MILPITAS, CA and DORTMUND, GERMANY--(Marketwire -) - Silicon Microstructures Inc., a leader in MEMS silicon sensor design and manufacture and a subsidiary of ELMOS, announced that the company has been selected by OMRON Healthcare Inc. as a development partner and supplier for an advanced pressure sensor array for pulse wave transient blood pressure measurement—the so called radial augmentation index.
The radial augmentation index measurement method provides a novel and highly accurate approach for noninvasive diagnosis, screening, and monitoring of the arterial condition, especially arterial stiffness, arterial impedance mismatch, and cardiac afterload.
SMI's experience with ultra-miniature pressure sensors for the medical and automotive market, together with its superior design capabilities and technology expertise for advanced pressure sensing solutions has qualified SMI as the supplier of choice for OMRON Healthcare Inc.
"The selection of SMI as a supplier for this advanced technology project by OMRON Healthcare Inc. is another strategic milestone for SMI," said Rainer Cholewa, President and CEO of SMI. "We have the required level of expertise and the right technology portfolio in order to address high-end medical sensor applications, and this design win underlines our strong positioning in this market."
The array sensor for OMRON Healthcare Inc. is another addition to SMI's medical product portfolio, which already includes an ultra-miniature disposable catheter tip pressure sensor for blood pressure measurement inside the coronary arteries of the human heart, and a range of differential low-pressure sensor products for anesthesia equipment and respiratory applications, like sleep apnea therapy.
About Omron Healthcare Inc.
Omron Healthcare Inc., located in Bannockburn, IL, a northern suburb of Chicago, is the North and South American subsidiary of Omron Healthcare group. A leading manufacturer and distributor of blood pressure monitors for home use, Omron Healthcare group is a market leader in blood pressure monitoring with over 70 million of its monitors sold worldwide to date. Omron Healthcare is committed to offering clinically proven, innovative weight management and thermometry products and devices for use in treatment of respiratory conditions, all with the aim of helping people achieve greater compliance and quality of life. With the April 2006 acquisition of Colin Medical Instruments Corp., a leader in blood pressure monitoring products for hospitals, clinics, and physician offices, Omron Healthcare has a unique position as a company offering a wide array of medical devices for use in sites ranging from hospitals to the home.
About Silicon Microstructures Inc.
Silicon Microstructures is a high-volume supplier of standard and custom pressure sensors and other MEMS devices. Customers range from automotive users to medical and industrial system manufacturers requiring precision sensors. SMI's capabilities cover all phases of design, qualification, MEMS manufacture and customer support as well as MEMS foundry services. SMI is a 100% subsidiary of ELMOS Semiconductor AG, a leading company in developing, manufacturing and marketing of primarily automotive ASIC and ASSP solutions. ELMOS is headquartered in Dortmund, Germany and listed on the German stock exchange (Prime Standard).