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Satellite Wellbound Opens in San Leandro

WellBound Opens its 14th New Self-Care Dialysis Center
Center Brings Satellite WellBound’s Unique Home Kidney Treatment Programs to San Leandro, CA

Mountain View, CA—September 11, 2008—Satellite WellBound (WellBound), the first company focused exclusively on providing pre-dialysis wellness education and supporting the full spectrum of self-care dialysis therapies, today announced the official opening of WellBound of San Leandro. Joining WellBound of Emeryville and WellBound of Milpitas, this “Center of Excellence” will support nephrologists on the east side of the San Francisco Bay Area in providing chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients with early-stage wellness education in combination with the full range of innovative self-care dialysis therapies. This is the fourteenth WellBound program overall and continues the company’s nationwide expansion.

“This new center responds to the strong market demand from both patients and nephrologists for WellBound’s unique CKD education and treatment approach in the Bay Area,” said Marc Branson, WellBound’s chief executive officer. “We are committed to expanding our operations, bringing what we believe is the industry’s best combination of wellness education, patient care services and innovative dialysis treatments to the growing ranks of people living with kidney disease.”

An expanding body of scientific evidence demonstrates that patients who receive more frequent and longer dialysis associated with self-care therapies achieve better clinical outcomes and enhanced quality of life compared to those who do not.

WellBound of San Leandro will provide patients in surrounding communities with access to the complete spectrum of self-care therapies including all forms of daily home dialysis (short daily and long nocturnal), continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD), and continuous cycler peritoneal dialysis (CCPD). Additionally, the company will offer patients individualized self-care training programs, while also providing them with innovative CKD wellness classes on topics including controlling blood pressure, stress management, exercise, nutrition, decreasing risks of cardiovascular disease and diabetes care.

“We are delighted to be able to offer our patients an expanded level of home hemodialysis services,” said Cynthia Mahoney, MD, of the Chabot Nephrology Medical Group and medical director of WellBound San Leandro. “Satellite Healthcare and WellBound are very experienced in operating joint ventures with nephrologists, and their excellent reputation in offering these home self-care services now gives us the full spectrum of renal replacement therapies for our patients.”

About Self-Care Dialysis

The term self-care dialysis refers to those dialysis therapies which patients are able to self-administer outside the confines of hemodialysis centers, including peritoneal dialysis and all types of home hemodialysis. A growing collection of clinical research demonstrates that more frequent, more consistent dialysis associated with home dialysis provides patients with improved health outcomes such as improved mortality rates and reduced hospitalizations. Home dialysis also offers significant quality of life advantages including greater convenience, more flexible schedules, and fewer fluid and dietary restrictions.

About WellBound

WellBound, a division of Satellite Healthcare, Inc., is an innovative leader in the dialysis community. As the first company focused exclusively on the full continuum of self-care dialysis options, WellBound frees chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients from in-center dialysis treatment regimens by offering multiple “self-care” treatment options. The company’s unique expertise in personalized self-care training and patient wellness facilitates a higher quality of life and improved clinical outcomes for CKD patients, while enabling physicians to offer a new, superior level of care.

WellBound has established fourteen “Centers of Excellence” and is actively engaged in expanding its network of self-care dialysis programs to deliver wellness education and the full spectrum of self-care dialysis options, including peritoneal dialysis and daily home hemodialysis. To learn more about WellBound, a division of Satellite Healthcare, Inc., please visit www.satellitehealth.com/wellbound or contact the company directly at 1.800.476.5450.

About Satellite Healthcare, Inc.

Satellite Healthcare, Inc. is one of the nation’s first and largest providers of dialysis services and kidney disease care. With its affiliated services Satellite WellBound, Satellite Dialysis, and Satellite Research, Satellite Healthcare provides early patient wellness education, personalized clinical services and a complete range of dialysis therapy choices. This comprehensive offering allows Satellite Healthcare to advance the standard of chronic kidney disease care so patients can achieve a better life.

For more information, please visit www.satellitehealth.com or call 650.404.3600.

Contact:
Satellite Healthcare
Kim Hernandez
(650) 404-3623

Swiss Museum Reopens with Enhanced Security

• Group visits anytime upon appointment
• Strong demand expected
• Two recovered paintings on display

Zurich (Switzerland), August 28, 2008 – The Foundation E.G. Buehrle Collection will be open to the public as of September 1, 2008. After the armed robbery on February 10, 2008, the museum was closed for security reasons.

The Collection invites group visitors to schedule an appointment preferably six weeks or more in advance by telephone, by e-mail or through the Collection’s website. A time and date will be arranged at their convenience. For registered individual visitors, a guided tour in German is offered in the afternoon of the first Wednesday each month. To what extent individual visitors will be allowed additional entries will be decided at a later stage.

Lukas Gloor, Director of the E.G. Buehrle Collection, comments: “We expect strong demand based on the many local and international calls we have received to date. We recommend that groups make reservations as early as possible.”

The two paintings recovered after the robbery, “Poppies near Vétheuil” by Claude Monet and “Blossoming Chestnut Branches” by Vincent Van Gogh, will be on display.

Scheduling an appointment for group visitors and guided tours

Please schedule an appointment for group visits preferably six weeks in advance by calling +41 44 422 00 86, by e-mail to info@buehrle.ch or through the Collection’s website at www.buehrle.ch. The costs for group entries are a minimum of CHF 500. There is a surcharge for requests received less than six weeks in advance. Guided tours are available in English, German, French and Italian. The cost for a guided tour, which lasts for slightly more than an hour, is CHF 200 for a maximum of 25. Concurrent tours are possible. The historic rooms of the museum, built in 1886, are also available for private events.

About E.G. Buehrle Collection (www.buehrle.ch)

The E.G. Buehrle Collection in Zurich, Switzerland is one of the world’s finest private collections featuring French Impressionism and Post-Impressionism paintings. The central theme of the Collection is the gradual evolution of a new artistic freedom with Impressionism being the driving force behind Modernist painting in the 20th century. Emil Buehrle (1890-1956) acquired his pictures and sculptures primarily between 1951 and 1956. In 1960, the collector’s family donated a representative selection of about 200 pieces to the Foundation E.G. Buehrle Collection and opened it to the public. The Foundation museum is housed in a villa adjoining Emil Buehrle’s former home, in which he stored part of his collection during his lifetime.

Remarks to editors

Please note that representatives of the E.G. Buehrle Collection cannot comment on the police investigations related to the armed robbery of February 10, 2008. Investigations are being conducted by the Police Department of the Canton of Zurich.

Downloadable paintings

A selection of paintings from the E.G. Buehrle Collection are downloadable in high resolution format from www.weber-thedy.com/buehrle.

Local press contact

Steve Mangold
PRx Communication Strategists
Phone 408-205-1598
steve@prxinc.com

Global press contact

Weber-Thedy Corporate & Financial Communications
Wolfgang Weber-Thedy
Zeltweg 25, CH-8032 Zurich, Switzerland
Phone +41 44 266 15 86
Wolfgang.Weber-Thedy@Weber-Thedy.com

SJ Rep Hires New Artistic Director

For Immediate Release

Media Contacts: Cecilia Clark
(408) 367-7290 / ceciliac@sjrep.com
Michelle Hou (408) 367-7202 / michelleh@sjrep.com

San Jose Repertory Theatre Announces New Artistic Director

San Jose, CA—August 21, 2008—The San Jose Repertory Theatre today announced that Rick Lombardo of Boston’s New Repertory Theatre will be the company’s next artistic director, succeeding the Rep’s long-time director, Timothy Near. After a six-month nationwide search, the Rep’s board chose Lombardo for his combination of artistic excellence, programming savvy and leadership abilities.

“In Rick Lombardo we have found a proven leader who will complement the current team and help take San Jose Rep to an exciting new level in the community as well as on stage,” said Stan Anders, chair of the search committee and incoming board president. “We look forward to his energy and insight as we launch a new era for the theatre.”

For ten of his twelve years as Artistic Director at the New Repertory Theatre (NRT), Lombardo oversaw all artistic and administrative operations and presided over a quadrupling of the theatre’s budget, a successful capital campaign, a doubling of attendance from 2002-to 2007 and a 500 percent increase in contributed revenue. An award-winning director, Lombardo produced four world premieres at NRT and directed a wide range of plays including Ragtime, Sweeney Todd, King Lear, A Streetcar Named Desire, Waiting for Godot, Tartuffe, The Scarlet Letter and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.

Lombardo also was artistic director of The Players Guild in Canton, Ohio and was founding artistic director of the Stillwaters Theatre Company Off-Broadway in New York. A National Merit Scholar and graduate of Georgetown, he received his MFA in directing from Boston University School for the Arts. He has taught at Fordham University and Farleigh Dickinson University. He has a strong commitment to diversity and developing education and outreach programs such as the successful “New Rep on Tour,” a school touring program funded by the NEA.

“Rick is the perfect combination of a consummate artistic leader, exciting director and seasoned administrator,” said Nick Nichols, managing director of the Rep. “His entrepreneurial spirit will fit well with San Jose and Silicon Valley. Rick will build beautifully upon what we already have at the Rep while imparting his distinctive artistic brand. I am truly excited to work with an artist of his abilities.”

“I am honored to be named the next Artistic Director of San Jose Rep and to continue the high artistic tradition the Rep has established under the leadership of Timothy Near,” said Lombardo.
“My work has always been to find the plays, stories and voices that have a powerful and lasting impact on an audience, and to use these plays as a way to begin a real engagement between community and artists around the important questions and ideas of our times. I’m very excited to begin planning my first season for Silicon Valley, and I’ll be spending as much time as I can at the Rep this fall to get the feel for my new home.”

“In Boston, Rick is one of the most respected arts leaders,” said Mary Kay Marvin, the Rep’s board president. “He has a unique blend of business acumen and artistic passion. Rick has established a significant track record for nurturing outstanding local artists and his staff, and he is plugged into the national scene of play selections, consistently choosing just the right ones. We know he will quickly become a valuable leader in our arts community.”

Lombardo will begin the transition into his new position in the fall of 2008.

San Jose Rep is one of largest non-profit, professional theatre companies in the South Bay, presenting six main stage productions each year. As a major contributor to South Bay’s cultural community for 28 years, the Rep’s mission is to engage, entertain, and inspire people. The Rep produces innovative theatrical performances that offer fresh perspectives into the human condition, educational programs that promote life-long learning, and outreach initiatives that benefit our diverse community. For more information, visit us at www.SJRep.com.

Photographs of Rick Lombardo available prxinc.com/sanjoserep

Our Nation is Facing a Kidney Disease Epidemic

For Immediate Release
Contact: Kim Hernandez
(650) 404-3623

August 12, 2008—Mountain View, CA—Satellite Healthcare, one of the nation’s first and largest providers of kidney dialysis services, is alarmed about the growing ranks of obese children in America. Why? Because obesity leads to high blood pressure and diabetes, two of the leading causes of chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Satellite is concerned that these children will join the 26 million Americans with CKD and the estimated 20 million who are at risk for developing the disease, stretching our healthcare system to its limits.

“Satellite Healthcare has always been focused on providing our patients with compassionate care and the knowledge required to manage kidney disease,” said Mark Burke, CEO. “Patient’s properly educated can take more charge of their disease and live more productive lives. We also recognize that, we have a responsibility to increase awareness and educate the general public about Kidney disease. That’s why we are reaching out during Kidney Disease Awareness and Education Week, to encourage the media to focus on this extremely important issue.”

High blood pressure is a leading cause of CKD in adults and contributes to the worsening of CKD in children. Hypertension can also be a complication of kidney disease. If a child’s kidneys are damaged, they are less able to help regulate blood pressure. As a result, the child’s blood pressure increases and CKD gets worse.

Early screening and treatment of high blood pressure and diabetes can significantly decrease the risk of developing CKD. Left undiagnosed and untreated, CKD progresses to end stage renal disease (ESRD). At this stage, dialysis is required to clean waste products from the blood. Only a few suitable kidneys are available for transplantation, and only 28 percent of patients with ESRD will receive a donated kidney.

National Kidney Foundation Chronic Kidney Disease Facts: www.kidney.org

• 26 million Americans have CKD and another 20 million more are at increased risk.
• Kidney disease is the 9th leading cause of death in the U.S.
• High-risk groups include those with diabetes, hypertension and a family history of kidney disease.
• African Americans, Hispanics, Pacific Islanders, Native Americans and seniors are at increased risk.
• Early detection can help prevent the progression of kidney disease to kidney failure.
• Heart disease is the major cause of death for all people with CKD.
• Hypertension causes CKD and CKD causes hypertension.
• Three simple tests can detect CKD: blood pressure, urine albumin and serum creatinine.
• Right now 78,244 kidney patients nationwide are waiting for kidney transplants. There is a critical shortage of organ donors. Only half of those waiting for a life-saving transplant will receive one.
• Twenty percent of all Americans suffering from chronic renal failure might have prevented it had they followed recommendations for treatment of high blood pressure.
• African-Americans between the ages of 30 and 49 develop kidney failure related to high blood pressure eight times more often than Caucasians.
• As in adults, high blood pressure is more common in children who:
  o Are overweight
  • Are African American
  • Have a family history of high blood pressure
  • Have CKD

Kidney Disease Prevention for Children:

• Educate children on making healthy choices early in life and the consequences of poor choices later on in life.
• Help them maintain a healthy body weight by encouraging a balanced nutritional diet of whole foods (lean protein, whole grains, legumes and fruits and vegetables) and limiting the amount of processed, salty and fast foods. Being overweight makes the child more likely to develop other serious health problems such as diabetes and heart disease and can make existing high blood pressure worse.
• Make sure that kids get away from the computer and off the couch for plenty of regular moderate exercise appropriate for their age and health. Physical activity helps children to lose weight and lowers blood pressure.
• Take children to the doctor for regular check-ups to monitor weight, blood pressure, blood glucose, hemoglobin and other conditions that may indicate the development of kidney disease.
• Children should avoid substances that can raise blood pressure such as tobacco, caffeine and medications that caution against use if you have high blood pressure.

About Satellite Healthcare

Satellite Healthcare, Inc. is one of the nation’s first and largest providers of dialysis services. With its affiliated services Satellite WellBound, Satellite Dialysis, Satellite Research and Laboratory Services, Satellite Healthcare gives patients professional, compassionate care, empowering them with wellness education, treatment options and the latest medical technology to help them live as normally as possible. This comprehensive offering allows Satellite Healthcare to advance the standard of chronic kidney disease care so patients can achieve a higher quality of life.
Building on its nonprofit roots, Satellite Healthcare invests in kidney disease research, both within the company and at major universities and medical centers around the world. Satellite also develops proprietary software tools to provide its dialysis centers Web-based patient management and reporting capabilities.

www.satellitehealth.com

Innolume Secures €8.6 Million

Dortmund, Germany, Santa Clara, California, USA (August 4, 2008) – Innolume, the leading provider of quantum dot (QD) laser diodes and modules covering the 1000 nm to 1320 nm optical spectrum, today announced that it secured a Series C round of financing for €8.6 million. The round was led by S-Group Capital Management Limited (SGCM) with Applied Ventures, LLC joining as a new investor. Existing investors NRW.BANK, PEPPERMINT.Financial Partners, S-VentureCapital Dortmund, Robert A. Young and Juergen Kurb also participated.

With this Series C funding, Innolume will enhance production capabilities and marketing activities to sustain growing revenues generated by its unique quantum dot laser products for telecommunication, industrial and medical applications, as well as for further development of its revolutionary comb-laser and related photonic integrated circuits in cooperation with top tier semiconductor companies. This comb source is a single laser diode providing up to hundreds of stable lasing lines for WDM optical interconnects in computer applications.

“The race is on to reduce the cost of optical solutions for short reach interconnects to the level needed by high volume, mainstream computing applications,” said Juergen Kurb, CEO of Innolume.

“Our vision is to enable high-density, low-cost wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) transmission by using a single light source for all wavelengths – Innolume’s comb-laser. We are delighted that SGCM, Applied Ventures and existing investors share our vision and recognize this unique opportunity to access a multibillion dollar market.” Juergen adds that “this funding will also enable Innolume to rapidly introduce to the market novel quantum dot based devices aimed at specific high value medical applications.”

“Since the computer industry has lately committed to merging silicon computing technology with laser-powered optical interconnects, we are excited that Innolume’s innovation applies the silicon integration paradigm for the first time to these lasers, namely, increased functionality and higher performance at lower cost. This investment fits our model of identifying true innovators that have the potential to materially impact existing or emerging markets,” said Ilia Dubinsky, SGCM Partner.

Peter Guellmann, Head of the Venture Investment Department of NRW.BANK and lead investor of Innolume´s Series B round, adds, ”Over the last years Innolume has clearly shown its capability to enable new, fast growing applications with its unique technology. We’re pleased that this investment will move Innolume into high volume manufacturing and will expand its market presence.”

This Series C round follows the €4.4 million A round in 2003 led by PolyTechnos Venture Partners and the €6.5 million B round in 2006 led by NRW.BANK.

About Innolume
Innolume is the premier manufacturer of ‘quantum dot’-based diode lasers and laser modules. Their natural lasing wavelengths cover the spectral window from 1100 nm to 1300 nm, which is outside the range of conventional semiconductor laser technology. This coverage enables novel industrial, medical and communications applications. Innolume’s product list includes epitaxial wafers, laser diode chips/bars and fiber-coupled modules. Its most recent innovation is a unique light engine for future WDM optical interconnects in mainstream computing applications. This engine is a single diode laser that simultaneously emits many low-noise lasing lines, each of which can transmit high speed data. Innolume is based in Santa Clara, California and Dortmund, Germany. (www.innolume.com)

About S-Group Capital Management Limited
S-Group Capital Management is backed by Alexey Mordashov, CEO and major shareholder of Severstal Group. S-Group Capital Management considers a wide variety of investment opportunities ranging from venture capital investments in high technology companies to developing strategic partnerships with international conglomerates in Russia. Geography of investments includes Russia, US and Europe.

Alexey Mordashov is the CEO and major shareholder of OAO Severstal, an international, vertically integrated steel producer with a listing on the RTS and the London Stock Exchange. Severstal has a successful track record of acquiring and integrating high-quality assets in North America and Europe. In 2007, Severstal produced 17.5 million tons of steel. Revenues were $15.2 billion and EBITDA was $3.7 billion.

About NRW.BANK
As the development bank of North Rhine-Westphalia, NRW.BANK supports the federal state in its structural and economic tasks. The Bank is competition-neutral and uses the full range of lending tools from traditional loans to customized advice. NRW.BANK employs approximately 1,100 people at its headquarters in Düsseldorf and Münster. It strengthens the high-technology sector in Northrhine-Westfalia with different financial instruments. This cluster attracts substantial interest from foreign investors. NRW.BANK especially supports investments in high technology.

Innolume Contact:
Juergen Kurb – CEO
+49 162 139 77 60
Juergen.Kurb@Innolume.com

Available in German

Attorney Richard Alexander’s Unique Collection

PRx publicized attorney Richard Alexander’s unique collection of Revolutionary War era artwork in time for the celebration of Independence Day.

KNTV/NBC11

To view the articles, please click on the corresponding link.

ABC.com News

KNTV/NBC11

Inside Bay Area: San Mateo County Times

Robbed Swiss Museum to Reopen with Higher Security

• All security measures reviewed and improved
• For the time being, only group visits are permitted by appointment
• Interest received from all over the world about the reopening

Zurich (Switzerland), June 27, 2008 – The reopening of the Foundation E.G. Bührle Collection is expected before the end of the summer 2008. After the armed robbery on February 10, 2008 the museum was closed and all security measures were thoroughly reviewed. The security procedures for both visitors and the Collection have now been improved and refined.

Preparations for the reopening have begun. It is planned to do this in two phases. At first, only groups shall be granted access to the facilities, after registering at least six weeks in advance and by identifying each member individually. Individual visitors will be able to enter the museum at a later stage.

Lukas Gloor, Director of the Foundation E.G. Bührle Collection, comments: “With the new security measures we look forward to reopening the Collection to the public soon. We receive requests from all over the world on a daily basis, with all asking when the museum will be reopened. Naturally we are eager to show our collection to visitors again.” Gloor adds: “We hope that we can announce the date of the reopening close to midyear.”

The two retrieved paintings, “Blossoming Chestnut Branches” by Vincent Van Gogh and “Poppies near Véteuil” by Claude Monet, will be again on display.

About E.G. Bührle Collection (www.buehrle.ch)

The E.G. Bührle Collection in Zurich, Switzerland is one of the world’s finest private collections featuring French Impressionism and Post-Impressionism paintings. The central theme of the collection is the gradual evolution of a new artistic freedom with Impressionism being the driving force behind Modernist painting in the 20th century. Emil Bührle (1890-1956) acquired his pictures and sculptures primarily between 1951 and 1956. In 1960, the collector’s family donated a representative selection of about 200 pieces to the Foundation E.G. Bührle Collection and opened it to the public. The Foundation museum is housed in a villa adjoining Emil Bührle’s former home, in which he stored part of his collection during his lifetime.

Remarks to editors

Please note that representatives of the E.G. Bührle Collection cannot comment on the police investigations related to the armed robbery of 10 February 2008. Investigations are being conducted by the Police Department of the Canton of Zurich.

Downloadable paintings

A selection of paintings from the E.G. Bührle Collection are downloadable in high resolution from www.weber-thedy.com/buehrle.

Local Press contact

Steve Mangold
PRx Communication Strategists
408-205-1598
steve@prxinc.com

Global press contact

Weber-Thedy Corporate & Financial Communications
Wolfgang Weber-Thedy
Zeltweg 25, CH-8032 Zurich, Switzerland
Phone +41 44 266 15 86
Wolfgang.Weber-Thedy@Weber-Thedy.com

Satellite Healthcare Dialysis Providers Field Large Contingent for National Kidney Foundation’s “Kidney Walk” in Silicon Valley

For Immediate Release
Contact: Kim Hernandez
(650) 404-3623

Satellite Healthcare Dialysis Providers Field Large Contingent for National Kidney Foundation’s “Kidney Walk” in Silicon Valley

June 18, 2008—Mountain View, CA—With more than 80 walkers committed, Satellite Healthcare, Satellite Dialysis and Satellite WellBound employees, families and patients are pulling out all the stops to make the Silicon Valley Kidney Walk and Run a huge success.

With at least 700 walkers and runners expected at San Jose’s Cityview Plaza on Saturday for the annual fundraiser for the National Kidney Foundation, officials see a prime opportunity both to raise funds while raising awareness of kidney disease.

Chronic kidney disease affects more than 26 million Americans, with another 20 million having risk factors for developing the disease. “This is a great event,” said Dr. Norm Coplon, Satellite Healthcare’s Founder. “Not only do we raise a lot of money to fund kidney research, we also help to raise awareness of the disease. Everyone who walks or runs is doing something to fight the conditions that can lead to kidney failure. Exercise, healthy eating and watching your blood pressure and weight go a long way to insuring against falling prey to this disease.”

Satellite Healthcare, known for its innovative approaches to dialysis and treatment of chronic kidney disease, is the corporate sponsor of the Kidney Walk and Run’s Wellness Fair. The event takes place Saturday, June 21, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Cityview Plaza (San Fernando between Market Street and Almaden Boulevard) in San Jose.

Suzette Zeidler, RN, Clinical Manager of Satellite Dialysis in East San Jose, has about 20 walkers and runners signed up. “We’ve generated a lot of enthusiasm here for the Kidney Walk,” she said. “We feel a real team spirit, especially now that we’re all doing our new employee wellness program, Embrace Your Health. We have our pedometers, and we’re keeping track of how far we walk every day, so this event will easily get us to our goal of 10,000 steps in a day.”

Betsey Hennessy, a dietician at Satellite WellBound in San Jose, has organized six of her colleagues to walk and run in the event. “We’ve also roped in our family members and friends, so this will be a good way to spend a nice, warm Saturday with a few hundred people who care about people with kidney disease. In our field, this is one cause that is clearly necessary and deserves our support.”

NKF walk participants and spectators will have the opportunity to check out their blood pressure and other risk factors for kidney disease at the Satellite Healthcare wellness booth. “We might be missing the fun of the walk by being at the booth,” said Jacqui Ploski, RN, BSN, clinical manager of WellBound in Milpitas, “but we’re walking the talk of the WellBound philosophy. When it comes to giving kidney care information and health assessments, our people are simply the best of the best.”

Potential walkers can sign up at http://tinyurl.com/5ebas8

About Satellite Healthcare

To learn more about Satellite Healthcare, Inc., please visit www.satellitehealth.com or contact the company directly at 1.800.476.5450.

NDS Surgical Imaging Introduces New Visualization Technologies

San Jose, May 17, 2008 – NDS Surgical Imaging (NDSsi) today announced availability of innovative and breakthrough visualization technologies for surgical and endoscopy suites, including a new interactive Radiance® 52” touch-screen display. These new products will be on display at the American Urological Association (AUA 2008) Conference, NDSsi Booth #2729, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando from May 17 – 20, 2008, and the Digestive Disease Week (DDW 2008) Conference, NDSsi Booth #2743, at the San Diego Convention Center from May 18 – 21, 2008.

NDSsi will be demonstrating an interactive, purpose-built Radiance® 52” touch-screen combined with imaging informatics platforms that deliver customized clinical content to operating room (OR) staff and enhance surgical workflow. Also showcased will be an LED-backlit surgical display technology that provides superb brightness designed specifically for endoscopic use. This cutting edge, lamp-less, environmentally friendly backlight technology enables longer product life while conserving energy in the sterile surgical field.

Advances in digital networks and information technology have allowed routing of patient’s medical images and diagnostic reports to the surgical suite. NDSsi technologies have brought to market these advances that allow patient vitals, optical imaging, patient information, room cameras and medical imaging devices to be simultaneously viewed, in real time, within the surgical suite. With large-sized wall mount displays becoming an integral part of the Digital OR and surgical workflow, new interactive visualization technologies from NDSsi enable new ways to deliver therapy within the sterile field with value-added benefits.

“We are now offering the marketplace surgical displays that are device controllable, multi-modality image processing capable, as well as touch screen-enabled,” says Ron Hansen, Chief Technology Officer at NDSsi. “Coupled with our imaging informatics technologies, clinical staff can now make better and faster decisions without leaving the surgical field. They will have the ability to interact with high-resolution PACS diagnostic images from pre-surgical planning alongside live surgical video.”

To learn more about NDSsi’s products for the endoscopic suite or to request more information, please go to www.ndssi.com.

NDSsi is a privately held company, located in Silicon Valley with US-based manufacturing, R&D facilities and a global presence in more than 35 countries. For more information, visit www.ndssi.com

Contact:
Jenna Kuhl
Marketing Communications Manager
jkuhl@ndssi.com
(408) 310-9394

PRx Wins International PR Award

For Immediate Release
Contact:
Steve Mangold
(408) 287-1700
(408) 205-1598

Silicon Valley Public Relations Agency Wins International PR Award for Orchard Supply Hardware Corporate Social Responsibility Campaign

May 9, 2008—Dubai, United Arab Emirates—The International Public Relations Network (IPRN), a consortium of 45 agencies from 32 countries, awarded PRx Communication Strategists of San Jose, California, its Project of the Year Award. This award, IPRN’s highest honor, was conferred on PRx for a community relations campaign designed and executed for Orchard Supply Hardware’s 75th Anniversary.

Competing against campaigns mounted by agencies from Austria, Singapore, Spain, the Czech Republic, Great Britain, Sweden and France, PRx won the 10th Annual Project of the Year Award for its Orchard Supply Hardware (OSH) school gardens campaign. PRx created an experiential learning project for the hardware chain’s 86 stores, linking elementary schools throughout California with OSH stores and their employees. OSH gardening staff and horticulturists worked with thousands of parents and teachers to create school gardens to teach math, biology, chemistry and project management to more than 40,000 students in 2007.

Collaborating with the California Department of Education, PRx branded state curriculum guides and resources with the OSH 75th Anniversary logo and created an online application process for schools to apply for $1000 OSH store credits for gardening tools and supplies. More than 300 schools applied for the grants, and 86 schools were chosen to work with an OSH store near their campuses to create a garden and integrate the year’s gardening activities into the academic curriculum.

In a survey after the year-long project ended, 62% of the schools responded and reported that:

• More than 84% of the schools rated OSH’s support as “good to far more than expected”
• 94% of schools plan to continue their gardens
• 86% of schools have been able to leverage their OSH grant to secure other funding and support
• 40% of schools claimed measured gains in test scores
• 68% of schools rated the OSH Garden experience as outstanding, with another 24% rating it worthwhile

In other news,

• OSH was named “the leading pioneer in school gardens” by the CA Dep’t. of Education
• California First Lady Maria Shriver issued a statement of support and appreciation to OSH’s CEO Rob Lynch

“This campaign was both a labor of love and an experiment to learn how a company like OSH could make substantive improvements to early childhood education, giving elementary students, their parents and teachers the tools to put gardening into the academic mix,” said Rob Lynch, OSH CEO. “We’re known as the answer people for gardening and home improvement projects, so our staff’s involvement with the schools and their students enabled them to take their expertise out of the stores and into the community, making a real difference in thousands of kids’ lives. We’re enormously proud of this project, and we hope that other corporations will become more involved with schools and students, to leverage their contributions to learning and increase the return on investment we as citizens make through our taxes and volunteer activities.”

PRx is the only agency to have won two IPRN Project of the Year Awards. It previously won the award in 2002 for its 2001 Silicon Valley Technology and Homeland Security Summit and Expo. For more information, please see www.iprn.com and www.prxinc.com.

The International Public Relations Network was formed in 1995 to enable small and medium-sized PR consultancies to compete with multinational PR firms. Featuring global reach and local expertise, the network boasts 45 agencies in 32 countries, billing more than $50 million per year.

PRx founder and CEO Brenna Bolger said, “This award is a very important validation of how we help companies get not only news coverage but create productive relationships that help communities improve their services to their residents. We are very proud of our role in assisting our clients in being good corporate citizens, engaging them with important causes and creating grand initiatives that help both the community and our clients’ strategic marketing goals.” For more information, please see www.iprn.com and www.prxinc.com