October 6, 2007 Health Hero Network Health Buddy
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Health Hero® Network Debuts Third-Generation Health Buddy Appliance as Next Step in Evolution of Revolutionary Technology Platform for Management of Chronic Conditions
Palo Alto, CA - October 6, 2007 — Health Hero Network, Inc., has unveiled its third-generation Health Buddy® Appliance, with enhancements that take the leading telehealth technology solution for managing individuals with chronic conditions in their homes to a new level of ease of use and accessibility.
Health Hero Network anticipates that the third-generation Health Buddy Appliance will be available at the beginning of 2008, pending Federal Food and Drug Administration clearance. The new features include:
• Built-in wireless support via Bluetooth and infrared for medical devices such as weight scales, blood pressure cuffs, and blood-glucose meters. These features are in addition to wired connectivity via USB and serial ports for devices supported by previous generations of the Health Buddy Appliance, including pulse oximetry.
• Built-in ability to upload results and retrieve new surveys via Ethernet, in addition to the traditional telephone connectivity.
• A larger, brighter, higher contrast screen for enhanced content readability.
”The launch of the third-generation Health Buddy Appliance, along with the debut of Health Buddy TV earlier this year in the Netherlands, expands the ways by which people can interact with the Health Buddy System,” said Derek Newell, Health Hero Network’s CEO. “We continue to set the standard within the telehealth industry for creating content and interfaces that are clinically robust, and easy to use. We plan to expand that accessibility by moving on to the Web and other interfaces over the coming year.”
The third-generation Health Buddy Appliance will be the new flagship interface modality to the Health Buddy System – a technology platform that, since its release in 1999, has generated breakthrough improvements in keeping individuals with chronic conditions healthier and thus reducing hospital admissions and emergency room visits.
The Health Buddy Appliance is a key vehicle for the industry’s only interactive daily content programs certified by the National Committee for Quality Assurance for monitoring and assessing individuals with chronic conditions in their homes and providing them with education and self-management support. More than 20,000 individuals with chronic conditions interact with the Health Buddy System through their use of a Health Buddy Appliance – the Health Buddy System is utilized more than any other system for monitoring and managing individuals with complex chronic conditions in their homes. The feedback provided by the Health Buddy Appliances provides caregivers with actionable, evidence-based knowledge to create individualized, preventive interventions.
Health Hero Network intends to continue to market and support its second-generation Health Buddy Appliance, released in 2005, and its first-generation Health Buddy Appliance, released in 1999. The company will seek 510k clearance from the Federal Food and Drug Administration for the third-generation Health Buddy Appliance.
About Health Hero Network
Based in Palo Alto, Health Hero Network develops and markets the Health Buddy System for health improvement. The Health Buddy System serves as the interface between patients at home and care providers, facilitating education and monitoring of patients with chronic conditions. The System includes monitoring technologies, clinical information databases, Internet-enabled decision support tools, health management programs and content development tools. Through increased communication, behavior modification, and prevention, the Health Buddy System improves the quality of patient care. Health Hero Network’s systems are protected by 57 issued US patents. For more information, visit http://www.healthhero.com.
