Aspect Medical Reports Sole-Source Supplier Contract

With Novation / Bispectral Index Available for Member Hospitals,Which Perform 33 Percent of All U.S. Surgeries Natick, Mass. (PROTEXT) - Aspect Medical Systems, Inc. hassigned a three-year exclusive contract to supply BispectralIndex(R) (BIS(R)) monitors and disposable sensors to Novation,the supply company of VHA Inc., and the University HospitalConsortium, announced Aspect President and CEO Nassib Chamoun.During the term of the agreement, member hospitals of VHA and UHCwill have the opportunity to purchase BIS monitors and disposablesensors on the terms set forth in the agreement. BIS monitoring is the only FDA-cleared, commercially availablemeasure of the effects of anesthetics on the brain. This givesanesthesia providers a powerful tool that aids in theadministration of anesthesia, which enables reduced drug use,faster and more predictable patient wake-up times after surgery,and improved patient recovery from anesthesia. Novation servesmore than 1,900 healthcare organizations, representing 30 percentof the nation's teaching and community hospitals and 33 percentof total surgeries performed in the United States. "Novation's field force will be working with Aspect's salesand clinical team to facilitate adoption of the technologythroughout their membership, which includes many of the nation'sleading healthcare facilities," Chamoun said. "Novation'sdecision to make BIS monitors more accessible to members of VHAand UHC will facilitate penetration of BIS monitoring into membercommunity hospitals and university medical centers that performone-third of all surgeries in the United States." To that end, BIS monitoring is a featured technology in thisFall's N.E.A.T. (Novation's Education in Anesthesia Techniques)program. The CME/CEU accredited sessions, which will visit thirtyNovation facilities nationwide, introduce anesthesia departmentsto and train them on the latest pharmaceuticals, medicaltechnology and anesthetic techniques. "Our members consider the BIS monitor a revolutionarytechnology in the anesthesia discipline," stated Jim Beyer,Anesthesia Product Manager for Novation. "The Novation agreementwith Aspect and the integration of the BIS technology into theN.E.A.T. program are a response to member requests for moreaccess to and training about this, and other, innovative devices.Both these actions are designed to streamline the learning andpurchase process for members and support their efforts to providepatients with the most advanced, highest quality care." Aspect's contract with Novation takes effect September 1,1999, runs through July 30, 2002 and includes options to extendthe contract for two additional years. The agreement covers BISmonitors and disposable sensors and includes Novation-specificvalue-added programs such as the N.E.A.T. program and othercustomer support programs, local education lectures, and patienteducation initiatives. In addition, special incentive pricing isavailable to Novation members through September 30, 1999. About BIS Monitoring Developed in collaboration with leading anesthesiologists, BIStechnology uses patented signal processing to provide anoninvasive, direct means of measuring the effects of anestheticson the brain. BIS monitors use a sensor placed on the forehead tocapture the EEG signals, which are translated into a singlenumber ranging from 100 (for wide awake) to zero (indicating theabsence of brain electrical activity). To date, more than 300scientific publications from trials involving over 5,000 patientsdocument the efficacy and clinical outcome benefits of BISmonitoring. BIS technology is available in Aspect's A-200O(TM)BIS monitor and has been licensed for integration into othermanufacturers' monitoring systems. About Aspect Medical Systems Aspect Medical Systems, Inc. is a privately held medicaltechnology company that develops noninvasive, monitoring systemsto improve the cost effectiveness and quality of patient care.The company's systems utilize innovative, patented, digitalsignal processing software linked to proprietary sensors. Formore information, visit the company's web site athttp://www.aspectms.com. About Novation Based in Irving, Texas, Novation was established January 1,1998, through the combination of the supply programs of VHA andUHC, two national healthcare alliances. Novation serves thepurchasing needs of 5,500 healthcare organizations, alliancemembers, associate members and affiliates of VHA and UHC. Theforemost supply cost management company in healthcare, Novationmanages more than $12 billion in annual purchases for VHA, UHCand HPPI members. For more information on Novation, go tohttp://www.novationco.com. VHA, also based in Irving, Texas, isa nationwide network of more than 1,800 leading community-ownedhealthcare organizations and their physicians. It comprises 24percent of the nation's community hospitals. For more informationon VHA, go to http://www.vha.com. UHC, based in Oak Brook, Ill., is an alliance of 78 academicmedical centers and 65 associate members. For more information onUHC, go to http://www.uhc.edu. In addition to serving VHA and UHCmembers, Novation makes its agreements accessible to more than3,600 organizations that purchase supplies through HPPI, a sistercompany to Novation that is also owned by VHA and UHC. Bispectral Index and BIS are registered trademarks of AspectMedical Systems, Inc. A-2000 is a trademark of Aspect MedicalSystems, Inc. ots Original Text Service: Aspect Medical Systems,Inc. Internet: http://www.newsaktuell.de Contact: Lorie Fiber,ext. 109, lfiber@fischerpr.com, or Joni Morford, ext. 153,jmorford@fischerpr.com., both of Fischer & Partners, Inc., (USA)310-577-7870, for Aspect Medical Systems, Inc. Web site:http://www.vha.com Web site: http://www.uhc.edu Web site:http://www.novationco.com Web site:http://http://www.aspectms.com

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