Masimo (NASDAQ:MASI) Corporation MASI recently announced a favorable outcome of its study in the field of pulse oximetry technologies. The study shows that researchers assessing Masimo SpHb (noninvasive, continuous hemoglobin monitoring) in neonatal patients inferred that the technology offers reliable haemoglobin (Hb) values, which are comparable with the more conventional invasive venous blood sampling (tHb).
This study result should be a major breakthrough for Masimo’s Signal Extraction Technology (SET) Pulse Oximetry portfolio.
Study Results in Detail
Observing that "iatrogenic anemia caused by diagnostic blood sampling is a common problem in intensive care units," particularly in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) and that diagnostic blood sampling also has implications for infection control and health care costs, researchers attempted to evaluate the proficiency of this noninvasive, continuous hemoglobin monitoring with SpHb in neonates by comparing it to conventional tHb.
With an aim to investigate the same, a few researchers studied 310 neonatal patients in a level III NICU in Turkey.
It was concluded that the SpHb measurement method could generate reliable data similar to tHb measurement method in the newborns. It is thought that the SpHb method may have a complementary role in curbing unnecessary blood sampling and therefore iatrogenic anemia, especially in the newborns with anemia, can be controlled. Further, clinical studies are needed to gauge the proficiency of this measurement method in critically ill patients with circulatory disorders.
In clinical studies with adult patients, continuous monitoring with SpHb as part of blood management programs has been proven to enhance the results, such as reducing the percentage of patients receiving transfusions, decreasing the units of red blood cells transfused per patient, lessening the time to transfusion, lowering costs and even curtailing the mortality rate.
For investors’ notice, the noninvasive, continuous SpHb for neonatal patients secured a CE marking last August and SpHb is currently available for patients across all age groups in the CE-marked countries. Further, this noninvasive, continuous SpHb received an FDA approval for patients weighing more than 3 kg but is not currently indicated for those below 3 kg in the United States.
Recent Developments in SET Pulse Oximetry
In July 2020, Masimo announced the results of a prospective study in which researchers conducted the first Moroccan study on critical congenital heart disease (CCHD) screening for newborns using Masimo SET pulse oximetry. The scientists concluded that the findings enabled them to strengthen the screening for CCHD by adding pulse oximetry to the routine newborn screening panel.
Earlier in March, the company released date from a recently-published 10-year retrospective study in which researchers evaluated the impact of an integrated clinical surveillance monitoring system, using Masimo SET and Patient SafetyNet technologies, on mortality in relation to the use of prescribed opioids in the general ward. Over the decade-long study conducted on 111,488 patients, it was found that there were zero patient deaths and no patient was harmed by opioid-induced respiratory depression while continuous monitoring was in use.
Price Performance
Over the past year, shares of the company have gained 48.2% compared with the industry’s growth of 22.9%.
Zacks Rank and Key Picks
Masimo currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
A few better-ranked stocks from the broader medical space are OPKO Health OPK, Surmodics SRDX and Merit Medical Systems (NASDAQ:MMSI) MMSI.
OPKO Health’s long-term earnings growth rate is estimated at 12%. The company presently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Surmodics’ long-term earnings growth rate is estimated at 10%. The company presently carries a Zacks Rank of 2.
Merit Medical Systems’ long-term earnings growth rate is estimated at 11.9%. It is currently Zacks #2 Ranked.
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