• Design Excellence Award
CHAD Therapeutics Inc, Chatsworth, Calif, recently won a 2005 Medical Design Excellence Award for its SAGE™ oxygen therapeutic device. Product entries are evaluated on the basis of their design and engineering features, user-related functions that improve health care delivery and change traditional medical attitudes or practices, features that provide enhanced benefits to patients, and the ability of product development to overcome design and engineering challenges so that the product meets its clinical objectives. Introduced in April 2004, SAGE is a delivery device for oxygen-dependent patients to combine oxygen-conserving technology with dynamic sensing mechanisms that automatically adjust oxygen flow according to the patient’s level of activity.

• Sales Managers Named
Emergent Respiratory Products, Irvine, Calif, recently named Ken Ritucci and David Gelfund regional sales managers for the company. Their responsibilities include managing multi-state distribution and providing reseller support. “Our goal is to bring top talent and experience into the organization with individuals from some of the world’s most respected medical technology companies,” said Gary Calvaneso, vice president for Emergent. “With the addition of Ritucci and Gelfund, we will have a well-managed sales organization. Our goal is to become the preeminent market leader in the early intervention and treatment of acute respiratory distress and to elevate the standard of care for congestive heart failure patients,” said Calvaneso.

• Product of the Year
Inogen, Goleta, Calif, was recently awarded the 2005 Oxygen Therapy Product of the Year Award in recognition of the company’s development of the Inogen One Oxygen Concentrator. Frost & Sullivan presented the award at the Excellence in Medical Devices & Healthcare Awards Banquet, which honors world-class companies for outstanding performance and achievements in the medical industry. “The Inogen One is redefining the oxygen therapy market by not taking the traditional approach of creating a stationary or a portable product,” said Frost & Sullivan research analyst Alpesh Gandhi.

Respironics Founder Honored
Gerald McGinnis, founder and chairman of Respironics Inc, Murrysville, Pa, recently received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Pittsburgh School of Engineering. This award is the school’s highest distinction. “Mr McGinnis has inspired us with his impressive professional achievements as well as his generosity to the School of Engineering and his great enthusiasm for the Department of Bioengineering,” said Gerald D. Holder, US Steel Dean of Pitt’s School of Engineering. “We are proud to count him among the 25,000 alumni who are Pitt Engineers.”

AEIOMed Obtains Clearance
AEIOMed, Minneapolis, recently received FDA 510(k) clearance for the aura™ CPAP. The aura offers a compact portable system, which eliminates patient compliance excuses based on inconvenience. The aura also features up to 20 cm/H20, automatic altitude compensation, and selectable compliance periods. “All of us at AEIOMed are pleased to receive 510(k) clearance,” said Steve Bordewick, president and CEO, AEIOMed. “We’ve put our heart and soul into creating the aura CPAP system. We are confident in the difference it will make in the lives of CPAP patients. Now they’ll be able to experience the difference for themselves.”

ResMed Granted Award
ResMed, Poway, Calif, has been granted the 2005 Frost & Sullivan Therapy Quality Leadership of the Year Award for its S7™ Elite CPAP product line for the sleep therapy market. The presentation of the award coincides with the release of ResMed’s newest CPAP device, the S8 Escape™, inaugurating a new generation of high-quality flow generators. “The S8 Escape is the newest innovation in our line of superior quality CPAP devices. We are pleased that Frost & Sullivan has recognized our commitment to product quality, and the S8 will continue our tradition of exceeding customers’ expectations,” says Ron Richard, VP of marketing for the Americas. “The release of the S8 Escape is ResMed’s response to the market demand for a small, portable CPAP device with data downloading capabilities. This device will reinforce our position as the leading provider of high-quality, cost-effective respiratory therapy.”

MAQUET Receives Award
Frost & Sullivan’s recent analysis, Strategic Analysis of World Mechanical Ventilators Market, selected MAQUET Critical Care, Bridgewater, NJ, as the recipient of the 2005 Market Leadership Award in the global ventilators market. Using specific criteria, Frost & Sullivan presents the award annually to companies that have exhibited market share leadership through the implementation of market engineering strategy. MAQUET Critical Care has excelled by sustaining a leading market share and profitability that is above industry average.

FDA Approves TB Test
Cellestis Inc, Valencia, Calif, has obtained US Food and Drug Administration approval of QuantiFERON®-TB GOLD, an indirect test for Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. The blood test detects immune responses to specific proteins associated with tuberculosis infection.