LiDCO Group Plc

("LiDCO" or the "Company")

LIDCOrapid chosen for UK OPTIMISE study

LiDCO Group Plc (AIM: LID), the cardiovascular monitoring company, is pleased to announce that the LiDCOrapid Monitor, the Company's tool for acute care fluid and drug management, has been chosen as the sole cardiac output monitoring system to be used in OPTIMISE, a government-supported multi-centre trial in the UK, which aims to improve surgical outcomes by optimising cardiovascular management. This trial is believed to be the largest of its type in the world to date and is therefore a significant validation of LiDCO's technology.

Post-operative complications can often occur in patients following complex surgery, particularly in high-risk groups such as the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions such as diabetes or heart disease.  Previous studies have shown that treatments guided by advanced hemodynamic monitoring, designed to improve blood flow and oxygenation, have been able to reduce complications by up to 40% and enable patients to leave hospital, on average, 12 days earlier than if conventionally treated (1). Until now these studies have mostly been conducted by single hospitals on limited numbers of patients. 

The LiDCOrapid will be used to monitor the administration of fluids and drugs in the treatment arm of the OPTIMISE trial. Twelve UK centres and 726 adult high-risk patients undergoing major abdominal surgery will be involved in the study which is scheduled to start this autumn. Co-ordinated by Dr Rupert Pearse, consultant and senior lecturer in intensive care medicine at Barts and The London NHS Trust, the study is supported by an £850,000 grant from the National Institute for Health Research.

Terry O'Brien, Chief Executive Officer of LiDCO, said: "We believe this will be the largest trial on improving outcomes in high-risk surgery conducted in the world to-date. We are delighted that the LIDCOrapid has been chosen to guide the administration of the fluids and heart drugs each patient will need both during the operation and the following six hours during post operative care. We are confident that OPTIMISE will prove to be a landmark trial in the widespread adoption of surgical optimisation." 

In a recent BBC interview about this trial, Dr Pearse stated: "This grant will expand research in the field of critical care and apply this approach to our clinical practice, in order to improve results for our most seriously-ill patients."

LiDCO will supply the twelve participating hospitals with up to 24 monitors for the study, which is expected to take 12-18 months to complete. 

Reference

1. Pearse, R. et al. Early goal directed therapy following major surgery reduces complications and duration of hospital stay.  A randomised controlled trial. Critical Care 2005, 9: R 687 - R693 (DOI 10.1186/cc3887) 

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About LiDCO Group Plc

LiDCO is a leading supplier of minimally invasive hemodynamic monitoring equipment and disposables. These are used primarily for the management of hospital patients requiring critical care or at major cardiovascular risk. LiDCO's computer-based technology significantly reduces the complications (particularly infections) and costs associated with major surgery. The technology was invented in the Department of Applied Physiology based at St Thomas' Hospital, London. LiDCO is based in the UK and its shares are traded on AIM. For more information please see www.lidco.com.

The Company's manufacturing facility is in Hoxton, London and its current products are:

* LiDCOplus and PulseCO monitors: these computer-based platforms are used in the Intensive Care Unit for real-time continuous display of hemodynamic parameters including cardiac output, oxygen delivery and fluid volume (PPV% and SVV%)

* LiDCO disposables: used in conjunction with the LiDCOplus Monitor for accurate measurement of cardiac output in a minimally invasive manner

* LiDCOview: an easy-to-use graphical display of historical LiDCOplus hemodynamic data. Both clinical researchers and routine users can view beat-to-beat hemodynamic data collected with the LiDCOplus. LiDCOviewSE is the standard version of this tool and is available for free, allowing anyone to download and access data from the LiDCOplus. LiDCOviewPRO is the Professional version, allowing users to analyse, export and report the LiDCOplus data. A free trial of LiDCOviewPRO is available for evaluation purposes prior to purchase

* LiDCOlive: a software product in development for the remote display of hemodynamic monitoring parameters derived through use of the LiDCOplus or LiDCOrapid monitors

* LiDCOrapid : our new cardiac output monitor designed specifically for use in the Operating Theatre for fluid and drug management at the point of care

Distribution Network:

The Company has now achieved registration of its products in 14 markets in Europe, the USA, Brazil, South Korea and Japan. It sells direct in the UK and USA, and elsewhere through a worldwide network of speciality critical care and anesthesia distributors.