, including successfully converting our increasing research and development expenditures into new and improved cardiorespiratory diagnostic products and services and selling these products and services under the MedGraphics and New Leaf brand names into existing and new markets; (5) our success in executing our new strategic plan, developing new products and entering new markets; (6) our ability to complete our software development initiatives and migrate our MedGraphics and New Leaf platforms to a next generation technology; (7) our ability to maintain our cost structure at a level that is appropriate to our near to mid-term revenue expectations and that will enable us to increase revenues and profitability as opportunities develop; (8) our ability to achieve constant margins for our products and consistent and predictable operating expenses in light of variable revenues from our clinical research customers; (9) our ability to expand our international revenue through our distribution partners and our Milan, Italy representative branch office; (10) our ability to successfully defend ourselves from product liability claims related to our cardiorespiratory diagnostic products and claims associated with our prior cardiac stimulation products; (11) our ability to defend our existing intellectual property and obtain protection for intellectual property we develop in the future; (12) our ability to develop and maintain an effective system of internal controls and procedures and disclosure controls and procedures and (13) our dependence on third-party vendors. Additional information with respect to the risks and uncertainties faced by the Company may be found in, and the above discussion is qualified in its entirety by, the other risk factors that are described from time to time in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission reports, including the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended October 31, 2011.

SOURCE Angeion Corporation