Masimo CEO Joe Kiani Named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year

IRVINE, Calif., June 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Masimo (NASDAQ: MASI) CEO and founder Joe Kiani received the Ernst & Young (Orange County) Entrepreneur of the Year® Award during a gala at the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point, Calif., Thursday evening.

Kiani is an inventor of pioneering noninvasive patient-monitoring devices, a trusted voice for patient safety and care, and a convention-breaking maverick.

Founded in 1989, Masimo has grown from a garage startup into a successful publicly traded company, employing more than 2,500 people worldwide. The company makes and markets Measure-through-Motion and Low Perfusion (blood flow) pulse oximetry technology such as Masimo rainbow® SET Pulse CO-Oximetry™ – a breakthrough platform that allows noninvasive, continuous monitoring of blood constituents and physiological parameters that previously required invasive procedures, including: total hemoglobin (SpHb®), oxygen content (SpOC™), carboxyhemoglobin (SpCO®), methemoglobin (SpMet®), Pleth Variability Index (PVI®), and acoustic respiration rate (RRa™), in addition to the Measure-through Motion and Low Perfusion performance of Masimo SET® oxyhemoglobin (SpO2), perfusion index (PI), and pulse rate (PR).

In 2006, Kiani and Masimo emerged victorious after a seven-year patent-infringement battle against a larger competitor. His underdog story is a testament to the power of the American Dream. The company filed for a successful initial public offering in 2007. Forbes named Masimo one of the best small public companies in the United States (November 2011). The company also has earned dozens of industry honors, including the 2011 TechAmerica High-Tech Innovation Award; the 2011 Gold Medal Medical Design Excellence Award; the 2011 iF Product Design Award; and multiple Zenith awards, among others.

In 2010, Kiani created the Masimo Foundation for Ethics, Innovation and Competition in Healthcare to encourage and promote activities, programs, and research opportunities that improve patient safety and deliver advanced healthcare to people worldwide who may not otherwise have access to lifesaving technologies.

"This is an honor and one that's made possible by the incredible, passionate and hard-working people at Masimo, who are motivated to help improve patient care and reduce healthcare costs," Kiani said of the Entrepreneur of the Year award. "We look forward to continuing to innovate, while taking noninvasive monitoring to new sites and applications."

About Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year
Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year is the world's most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The unique award makes a difference through the way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential, and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global award of its kind, Entrepreneur of the Year celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 140 cities in more than 50 countries.

About Masimo
Masimo (NASDAQ: MASI) is the global leader in innovative noninvasive monitoring technologies that significantly improve patient care—helping solve "unsolvable" problems.  In 1995, the company debuted Measure-Through Motion and Low Perfusion pulse oximetry, known as Masimo SET®, which virtually eliminated false alarms and increased pulse oximetry's ability to detect life-threatening events.  More than 100 independent and objective studies demonstrate Masimo SET provides the most reliable SpO2 and pulse rate measurements even under the most challenging clinical conditions, including patient motion and low peripheral perfusion.  In 2005, Masimo introduced rainbow SET® Pulse CO-Oximetry™ technology, allowing noninvasive and continuous monitoring of blood constituents that previously required invasive procedures, including total hemoglobin (SpHb®), oxygen content (SpOC™), carboxyhemoglobin (SpCO®), methemoglobin (SpMet®), and Pleth Variability Index (PVI®), in addition to SpO2, pulse rate, and perfusion index (PI).  In 2008, the company introduced Masimo SafetyNet™, a remote monitoring and wireless clinician notification system designed to help hospitals avoid preventable deaths and injuries associated with failure to rescue events.  In 2009, Masimo introduced rainbow Acoustic Monitoring™, the first-ever noninvasive and continuous monitoring of acoustic respiration rate (RRa™).  Masimo's rainbow SET technology platform offers a breakthrough in patient safety by helping clinicians detect life-threatening conditions and helping guide treatment options.  In 2010, Masimo acquired SEDLine®, a pioneer in the development of innovative brain function monitoring technology and devices.  Masimo SET and Masimo rainbow SET technologies can also be found in over 100 multiparameter patient monitors from over 50 medical device manufacturers around the world.  Founded in 1989, Masimo has the mission of "Improving Patient Outcome and Reducing Cost of Care … by Taking Noninvasive Monitoring to New Sites and Applications®." Additional information about Masimo and its products may be found at www.masimo.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, in connection with the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations about future events affecting us and are subject to risks and uncertainties, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control and could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in our forward-looking statements as a result of various risk factors, including, but not limited to:  risks related to our assumptions of the repeatability of clinical results obtained using the new Masimo Pronto-7 and noninvasive sensor sizes, risks related to our belief that the Pronto-7 enables quick and easy noninvasive spot-checking of hemoglobin (SpHb®), SpO2, pulse rate, and perfusion index at the point-of-care for all patients, as well as other factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of our most recent reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), which may be obtained for free at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, we do not know whether our expectations will prove correct. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of today's date. We do not undertake any obligation to update, amend or clarify these statements or the "Risk Factors" contained in our most recent reports filed with the SEC, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under the applicable securities laws.

Media Contact:
Mike Drummond
Masimo Corporation
Phone: (949) 297-7434
Email: [email protected]

Masimo, SET, Signal Extraction Technology, Improving Patient Outcome and Reducing Cost of Care ... by Taking Noninvasive Monitoring to New Sites and Applications, rainbow, SpHb, SpOC, SpCO, SpMet, PVI, rainbow Acoustic Monitoring, RRa, Radical-7, Rad-87, Rad-57,Rad-8, Rad-5, Pulse CO-Oximetry, Pulse CO-Oximeter, Adaptive Threshold Alarm, and SEDLine  are trademarks or registered trademarks of Masimo Corporation. The use of the trademarks Patient SafetyNet and PSN are under license from University HealthSystem Consortium.

SOURCE Masimo