MEMPHIS, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Christie Medical Holdings Inc. today announced the company has selected Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC), the largest provider of health care products and services to office-based practitioners, as exclusive U.S. distributor of Christie’s VeinViewer® Flex vascular imaging device to select non-acute market segments including physician offices, community health centers, vein centers, oncology, dialysis centers and ambulatory surgery centers.
VeinViewer Flex is the only hand-held vein illuminator that uses harmless near-infrared light and other technologies to project a real-time digital vein image directly onto the surface of the skin. VeinViewer Flex displays vasculature and blood patterns up to 10 millimeters deep and meets stringent demands of health care practitioners for durability and portability. First introduced in late 2011, VeinViewer Flex is now widely available for purchase. Additionally, Flex is designed to provide the exclusive clinical capabilities and same trusted TrueView vein-width accuracy specifications of its predecessor, VeinViewer Vision, for Pre, During and Post-vascular access benefits (currently under testing).
"Christie Medical Holdings is delighted to establish this partnership with Henry Schein, a company that we have the utmost respect for,” said George Pinho, president of Christie Medical Holdings. “Given the commitment to excellent customer service that our companies share and Henry Schein’s strong relationships with physicians around the country, we are confident that this partnership will provide a great opportunity for more medical market segments to be introduced to the invaluable benefits of VeinViewer Flex.”
VeinViewer is the only direct-projection vein illumination device clinically proven to improve peripheral vascular access while reducing the number of sticks and greatly improving patient satisfaction. Flex offers a customizable set of features through VeinViewer’s exclusive ASSESS™ imaging suite, as well as capabilities of digital real-time imaging via Active Vascular Imaging Navigation (AVIN).
“Christie has developed a product that brings the proven, high-quality vascular imaging technology of VeinViewer to a versatile hand-held version,” said Dave McKinley, president at Henry Schein Medical. “We look forward to offering this exciting new product to our customers.”
VeinViewer provides a number of benefits to practitioners and patients, from easing the process during a pediatric blood draw to improving vascular access for a cancer patient. Patients and practitioners will see improvement in vascular access procedures, patient outcomes and cost savings. Evidence demonstrates that VeinViewer increases successful vascular access, reducing pain and increasing patient satisfaction. Among the benefits that practitioners can expect are improvements in patient throughput; a reduction in secondary procedures and treatment delays and an increase in referrals and revenue.
To learn more about VeinViewer, please visit www.veinviewerflex.com.
About Christie Medical Holdings Inc.
Christie Medical Holdings Inc. is a global company based in Memphis, Tenn., that discovers, develops and commercializes medical technologies. The company’s market-leading product, VeinViewer®, is a mobile vascular imaging system that allows health care providers to clearly see accessible vasculature in real time, directly on the surface of the skin. Christie Medical Holdings Inc. is owned by Christie Digital Systems Inc., a global visual technologies company and a subsidiary of Ushio Inc., Japan (JP:6925). For more information on Christie Digital Systems or Christie Medical Holdings, visit www.christiedigital.com.
About Henry Schein, Inc.
Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ: HSIC), the largest provider of health care products and services to office-based practitioners, is a Fortune 500® company and a member of the NASDAQ 100® Index. The Company is recognized for its excellent customer service and highly competitive prices. Henry Schein's five businesses – Dental, Medical, Animal Health, International and Technology – serve nearly 775,000 customers worldwide, including dental practitioners and laboratories, physician practices and animal health practices, as well as government and other institutions. The Company operates through a centralized and automated distribution network, which provides customers in more than 200 countries with a comprehensive selection of more than 90,000 national and Henry Schein private-brand products in stock, as well as more than 100,000 additional products available as special-order items. Henry Schein also provides exclusive, innovative technology offerings for dental, medical and veterinary professionals, including value-added practice management software and electronic health record solutions.
Headquartered in Melville, N.Y., Henry Schein employs nearly 15,000 people and has operations or affiliates in 24 countries. The Company's net sales reached a record $8.5 billion in 2011. For more information, visit the Henry Schein Web site at www.henryschein.com.
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