MEMPHIS, Tenn. –(Nov. 21, 2013)– Christie Medical Holdings, Inc. , a global leader in mobile vascular imaging systems, and St. Elizabeth Healthcare in Kentucky today announced the interim results of a quality improvement study evaluating the use of VeinViewer^® for the reduction of medically unnecessary peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) in an adult, renal- compromised population. The study assessed if using VeinViewer resulted in an increased success rate of peripheral IV’s, resulting in a decrease in the number of medically unnecessary PICCs. In renal disease patients, it is critically important to preserve veins for the creation of arteriovenous fistulas(AVF). Patients who have had PICC line placed prior to AV fistula creation are more than 3 times as likely to experience AVF failure. By utilizing VeinViewer, the first and only full field digital HD imaging device on the market to use harmless near-Infrared light LED projection, 261 medically unnecessary PICC lines were avoided in nine months compared to their 2012 baseline. Based on an average national PICC cost of about $700, a similar reduction in PICCs would result in a potential savings of more than $180,000.

The PICC reduction results area product of quality improvement efforts undertaken by a team of expert IV nurses led by Patti Wilcox, RN, VA BC, of St. Elizabeth’s and presented to healthcare professionals at the Kentucky Organization for Nurse Leaders Conference November 7-8, 2013. “We were very pleased with the outcome of the hospital’s “Vein Preservation” campaign,” said Wilcox. “VeinViewer technology not only contributed to improved healthcare delivery process at our institution, but it also decreased unnecessary PICC line placements, resulted in significant costsavings and vein preservation, which were the campaign goals.”

“Results like those achieved by St. Elizabeth Healthcare continue to validate the effectiveness of VeinViewer in reducing medically unnecessary PICC lines and their mounting costs and potential risk of infection, while offering a true return on investment which is critically important under the Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program of the Affordable Care Act, by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS),” said Dawn Norman, director of regulatory, quality and clinical affairs at Christie.

VeinViewer is the only vein illumination device on the market that provides pre-, during-,and post-access benefits throughout the entire vascular access procedure and has been shown through clinical studies to increase both first stick success and patient satisfaction up to 100 2of 3 © 2013 Christie Medical Holdings, Inc. 010 – 200296 – 01 Rev.1 (11 – 2013) percent. Most recently, Mercy Hospital in Oklahoma City, announced similar positive resu lts with a greater than 30 percent reduction in medically unnecessary PICCs in their NICU.

VeinViewer technology was developed with the aid of the engineering capabilities and resources of parent company Christie Digital Systems, a leading global visual technology firm with more than 80 years of experience in the projection systems industry. VeinViewer uses harmless near – infrared light, DLP^® technologies, and exclusive Active Vascular Imaging Navigation (AVIN™) to provide the demanded Pre, During and Post – access (PDP) benefits. VeinViewer provides TrueView imaging accuracy in projected vein – widths , which is three to ten times more accurate than the competition, and technologies such as Df2 (Digital full field) to illuminate the only available real – time HD digital image of subcutaneous vasculature and blood patterns directly onto the skin surface. Although designed for assistance in IV starts and blood draws, VeinViewer has proven beneficial in spider and varicose vein treatment.

To learn more ab out Christie product offerings: VeinViewer Vision, VeinViewer VisionXTND and VeinViewer Flex, please visit our refreshed website at www.veinviewer.com.

St. Elizabeth Healthcare 
St. Elizabeth Healthcare operates six facilities throughout Northern Kentucky — Edgewood, Florence, Ft. Thomas, Covington, Grant and Falmouth. It also has vast resources to serve the Greater Cincinnati area, including almost 1,200 licensed beds, a physicia n organization which includes more than 86 primary care and specialty office locations, more than 1,200 physicians with admitting privileges, more than 7,400 associates including St. Elizabeth Physicians, more than 1,200 volunteers, three freestanding imag ing centers and two outpatient ambulatory surgery centers. St. Elizabeth Healthcare is sponsored by the Diocese of Covington and provided more than $93 million in uncompensated care and benefit to the community in 2011. For more information, visit www.stelizabeth.com.

About Christie Medical Holdings, Inc. 
Christie Medical Holdings Inc. is a global company based in Memphis, Tennessee, that discovers, develops and commercializes medical technologies. The company’s m arket – leading product, VeinViewer, is a mobile vascular imaging system that allows health care providers to clearly see accessible vasculature as a real time HD image directly on the surface of the skin. Christie Medical Holdings Inc. is owned by Christie Digital Systems Inc., a global visual technologies company and a subsidiary of Ushio Inc., Japan (JP:6925). For more information on Christie Digital Systems or Christie Medical Holdings, visit www.christiemed.com.

Follow us on:
Twitter.com/VeinViewer