Not only has Masimo SET helped clinicians reduce retinopathy of prematurity (ROP)1 and improve screening for critical congenital heart disease (CCHD),2-10 but it has helped push the standard of care for babies to new heights—the evidence from CCHD studies with SET, for example, has been used in the establishment of screening guidelines used around the world
Masimo newborn sensor. (Credit: Masimo)
Masimo (NASDAQ: MASI) provides a variety of innovative monitoring solutions designed to improve maternal and newborn safety during childbirth and the critical first minutes of life. Masimo SET® pulse oximetry’s ability to measure during motion and low perfusion has helped newborns, neonates, and pediatric patients like no other pulse oximetry.
Not only has Masimo SET® helped clinicians reduce retinopathy of prematurity (ROP)1 and improve screening for critical congenital heart disease (CCHD),2-10 but it has helped push the standard of care for babies to new heights—the evidence from CCHD studies with SET®, for example, has been used in the establishment of screening guidelines used around the world.11
Today, on International Women’s Day, it is especially important to recognize that, as UNICEF reports, “newborns and mothers are still dying in appalling numbers.” Every day, approximately 7,000 babies in the first month of life die, and approximately 810 women die, from preventable complications related to childbirth or pregnancy.12 Similarly, according to the WHO, “Although important progress has been made in the last two decades, about 295,000 women died during and following pregnancy and childbirth in 2017. The most common direct causes of maternal injury and death are excessive blood loss, infection, high blood pressure, unsafe abortion, and obstructed labor, as well as indirect causes such as anemia, malaria, and heart disease.”13
Masimo’s first and ongoing focus has been helping neonatologists, pediatricians, OB-GYNs, and midwives around the world provide the best care possible for newborns and their mothers. The Masimo Newborn Sensor, the first and still the only sensor of its kind, was introduced in 2004 and is designed to provide accurate arterial oxygen saturation (SpO2) and pulse rate (PR) measurements in the fastest time possible during hectic neonatal resuscitation scenarios. Alongside Newborn Sensors, Pathway™, introduced in 2019 for the Root® platform, helps clinicians visualize their preferred SpO2 and PR protocol during neonatal resuscitation. Eve™, a software application introduced in 2014, simplifies and automates the CCHD screening process, which Masimo SET® enabled. The Blue® Sensor, introduced in 2004, provides accurate monitoring in cyanotic children at low SpO2 levels to help clinicians care for them and was validated specifically on infants with cyanotic disease.14 rainbow® SpHb®, noninvasive hemoglobin monitoring, introduced in 2008, can measure hemoglobin levels during pregnancy and alert clinicians to the possibility of excessive blood loss during delivery.
Adding to the significant body of clinical evidence demonstrating the utility of SET® pulse oximetry and other Masimo newborn and maternal solutions, a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Neonatology investigated the use of comparing Masimo perfusion index (Pi) pre- and post-ductal values on pre-term infants to aid clinicians in diagnosing hemodynamically significant patent ductus arteriosus (hsPDA).15 Dr. Melek Büyükeren and colleagues at Hacettepe University in Ankara, Turkey found that the difference in right-hand and right-leg Pi values obtained using Masimo SET® pulse oximetry was significantly higher in pre-term infants with hsPDA, leading them to conclude that the difference in Pi “has diagnostic value in hsPDA and can assist diagnosis when echocardiography is not available.”
Marcelo Cardetti, MD, said, “As Head of the Neonatology Service of the Clinic and Maternity of the Center for Endocrinology and Human Reproduction (CERHU) in San Luis, Argentina, we have been using Masimo pulse oximetry monitors with SET® for approximately 8 years in all high-risk newborns and also for newborn resuscitation. In addition, we use Masimo SET® monitors for the detection of CHD and hypoxemia in all newborns in the mother-infant unit. Furthermore, our neonatal department is engaged in a research protocol on regional cerebral oxygenation (O3®) with neonatal sensors for Masimo Root – to know what happens with cerebral oxygenation during routine clinical procedures in the NICU. This monitoring, in addition to SpO2 and perfusion index (Pi), perfectly shows us what is happening with oxygenation of seriously ill newborns in real-time and in a noninvasive way. Masimo SET®’s innovative technology far overcomes the limitations of conventional oximetry and the Pi is an important clinical tool in the care of sick neonates. This monitor and the special neonatal RD sensors have been of great value for the prevention of ROP and for successful and quick, accurate, and reliable steps needed in resuscitation in the delivery room.”
Hernando Baquero, MD, commented, “I am a pediatrician, neonatologist, clinician, educator and researcher in a major university in Colombia, with several publications on noninvasive neonatal SpO2 monitoring and oxygenation. The introduction in the Latin American market of Masimo SET® technology dramatically improved neonatal care in our countries. In contexts with serious resource limitations, as is the case in most neonatal units in our countries, it was vital to be able to provide quality care to the most vulnerable population due to their health conditions (e.g. hypoperfusion) or their biological characteristics (e.g. prematurity). Having reliable, fast, and stable readings as provided by SET® and its neonatal sensors improved the chances of many of our newborns.”
Anne de-Wahl Granelli, PhD, Biomedical Scientist, RDCS(PE), Medical Centre Manager, Sweden, said, “The integration of pulse oximetry into the CCHD screening process has made a significant impact on the detection of congenital heart disease and neonatal health. In clinical studies, the use of pulse oximetry screening with SET® technology significantly improved the detection of duct dependent heart disease before hospital discharge. In 2011, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services added pulse oximetry screening of newborns for CCHD to the Recommended Uniform Screening Panel. Today pulse oximetry has become a global standard of care when screening newborns for CHD.”
Sergio Golombek, MD, MPH, FAAP, Member of the Board and Past President of the Ibero-American Society of Neonatology (SIBEN), said, “I have authored and published several scientific studies in relation to newborn oxygenation and screening for CCHD. Masimo SET® and new innovations and sensor development like RD sensors for noninvasive monitoring represent excellent technology that we can trust, that work promptly and accurately when we need it the most, and are designed specifically with ill newborn babies in the NICU in mind. SET® technology allows us also to do the pulse oximetry test or CCHD screening on newborn babies in our units, knowing well that we can fully trust the results. The technology is very easy to use and understand, and makes us deliver better clinical care.”
Katsuyuki Miyasaka, MD, PhD, Executive Advisor, Wayo Women’s University Graduate School, Tokyo and Professor Emeritus, St. Luke’s International University, Tokyo, said, “As a critical care pediatric anesthesiologist, reliable and accurate pulse oximetry is paramount to optimal patient outcomes. Some suggest pulse oximetry is the fifth vital sign. Clinicians can rely on the sensitivity and specificity provided by Masimo’s measure-through-motion technology in the management of children in the PICU. The use of pulse oximetry can lead to fewer adverse events in the recovery room by capturing accurate readings even during movement such as shivering in critically ill or unstable patients.”
Mark Ansermino, MBBCh, MMed, Director of the Center for International Child Health and Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics at the University of British Columbia, Canada, said, “Anemia is a significant public health problem that especially affects the quality of life, health status, and survival of mothers and children around the world. Having access to continuous hemoglobin monitoring technology can help provide visibility to hemoglobin levels. The noninvasive nature of the SpHb solution makes it comfortable for the mother and child and makes monitoring during childbirth feasible even in low-resource settings.”
Asrat Dibaba Tolossa, MD, MPH, is Chief of Party for the Global Affairs Canada ENRICH (Enhancing Nutrition Services to Improve Maternal and Child Health) Program, a multi-year, multi-country initiative designed to improve the health and nutrition of mothers, newborns, and children. As part of the program, ENRICH has been conducting a study in central Tanzania, where maternal and child care services are often overburdened, using the Masimo Rad-67® Pulse CO-Oximeter®, which provides spot-check SpHb measurements. Dr. Tolossa commented, “In our field experimentation with the Rad-67, we found out that the device can be used easily by lower-level health workers in the communities for screening and referral of patients to health facilities for further assessment and treatment. There was also a high acceptance rate by community members as the method is noninvasive.”
Joe Kiani, Founder and CEO of Masimo, said, “From our inception, we have been committed to improving outcomes for the youngest and most fragile patients. Our foundational SET® pulse oximetry was designed with newborns in mind. With rainbow® Pulse CO-Oximetry, we have made the noninvasive monitoring of child and mother clinically more meaningful. While we stand behind the fact that we have the best pulse oximetry for all patients, especially the most fragile patients, we continue to seek new ways to help clinicians provide newborns and their mothers with the best care possible. On this International Women’s Day, we thank the caregivers who have dedicated themselves to the health of newborns and their mothers, as well as women everywhere, for their achievements, their sacrifices, and for nurturing us all.”
SpHb is not intended to replace laboratory blood testing. Clinical decisions regarding red blood cell transfusions should be based on the clinician’s judgment considering, among other factors, patient condition, continuous SpHb monitoring, and laboratory diagnostic tests using blood samples.
Noninvasive, continuous SpHb has CE clearance for all patients and in the U.S. has received FDA clearance for patients >3 kg but is not currently indicated for patients <3 kg. As part of its U.S. FDA 510(k) clearance, spot-check SpHb on Rad-67 is contraindicated for use on pregnant patients and not indicated for use on pediatric patients or patients with renal disease. Eve has not obtained FDA clearance and is not available in the United States.
Source: Company Press Release