West Wireless Health Institute Teams with Corventis for its First Multicenter, Randomized...

West Wireless Health Institute Teams with Corventis for its First Multicenter,
Randomized Clinical Trial

Collaboration will test remote wireless monitoring to prevent hospital
readmissions for heart failure

SAN DIEGO, June 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The West Wireless Health
Institute (WWHI), one of the world's first medical research organizations
dedicated to advancing health and well-being through the use of wireless
technologies, today announced it will collaborate with Corventis, Inc. for the
Institute's first clinical research program. Corventis is a developer of
wireless cardiovascular solutions designed to enable early detection,
prevention and treatment of cardiovascular conditions.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090624/DC137665LOGO )

Congestive heart failure is the leading reason for hospital admission in the
United States, and recently it was shown that 26.9% of patients in the
Medicare cohort are re-hospitalized within 30 days. The cost burden to the
health system for these readmissions is profound and estimated to be in the
range of $10 Billion per year.

With the newfound ability to monitor multiple highly relevant physiologic
parameters on a continuous 24/7 basis -- such as heart rhythm, fluid status
and respiratory rate -- there is the potential to markedly reduce the need for
hospital readmissions among patients with heart failure. Corventis' remote
monitoring wireless system was approved by the FDA in February 2009, which
sets up the potential for a multicenter, randomized clinical trial. The trial
will be spearheaded by the West Wireless Health Institute and led by Dr. Eric
J. Topol, the Institute's chief medical officer. Dr. Topol is also chief
academic officer at Scripps Health and holder of the Gary and Mary West Chair
of Innovative Medicine.

"Congestive heart failure is one of the largest and most problematic diagnoses
in medicine today, with a tremendous toll on the quality of life of patients
and an enormous economic burden to the country," said Topol. "But,
fortunately, heart failure is prototypic for remote wireless monitoring.
Through innovative wireless sensor technologies that use smartphones and
broadband communication, we have the new capability of early and rapid
detection of key parameters with a simple disposable smart 'band aid' that can
relay the data on a continuous basis through the Internet."

Participation in the pivotal randomized trial with WWHI and Corventis will be
offered to the sites supported by the National Institutes of Health Clinical
and Translational Science Award (CTSA) National Consortium, which consists of
38 of the most prestigious academic medical centers in the United States. The
trial is designed to clinically validate remote wireless monitoring technology
in proactively managing heart failure patients and reducing hospital
readmissions.

"Corventis understands the tremendous potential of non-invasive wireless
technology and sensors to transform the way we monitor cardiac patients on a
continuous and remote basis," added Topol.

"Corventis believes in evidence-based medicine, and is delighted to partner
with the West Wireless Health Institute, and leading clinical centers on this
important clinical research initiative," said Ed Manicka, Ph.D., president and
CEO of Corventis. "Our technology is designed to deliver focused visibility
into the cardiac health status of patients by combining patient-friendly
wearable sensors with advanced computational algorithms, global wireless
capabilities and a comprehensive web-based infrastructure."

Corventis will work closely with the Institute's clinical research and
wireless engineering teams to ensure the research devices improve the existing
level of care, and are safe, reliable and cost effective. Don Jones, vice
president of Health and Life Sciences at Qualcomm, and the Institute's chief
wireless officer, will lead the integration of wireless technology with the
clinical research activity.

"This unprecedented combination of clinical research and wireless engineering
represents a phenomenal change in the way we will administer and experience
health care moving forward," said Jones. "This research program will develop
revolutionary new methods to create more efficient and less expensive
individualized health care and will enable wireless sensors and remote
monitoring technologies, like those from Corventis, to become much more
pervasive."

Dr. Topol will be delivering a keynote address this morning, Wednesday, June
24, at a technology and policy forum on mHealth solutions hosted by CTIA - The
Wireless Association(R). The forum is being held at The Capitol Visitor
Center at the U.S. Capitol, Washington, D.C., and will give Congressional
Members, Obama Administration Officials, and medical and policy experts the
opportunity to discuss the mobile medical applications already being deployed,
and the tremendous cost savings wireless health solutions can provide for
health care reform.

For more information on the West Wireless Health Institute, please visit
www.westwirelesshealth.org.

ABOUT THE WEST WIRELESS HEALTH INSTITUTE
The West Wireless Health Institute (www.westwirelesshealth.org) is one of the
first medical research organizations in the world supporting the exploration
and application of wireless technologies to advance human health and
well-being. Along with Scripps Health and Qualcomm, the Institute is
fostering an unprecedented convergence of science, medicine, engineering and
technology to change the way health care is delivered. The West Wireless
Health Institute is based in San Diego, California.

ABOUT CORVENTIS
Corventis, Inc. is a pioneer in wireless cardiovascular solutions. The
company's technology enables global personalized patient care by providing
clinicians with actionable diagnoses for early detection, prevention and
treatment. Corventis is funded by prominent venture capital firms Kleiner,
Perkins, Caufield & Byers, Mohr Davidow Ventures and DAG Ventures. Privately
held, the company is located in San Jose, California. For more information on
Corventis, please visit www.corventis.com.

Reference: N England Journal of Medicine 360;14 - April 2, 2009

SOURCE West Wireless Health Institute

Media, Michele Guthrie of West Wireless Health Institute,
media@westwirelesshealth.org; or Matt Merkert of Corventis Inc.,
media@corventis.com