Four additional patents increase SPO Medical's intellectual property portfolio to eight patents

Sep 14 2009

SPO Medical Inc. (SPOM)s intellectual property (IP) portfolio to a total of eight patents. These latest patents, developed by the SPO Medical engineering team, increases the Company's technological competitive edge in providing innovative, high performance oximetry solutions for a variety of market applications.

The four new patents primarily focus on several commercial applications relating to the implementation of reflectance pulse oximetry for both medical and non-medical markets. Use of pulse oximetry in these markets enables accurate and effective measurements of vital sign information in a non-invasive, convenient manner with the added ability for placement of optical sensors on various places on the body for maximum user comfort and convenience. Furthermore, SPO has addressed the challenge of vital sign measurements during motion, which until now had restricted the effective use of optical sensors for professional and homecare applications. This achievement should further assist SPO in the implementation of its technology in a variety of commercial product configurations.

Michael Braunold, President and Chief Executive Officer of SPO Medical commented: "Building and maintaining a strong patent portfolio continues to be one of the strategic goals for the Company, enabling us to bring effective pulse oximetry solutions to the vital sign measurement market for both medical professional and non-medical consumer product applications. We have achieved these goals as a result of several years of research together with market experience gained from our commercial medical product line. We have several additional new patents pending which can further enhance our IP portfolio and asset value going forward."

SPO recently announced a breakthrough in the use of its core patents for measurement of the heart rate using a conventional sports wrist watch, negating the need of the traditional chest strap currently used by most sports and leisure watch manufacturers. This solution encompasses the SPO core technology in addition to resolving measurement under motion conditions. Braunold continued; "Commercially, we believe that our expanded IP portfolio asset can attract interest from both medical and non-medical corporations who are seeking commercial solutions based on our innovative technology, further contributing to potentially increasing value for the SPO Medical shareholders."