RT spoke with Andrew Appel, marketing manager for oximetry, GE Healthcare, Denver, about new developments in pulse oximetry and how the company successfully launches new products.
Q: What new developments does your company have in pulse oximetry?
A: We’re pleased to have several new areas of development. First, we’ve developed a new line of oximetry sensors that are compatible with Nellcor® R-Cal technology. This product line answers our customers’ request for a way to achieve major cost savings in Spo2 sensors while maintaining their standards of patient care.
Second, our customers are very excited about our Ohmeda TruSat® bedside pulse oximeter, which launched in late 2004. TruSat is a tribute to our extremely popular handheld oximeter, the Ohmeda TuffSat®. Both are easy to use, extremely durable, and high-performing with clinical motion technology. We’ve taken TuffSat’s legacy and enhanced it—implementing into TruSat GE’s most advanced clinical motion and low perfusion technology, TruSignal®.
Q: Can you talk more about the new technology featured in TruSat?
A: TruSignal Enhanced Spo2 is the heart of the Ohmeda TruSat. Our customers told us that they wanted oximetry that worked in the real world. We studied actual motion in the clinical setting, categorizing the types and frequencies and then developing our technology. TruSignal watches the signal that comes in during clinical motion, determines the motion type, and applies the appropriate algorithm. We also created ultra-low-noise technology allowing TruSignal to compensate for weak signals caused by low perfusion. The result is that TruSignal generates saturation readings that clinicians can truly rely on.
Q: How has the launch of TruSignal been received by the market?
A: We’ve had a very strong response, so much so that TruSignal will become a core part of Ohmeda Oximetry in the coming months and years. The Ohmeda heritage goes back to 1982 and Biox IIA, a well-remembered and successful pulse oximeter. Today, GE brings that Ohmeda legacy to market—accurate, consistent readings; simple, intuitive operation; and rigorous durability that meets everyday clinical use. Ohmeda Oximetry is a proven product line that now comes with the comprehensive support and leadership you expect from GE.
Q: How does your company successfully launch a product?
A: It’s all about hearing customers and responding in ways that delight them. We listen to what they are saying and anticipate their future needs in order to build products that perform in their real world—products that help improve their productivity and reach their high standards of care. GE Healthcare is committed to bringing real world solutions to our customers through our Ohmeda Oximetry.
