Nihon Kohden and Inovise Medical in partnership to improve cardiac diagnosis

12 September 2005

Tokyo, Japan & Portland, Oregon, USA. Nihon Kohden Corporation, a leading provider of cardiology equipment in Japan and China, and Inovise Medical, an Oregon-based cardiac diagnostic company, have signed a multi-year agreement to integrate Inovise Medical's Audicor heart sounds detection and analysis technology into the next generation of Nihon Kohden electrocardiographs. The first electrocardiograph with the technology will be released by Nihon Kohden later this year.

Under the terms of the agreement, Inovise Medical will also develop a version of its Audicor Cardiograph Expansion System (Audicor CE) for Nihon Kohden to distribute for use with its market-leading cardiofax Electrocardiograph line in Japan.

Inovise Medical's Audicor technology combines automated heart sound detection and analysis with advanced electrocardiography, and presents both graphical and textual results in a comprehensive single-page format. The system uses COR (Correlated Audioelectric Cardiography) to help physicians quickly detect patients at higher risk of acute heart failure, acute coronary syndrome, and other high-risk cardiac conditions. When combined with Nihon Kohden's full-featured digital electrocardiograph platforms, Audicor will provide physicians with a powerful new tool for the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment monitoring of heart disease at the point of care.

"We look forward to working with Inovise Medical to make integrated heart sound and ECG analysis the new standard of care for cardiac diagnosis," commented Kohei Ono, Corporate Director of Nihon Kohden Corporation. "There is an increasing global burden of cardiac disease and concern over rising healthcare costs. Audicor technology, together with Nihon Kohden's leading line of electrocardiographs, will improve identification of more patients at higher cardiac risk, and provide ongoing treatment monitoring, in a very fast, efficient, and cost-effective manner."

"Nihon Kohden's outstanding reputation as an innovative, global leader of cardiology products and patient monitoring equipment makes this an extremely exciting partnering opportunity for Inovise," said Patti White, CEO of Inovise Medical. "Japan is the second largest market for cardiovascular equipment in the world, and China is a large and rapidly-growing market. As Japan's largest manufacturer and distributor of medical electronic equipment, with strong positions in China, the United States, and Europe, Nihon Kohden is an ideal partner to bring the benefits of Audicor heart sounds technology to patients in new geographic markets and new product platforms worldwide."

To top