Natus Medical Supports the American Academy of Pediatrics on Newborn Hearing Screening Educational Initiative

Business Wire, Feb 25, 2002

Business Editors/Health & Medical Writers

SAN CARLOS, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--Feb. 25, 2002

Natus Medical Incorporated ("Natus") (Nasdaq:BABY) announced today that it will be a corporate supporter of the American Academy of Pediatrics' (AAP) forthcoming initiative to increase awareness of newborn hearing screening through the development of patient and professional educational brochures. Educational materials will be distributed to pediatricians throughout the country by the end of February 2002.

Both Natus and the AAP share a common goal of working to ensure that children are given the best opportunity to develop to their fullest potential. To this effect, the AAP is launching a program "Improving the Effectiveness of Newborn Hearing Screening, Diagnosis, and Intervention through the Medical Home" directed not only to 55,000 pediatricians throughout the country, but also to parents.

"The Natus sponsored brochures will provide an essential public and professional educational component of this program," said James Lemons, MD, member of the AAP Task Force on Newborn and Infant Hearing. The federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau and the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention have already joined in the efforts of the AAP to support the overall program.

Studies have shown that early diagnosis and intervention can minimize developmental delays that arise from hearing impairment and that infants who receive intervention prior to 6 months of age maintain language development commensurate with their normal hearing peers. Therefore, early screening, follow-up, and treatment are critical.

"We are delighted to be able to sponsor the AAP's patient and professional educational initiative on the importance of newborn hearing screening and follow-up," said Tim Johnson, president and chief executive officer of Natus. "We believe that the more children who are identified and provided appropriate and timely intervention, the more lives we will have touched in a very positive way."

Natus Medical develops, manufactures and markets proprietary, non-invasive, easy-to-use, crib-side screening devices for the detection and/or monitoring of common disorders in babies. Natus is the market leader in sales of newborn hearing screening equipment with its ALGO(R) Newborn Hearing Screeners being used by the majority of U.S. hospitals that screen newborns for hearing loss. Natus also manufactures and distributes MiniMuffs(R) Neonatal Noise Attenuators and the CO-Stat(R) End Tidal Breath Analyzer. The CO-Stat analyzer non-invasively measures the rate of hemolysis in newborns. By providing an index of the rate of hemolysis, the CO-Stat analyzer assists clinicians in complying with the 1994 American Academy of Pediatrics' Practice Parameter for managing newborn jaundice. Approximately 60% of all babies born in the United States exhibit some degree of jaundice. Natus sells and supports its products domestically through direct field sales representatives and clinical educators. Natus products are distributed by its wholly owned subsidiaries in Japan and in the U.K., and have been distributed in 20 other countries. Additional information can be found at www.natus.com.

The mission of the American Academy of Pediatrics is to attain optimal physical, mental and social health for all infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. Additional information can be found at www.aap.org.