MEMPHIS, Tenn. – (July 16, 2013) – Christie® Medical Holdings, Inc. today launched a nationwide, industry-leading program for U.S. acute hospitals that use the HD VeinViewer® vein illumination products designed to project vascular imaging on the surface of the skin. Making up the Christie Assure program is a comprehensive set of services including a five-year utilization training program, five-year warranty, five-year clinical education provision for hospital medical staff and five-year upgrade program to the latest product platforms from Christie. An industry-first, the Christie Assure Program represents a significant leadership investment in seeing the end customer achieve utilization and results through Christie technologies.

Chris Schnee, general manager and vice president of sales and marketing at Christie Medical Holdings, said, “Our extensive multi-year Assure Program is a first in the vascular imaging device industry. Each element of this new program not only demonstrates Christie’s confidence and leadership in the technology itself, but unmatched support and training for hospital staff who use VeinViewer, striving to help them achieve an increase in patient satisfaction scores, potential reduction in patient risk and infection, and maximized health care economic benefits at their hospitals.”

The Christie Assure program was built by executing a thorough Voice of Customer survey and addressing customer priorities.  Customers told Christie they wanted the company to help them achieve the same results proven in multiple clinical studies. They also wanted to have the confidence that the company standing behind the technology is committed for the long term. Schnee continued: “Through Christie Assure, we achieve customer support at a higher level than I have seen anywhere previously in my career.”

The Christie Assure Program

5 Year Utilization Training Beyond “Button Pushing” After Delivery of Device

Hands-on Utilization Training is taught by Clinical Applications Consultants (CACs), nurses skilled in venipuncture procedures, IV policy, procedure development and hospital-wide device implementation. The program offers in-depth training to hospital staff to bolster the VeinViewer integration; using the skills nurses already possess to achieve measurable results.

Clinical studies have proven the benefits of VeinViewer technology with results showing up to a 100 percent increase in first stick success rates, up to a 100 percent increase in patient satisfaction ratings and a 50 percent decrease in medically unnecessary PICC lines.  The goal is to maximize the positive return each facility receives from its investment and to improve patient care.

5-Year Clinical Education Surpasses Typical “In-Service” Support

The five-year clinical education component offered under the Christie Assure Program includes VeinViewer implementation that surpasses the “in-service” support that typically accompanies the sale of products. The Clinical Education program offers both product education and implementation managed and delivered by a CAC. The program teaches advanced concepts of using VeinViewer, proper techniques for visualization, critical thinking skills and scenarios – all to help improve overall vascular access and protocol adoption. Clinical assessment of the IV site is key and VeinViewer is the only device of its kind to provide Pre, During and Post-access (PDP) vascular visualization benefits, elevating it from a simple vein finder to providing exclusive HD imaging quality benefits.  Training beyond the initial needlestick and even beyond the first IV placement is critical to full utilization and benefiting patient care and patient care economics. Through this program, VeinViewer users stay current on the latest innovations in medical devices, such as near-infrared technologies in peripheral vascular access, and guidance from key industry bodies that set national standards.

5-Year Warranty and Upgrade Path Eliminates Ongoing Total Cost of Ownership concerns

Christie’s Assure Program includes a full five-year parts and labor warranty program for all VeinViewers purchased starting June 2013, and includes a five-year technology upgrade path for existing customers who wish to upgrade their current technology or trade-in other manufacturers’ technology through the popular FreshStart program.  “Removing the concern of mounting costs in future years, the need to buy service agreements and worries over providing customer loyalty pathways to future technologies were key customer requests,” added Chris Schnee.

Customers should review the Christie Assure Program in detail for relevant terms that apply.

VeinViewer technology backed by Christie’s long history of technical achievements

VeinViewer technology was developed with 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 is the first and only device on the market to use: harmless near-infrared light, DLP® technologies, exclusive technology such as Active Vascular Imaging Navigation (AVIN™) providing the demanded Pre, During and Post-access (PDP) benefits, TrueView imaging accuracy in projected vein-widths which is three to ten times more accurate than competition, and technologies such as DF2 (Digital Full Field) to illuminate the only 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 about Christie product offerings: VeinViewer Vision, VeinViewer VisionXTND and VeinViewer Flex, please visit www.veinviewer.com.

About Christie Medical Holdings, Inc.

Christie Medical Holdings Inc. is a global company based in Memphis, Tenn., that discovers, develops and commercializes medical technologies. The company’s market-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.christiedigital.com.

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Christie® is a trademark of Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc., registered in the United States of America and certain other countries.
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