IRVINE, CA--(Marketwired - Feb 12, 2015) - Masimo (NASDAQ: MASI), the inventor of Masimo SET® Measure-Through Motion and Low Perfusion™ pulse oximetry and rainbow® Pulse CO-Oximetry, announced today that the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) released an updated Fire Rehabilitation Standard (NFPA 1584) requiring firefighters exposed to smoke at incident scenes and during training to be assessed for carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning.

NFPA's consensus codes and standards serve as the worldwide authoritative source on fire prevention and public safety. 

The revised standard, effective now, requires that firefighters who are "exposed to fire smoke shall be assessed for carbon monoxide poisoning." The standard further states in Annex A that, "Any firefighter exposed to CO or presenting with headache, nausea, shortness of breath, or gastrointestinal symptoms ... should be assessed for carbon monoxide poisoning."

The previous version (2008) of the standard did not include assessment of CO poisoning as a requirement. The new requirement reflects a growing consensus on the risks of CO, the difficulty of assessing CO through signs and symptoms alone, the availability of portable CO monitoring devices, and the benefits of assessing CO poisoning at the scene and during training.

Masimo's rainbow® SET technology provides noninvasive carboxyhemoglobin saturation (SpCO®), a measure of CO in the blood, from a single multi-wavelength finger sensor that also provides two other vital signs measurements required by the NFPA 1584 standard, oxygen saturation (SpO2) and pulse rate. 

With the support of the Congressional Fire Services Institute and other organizations, Masimo will expand its efforts to help departments and agencies nationwide implement the new standard.

Gary Ludwig, fire chief of the Champaign (Ill.) Fire Department and well-known author, speaker, and consultant, said, "There is nothing more important in our profession than firefighter safety. The new 1584 standard builds on the older standard and more comprehensively addresses medical monitoring and carbon monoxide poisoning of the firefighter. I am excited to see this updated standard and that Masimo is at the forefront of making sure firefighters go home at the end of their shifts."

"Emergency service rehabilitation has been found to be a critical component of firefighter physical and mental well-being," said Dr. William F. Jenaway, president of the Congressional Fire Services Institute and 40-plus year member of the Pennsylvania Fire Service. "The use of rehabilitation including medical monitoring and assessment of carbon monoxide poisoning is no longer 'a nice thing to do,' it is a critical component of firefighter safety and health."

Joe Kiani, founder and CEO of Masimo, stated: "We applaud NFPA for making assessment of carbon monoxide poisoning a requirement. We are proud that our rainbow Pulse CO-Oximetry technology can play a role in helping meet this standard by allowing the noninvasive monitoring of SpO2, pulse rate, and SpCO, and in increasing safety for our heroic public servants."

SpCO is not intended as a standalone diagnostic test. Laboratory testing should be performed prior to diagnosis.

About NFPA:
 A worldwide leader in providing fire, electrical, building, and life safety to the public since 1896, NFPA's mission is to reduce the global burden of fire and other hazards on the quality of life by providing and advocating consensus codes and standards, research, training, and education. NFPA's 300 codes and standards influence every building, process, service, design, and installation in the U.S. and many other countries. With a membership of more than 81,000 and more than 80 national trade and professional organizations, NFPA is the authority on fire, electrical, and building safety. Copies of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Section 1584, Standard on the Rehabilitation Process for Members During Emergency Operations and Training Exercises, are now available through the NFPA.

About Masimo:
 Masimo (NASDAQ: MASI) is a 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 have shown that Masimo SET® outperforms other pulse oximetry technologies, 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 could only be measured invasively, 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). Additional information about Masimo and its products may be found at www.masimo.com. @masimoinnovates

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 belief that Masimo SpCO will provide an accurate and effective noninvasive method of screening for CO poisoning, risks related to our assumptions of the repeatability of clinical results obtained, and risks related to our assumptions that Masimo SET® pulse oximetry technology improves patient outcomes, 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.

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 are trademarks or registered trademarks of Masimo.