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  • April 7, 2015

Transforming Traditional Healthcare to Virtual Methods

Frost & Sullivan reveals the importance of raising consumer awareness surrounding virtual visits

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., April 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — How consumers access healthcare is evolving in the U.S. due to connected healthcare expansion and new options in the delivery of care. As the healthcare system shifts to value-based models, including focal points on wellness and prevention, different settings in the care continuum are growing in importance, especially the home. Over the next five years, virtual visits expect to become a more common occurrence given the rapid expansion in video telemedicine service options. For true advancement, consumer awareness of virtual visits is a critical challenge for all healthcare system stakeholders to overcome.

During the Health Sciences Innovation Investment Forum in New York City, the Big Idea Session:  Raising Consumer Awareness of Virtual Visits will be hosted by Frost & Sullivan Healthcare and Life Sciences Research Director Daniel Ruppar (@danielruppar).

Attendees should expect insight on the following:

  • The access to care challenge.
  • Importance of virtual visits and growth ranking in telehealth.
  • Growing consumer awareness.
  • Creating the new world of primary care.

Please join Ruppar at the Health Sciences Innovation Investment Forum. To view more information regarding the events please visit, http://bit.ly/19xs1Ys.

“Now is a critical time in the market for virtual visits,” said Ruppar. “All stakeholders must work together to maximize awareness with consumers of this approach, to best expand integration in their lives as a common healthcare option, and further promote the growth of telehealth.”

Ruppar has extensive background in a number of healthcare sectors including digital transformation of healthcare and solutions throughout the continuum of care, including telemedicine and mHealth.

The Health Sciences Innovation Investment Forum will be held at the Alexandria Center. The conference will take place on April 22 from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Frost & Sullivan is pleased to partner with the American Heart Association at their upcoming Health Sciences Innovation Investment Forum.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today’s market participants. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Contact us: Start the discussion

Contact:
Kayla Belcher
Corporate Communications 
P: +1-210-247-2450
E: kayla.belcher@frost.com

http://www.frost.com 

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  • April 7, 2015

Zebra Medical Vision Launches the Most Comprehensive Medical Imaging Research Platform Globally

SHEFAYIM, Israel, April 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ —

Completes $8m seed round led by Khosla Ventures to accelerate the creation of imaging insights tools for HMOs and ACOs

Zebra Medical Vision launched a closed beta of its Medical Imaging Research platform and announced funding of $8 million led by Khosla Ventures, with participating parties DeepFork Capital and Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) CEO Marc Benioff. The company’s solution enables researchers to quickly develop imaging algorithms and insights based on large scale datasets and advanced processing power. Zebra’s commercialization pipeline will then expedite clinical application of imaging research products.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150405/196595)

With a billion people joining the middle class by 2020, and an aging global population, the demand for medical imaging is rapidly increasing. Fast, accurate diagnosis is paramount, and is getting increasingly difficult to achieve with existing Radiology resources. Medical Imaging storage has grown tenfold since 2005 according to a Frost&Sullivan report and continues to grow with more advanced modalities. Therefore there is an acute need for accurate automated tools to enable high quality diagnostic insights at scale.

“Advances in machine learning and computer vision have made it possible to create diagnostic quality algorithms based on big data, that surpass current reading accuracy rates. Such algorithms will reduce false positives, identify false negatives, provide earlier diagnosis of cancer or other diseases and unlock incidental findings hidden in the vast amounts of imaging data that resides within archives of health providers,” said Elad Benjamin, Zebra Medical CEO and former General Manager of the Carestream Healthcare Information Solutions group.

“I have frequently commented that technology will reinvent healthcare as we know it,” said Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures. “Zebra is combining the power of machine learning, computer vision and big data to do just that in medical imaging – creating a sandbox through which imaging innovation can occur and be delivered to patients. We are proud to back such a team and an ambitious endeavor and look forward to seeing the outcomes of the platform.”

Zebra’s platform offers a cloud-based, fully hosted research and development environment. This includes access to large datasets of structured, de-identified studies, storage, state-of-the-art GPU computing power and support for a multitude of research tools. The platform also enables research groups to collaborate and create joint tools.

“Zebra is the only platform today that offers such seamless access to both the tools and the needed datasets and research environment – and at such a large scale,” said Professor Gabriel Krestin, Professor of Radiology, Chair of Radiology at Erasmus University Medical Centre Rotterdam and past President of the European Society of Radiology. “This will finally enable providers to bring medical imaging into the fold of large scale clinical analysis and population management.”

The Zebra platform is initially being launched to select research groups. Researchers and machine learning practitioners can apply for an invite here. ACOs and HMOs are welcome to participate and learn how can better imaging insights improve care and reduce costs.

About Zebra Medical Vision Ltd  

Zebra Medical Vision has set out to create the world’s largest medical imaging insights platform. We believe that by providing machine-learning researchers the needed tools and datasets we can accelerate development of advanced decision support tools and diagnosis needed to serve the worlds population. Headquartered in Kibutz Shfayim Israel, the Company was founded in 2014 by Co-Founders Eyal Toledano, Eyal Gura and Elad Benjamin.  

More info at http://www.zebra-med.com

Contact:
Elad Benjamin  
info@zebra-med.com

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  • April 2, 2015

HAMBS Selects Forum Systems as Cornerstone of Infrastructure Modernization Initiative

— Creator and Provider of the Hospital and Medical Benefits System Picks Forum Sentry API Gateway to Ensure Agile, Secure Access for its Customers and Partners

BOSTON, April 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Forum Systems Inc. today announced that HAMBS, a provider of software development and hosting services to Australia’s private health insurance industry, has selected the company’s industry-leading API security gateway, Forum Sentry, to ensure agile, secure access to its application and services, and better serve its customers and partners.

Founded in 1991, HAMBS is the creator and provider of the HAMBS (Hospital and Medical Benefits System) application, Australia’s top health insurance software application. Currently used by 23 health insurance funds, the state-of-the-art HAMBS application enables private health fund organizations to effectively manage their core businesses while maintaining legislative and regulatory compliance requirements.

Similar to many enterprise organizations, HAMBS has seen a rapid growth in the number of apps and services that customers and partners need to access. Many of these applications utilize different authentication and authorization methods, making access even more complex. With Forum Sentry, HAMBS was able to achieve API access that is both agile and secure.

As part of an infrastructure modernization initiative, HAMBS sought to securely expose its APIs to private health insurance funds, third parties and internal clients. Given the sensitive nature of the information being accessed, data security was of paramount importance. HAMBS not only required a secure solution, but also one that could easily integrate with new and legacy apps.

After evaluating several industry offerings, HAMBS initiated a proof of concept with the Forum Sentry API Gateway and one other gateway provider. With its robust security architecture and support of multiple authentication and authorization methods, including Basic Auth and OAuth 2.0, Forum Sentry quickly separated itself from the competition.

“Forum Systems’ security-first approach was a huge factor in our decision to go with Forum Sentry. It truly outperformed all of our evaluation criteria,” said Derek Grocke, Service Delivery Manager at HAMBS. “Additionally, Forum Sentry provided the SOAP-to-REST conversion we needed to enable RESTful apps to communicate with our existing SOAP infrastructure. Needless to say, it didn’t take long for us to conclude that Forum Systems was the best solution for our API security needs.”

Architected for deployment at the network edge, Forum Sentry is the only API gateway to achieve FIPS 140-2 and Network Device Protection Profile (NDPP) compliance. Performing complex access control decisions and enforcement, Forum Sentry acts as both an authorization server and a resource server authenticating inbound credentials with a custom internal database schema; federating these credentials via OAuth tokens for SSO; and delegating authentication to other services and APIs. Delivering secure, seamless integration across channels, applications and infrastructure, Forum Sentry is backed by world-class customer service and support.

“Forum Systems’ support is second to none,” noted John Ginn, System Architect at HAMBS. “They quickly had us up and running and promptly handled all of our requests.”

Another hallmark of Forum Systems is its no-code approach to provisioning and deploying policies. With a simple point-and-click interface, Forum Sentry enabled HAMBS to quickly expose new APIs and build a policy platform that is easy to maintain and extend.

“Serving as the cornerstone of HAMBS’ security architecture modernization efforts, Forum Sentry helps the organization preserve precious time and resources, providing it with the agile, secure infrastructure required to create more applications and better serve their customers and partners,” said Mamoon Yunus, CEO of Forum Systems. “We’re excited to be chosen by the de facto healthcare IT innovator in Australia and look forward to collaborating on their next deployment milestones.”

Additional Resources

About HAMBS

HAMBS provides a wide range of software development and hosting services to Australia’s private health insurance industry. Established in 1991, HAMBS was formed when the then users of the HAMBS application purchased the intellectual property from the original developer of the software. At that time, there were three HAMBS employees looking after 20 member funds.

In a rapidly growing industry with increased regulation, technological advances and in an increased competitive environment, HAMBS continues to grow and expand on the services available to its customers. Today, HAMBS has more than 70 professional staff servicing 23 health funds nationwide, including the hosting of the application and network services for 19 funds. For more information, please visit www.hambs.com.au.

About Forum Systems

Forum Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Crosscheck Networks, Inc., is the innovation leader in API and cloud gateway technology. The industry’s most comprehensive solution for centralized security, identity and governance for SOA, REST and mobile communications, Forum Sentry enables comprehensive threat mitigation and trust enablement, providing enterprises and government organizations worldwide with the foundation for achieving Secure Service Mediation. Processing more than 10 billion transactions per day worldwide, the NDPP-, FIPS- and DoD-certified Forum Sentry API Security Gateway delivers unparalleled protection against HTML-, XML-, SOAP- and REST-based vulnerabilities. Notably, Forum Systems products provide simplified integration and task processing with over 100 built-in, standards-based processing tasks. For more information, please visit www.forumsys.com.

All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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  • March 31, 2015

Investment Banker Appointed CEO of Australian Health Tech Start-Up

Australian start-up, Sonoa Health, has today appointed a respected investment banker as CEO. His mission: bring an innovative product to market, secure strategic partnerships, and expand internationally

SAN FRANCISCO, March 31, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Sonoa Health, a health tech startup based in Melbourne, Australia, has developed a world-first consumer health portal, Health&, which brings together data from online health records, medication prescriptions, wearable devices and more.

Today, the Company appointed respected investment banker John Stewart as its CEO, who brings to the table more than 18-years experience in investment banking and corporate advisory, which has included working closely with the biggest names in Silicon Valley in the US.

Sonoa Health’s Founder and Chair, Mr Bob Biddle, said Mr Stewart’s appointment is a significant achievement for the Company, which was officially founded four years ago and ramped up production for its consumer health portal early last year with more than 50 handpicked recruits. The portal will be launched later this year.

“We are in a very exciting phase of our development and John’s appointment is a testament to the quality of the company we’ve built and the talent we’ve attracted to drive its success. We are delighted to welcome him to the team,” said Mr Biddle.

“John has spent more than a decade in the heartland of digital health in Silicon Valley and will contribute invaluable perspectives to our business as we secure strategic business partnerships, raise capital, launch our product, and expand internationally.”

Sonoa Health’s new CEO isn’t hesitating to embrace the challenge.

“Sonoa Health presents a rare opportunity to work with the very best medical, creative and digital minds, and has enormous potential for global growth. After more than 18-years in banking, I am pretty comfortable navigating risk and reward – and I know we’re in for an exhilarating climb here,” said Mr Stewart.

Sonoa Health is taking an astute step forward in the highly saturated health tech market, by engaging the world’s most respected medical pioneers to drive the development of health technology and education resources.

“Our Health& portal is designed to provide an intelligent interface between doctors and consumers, which displays consumer health information in one place and helps them to proactively manage illness. It is supported by a search engine containing animated, illustrated and written health content, which is derived from evidence-based resources and designed to boost health literacy,” said Mr Biddle.

“The unique algorithms at the core of Health& power a reasoning engine, which brings the logic of a doctor’s brain online and delivers truly individualised health information to consumers. To achieve this, we’ve accessed the brightest brains and harvested their knowledge.”

The Company has engaged nine medical professors, who are all members of the Order of Australia, to head its Medical Advisory Board. In-house, there is a bright young team of doctors, writers, developers, animators, illustrators and an entrepreneurial leadership team too.

“It’s heartening to lead a brave and committed team of individuals, who are so focused on improving lives across the world. The launch of the Health& consumer portal later this year will signal a great achievement for Australia’s innovation sector,” said Mr Stewart.

Prior to joining Sonoa Health, Mr Stewart was a Managing Director at Gresham Partners, a Managing Director with Lazard in Australia and spent more than 11 years in the US in M&A roles with JPMorgan and Thomas Weisel Partners.He has also worked as an M&A lawyer with Fried Frank in New York and Corrs in Australia.

For more information about Health& visit www.healthand.com

Media Interviews:

To request an interview with Sonoa Health CEO, John Stewart, please contact Chief Communications Officer, Haley Price, on +61-423-139-163 orhaley.price@sonoahealth.com

Links & Resources:

* Photos of CEO John Stewart and the Sonoa Health team may be downloaded:

Photo 1 [ https://www.dropbox.com/s/lhiygh7nji4g65z/JS_Photo%201.jpg?dl=0 ] and Photo 2 [ https://www.dropbox.com/s/hpcgfq948drk8p8/JS_Photo%202.jpg?dl=0 ]

* A video showcasing the Health& consumer portal is available HERE – http://healthand.com/

* Further resources are available upon request

Visit the Sonoa Health corporate website [ http://corp.sonoahealth.com/ ]

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/investment-banker-appointed-ceo-of-australian-health-tech-start-up-300058427.html

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  • March 31, 2015

Frost & Sullivan Uncovers How Healthcare Providers Can Achieve Better and More Cost-Effective Care Using IT Solutions

— The healthcare industry can offer efficient customer care and communication through the use of cloud-based data storage solutions.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., March 31, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — The Affordable Care Act along with the intense pressure to reduce healthcare costs has affected the state of the healthcare system, leaving an open door of opportunity for the IT Industry. Healthcare reform is driving a shift towards Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), wherein the industry will adopt an outcome-based versus procedure-based focus and reimbursement model.

ACOs are investing in products and technologies to meet the healthcare industry’s needs through various kinds of partnerships. There are substantial opportunities in mHealth, as patients increasingly use mobile apps to access and send information on their health, make appointments, and communicate with their healthcare provider, as well as track their wellness and fitness.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, The Future of IT in the Healthcare Industry in North America, Latin America, and Europe, finds that integrated delivery network (IDN) providers must continue to invest in IT solutions and infrastructure to meet the needs of delivery practices and information utilization.

For complimentary access to more information on this research, please visit: http://bit.ly/1CCMg2t

“By providing use cases and demonstrating ROI, the IT industry can expand the scaled use of mobile and remote technology solutions as part of care delivery and patient/provider workflows,” said Frost & Sullivan Customer Research Director Tonya Fowler. “IT solutions can have a huge impact on the bottom line by enabling shared information across an organization.”

The traditional paradigm of patient-centric care is gradually giving way to member engagement and empowerment, which in turn, has opened up opportunities for healthcare providers in the untapped health and wellness sector. Many competitors have already begun to lay the ground work with investments in staff, resources, and targeted acquisitions.

Meanwhile, device manufacturers seek to retain clients with cutting-edge customer care technologies that generate timely and effective results. The big data trend is pivotal and numerous IT vendors have responded by developing cloud-based solutions for the healthcare industry.

The amount of big data needed to provide better and more cost-effective care is best handled in the cloud. The capacity, flexibility, and pricing models presented by cloud service providers resonate well with the healthcare industry.

“Furthermore, the adoption of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)-compliant cloud solutions for data storage and archiving is expanding. Applications in the cloud that support collaboration as well as anytime, anywhere, and any-device needs are growing quickly,” noted Fowler. “Niche healthcare cloud service providers will emerge as top contenders in the market, followed by cloud computing vendors that design solutions for healthcare.”

The Future of IT in the Healthcare Industry in North America, Latin America, and Europe is part of the Vertical Markets in ICT (http://www.ict.frost.com) Growth Partnership Service program. Frost & Sullivan’s related studies include: Big Data Study 2014, Healthcare IT Trends in Brazil, Top 10 ICT Trends for Africa in 2015, 2014 Latin America Cloud Computing Market, and Profiling the Back Office Workforce Optimization Market. All studies included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today’s market participants.

Our “Growth Partnership” supports clients by addressing these opportunities and incorporating two key elements driving visionary innovation: The Integrated Value Proposition and The Partnership Infrastructure.

  • The Integrated Value Proposition provides support to our clients throughout all phases of their journey to visionary innovation including: research, analysis, strategy, vision, innovation and implementation.
  • The Partnership Infrastructure is entirely unique as it constructs the foundation upon which visionary innovation becomes possible. This includes our 360 degree research, comprehensive industry coverage, career best practices as well as our global footprint of more than 40 offices.

For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Is your organization prepared for the next profound wave of industry convergence, disruptive technologies, increasing competitive intensity, Mega Trends, breakthrough best practices, changing customer dynamics and emerging economies?

Contact Us:     Start the discussion

Join Us:           Join our community

Subscribe:       Newsletter on “the next big thing”

Register:         Gain access to visionary innovation

The Future of IT in the Healthcare Industry in North America, Latin America, and Europe
NEA0-67

Contact: 
Clarissa Castaneda 
Corporate Communications – North America 
P: +1.210.477.8481 
F: +1.210.348.1003 
E: clarissa.castaneda@frost.com

http://www.frost.com

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  • March 31, 2015

GO Scale Capital Investment Consortium Leads 80.1% Acquisition of Lumileds From Philips

AMSTERDAM, March 31, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — GO Scale Capital, an investment fund sponsored by GSR Ventures and Oak Investment Partners has announced today that it will acquire an 80.1% interest in Philips’ combined LED components and Automotive lighting business, with Philips retaining the remaining 19.9%* interest. The transaction values the business at an enterprise value of approximately USD 3.3 billion. The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2015, subject to closing conditions, including customary regulatory approvals.

Following the transaction, the new company will continue under the name Lumileds, led by CEO Pierre-Yves Lesaicherre. Philips will remain an important customer of Lumileds and will continue the existing innovation and supply partnership. The transaction includes the transfer of a broad patent portfolio of more than 600 patent families related to LED manufacturing and automotive lighting from Philips to Lumileds.

Sonny Wu, co-founder and managing director of GSR Ventures and chairman of GO Scale Capital, who will serve as interim Chairman of Lumileds following the completion of the transaction, stated that “the Lumileds acquisition will be a perfect example of how GO Scale turns cutting edge technologies into world class companies. GO Scale Capital will focus on expanding Lumileds’ opportunities by investing in its global centers of operation and in the fast growing general lighting and automotive industries. Through Lumileds’ world-leading technology in key verticals such as LED chips, LED mobile flash and automotive lighting, together with a customer base including the likes of BMW, Volkswagen and Audi, we expect to see significant growth and unparalleled inroads into new opportunities such as electric vehicles.”

GO Scale Capital is a new investment fund sponsored by GSR Ventures and Oak Investment Partners. The consortium partners are Asia Pacific Resource Development, Nanchang Industrial Group and GSR Capital. The GO Scale Capital team has deep technology expertise and a track record in scaling up disruptive technologies in China. Current investments include Boston Power, a leading manufacturer of electric vehicle batteries and Xin Da Yang, a fast growing Eco-EV company in China. The team brings deep knowledge of the technology and new energy sectors. Through their past investments in the LED industry, they have access to complementary technologies and manufacturing capacity. This uniquely complements Lumileds’ high-power LED manufacturing footprint and expertise, and the combination offers opportunities for the company to pursue further growth and scale through the GO Scale model.

“Philips is very positive about this transaction with GO Scale Capital as its principals are long-term, growth-oriented investors with a track record of building and expanding technology companies,” said Frans van Houten, CEO of Royal Philips. “We have significantly improved the performance of the LED components business and optimized the industrial footprint in the Automotive lighting business over the last few years, and established a strong management team and innovation pipeline. We are therefore convinced that together with GO Scale Capital, Lumileds can grow faster, attract more customers and increase scale as a stand-alone company.”

“I am convinced that together with the new investors led by GO Scale Capital, Lumileds will extend its leading product portfolio of lighting components and continue to achieve robust growth,” said Pierre-Yves Lesaicherre, CEO of Lumileds. “With our strong technology leadership, we are ready to address the future needs of our customers. We will work closely with our industry partners and customers to lead innovation and the transformation of our industry.”

Lumileds is a leading supplier of lighting components to the general illumination, automotive and consumer electronics markets with operations in more than 30 countries and has approximately 8,300 employees worldwide. In 2014, it generated sales of approximately USD 2 billion and a double-digit EBITA margin.

* including a 34% interest in the Lumileds US operations

About GO Scale Capital 

Sponsored by GSR Ventures and Oak Investment Partners GO Scale Capital is a growth stage fund under the GSR Capital families of funds, with offices in Beijing, Hong Kong and Silicon Valley. The fund’s team brings together years of cross border operating experience and successful co-investment history in mature and cutting edge technologies. The fund’s goal is to scale up its investments in China for global markets.  

About Philips 

Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is a diversified health and well-being company, focused on improving people‘s lives through meaningful innovation in the areas of Healthcare, Consumer Lifestyle and Lighting. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips posted 2014 sales of EUR 21.4 billion and employs approximately 105,000 employees with sales and services in more than 100 countries. The company is a leader in cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, energy efficient lighting solutions and new lighting applications, as well as male shaving and grooming and oral healthcare. News from Philips is located at  http://www.philips.com/newscenter.

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  • March 26, 2015

New Technology Solves Minecraft Addiction and Puts Parents Back in Control

SYDNEY, March 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Sydney-based technology startup KoalaSafe today launches a solution to the growing problem of internet and game addiction. With a single box, parents can now protect and manage all their children’s devices with a simple smartphone interface.

“KoalaSafe helps parents restore the balance. Instead of constant fights over how much time children have spent on Minecraft or Clash of Clans, or having to check every single site and app kids are using, parents just setup time limits and the type of sites they think are OK for their kids, and Koala does the rest,” says founder, Steve Pack.

“I saw it first hand with my nephew becoming more addicted to Minecraft every day. It was a constant battle for my sister to manage his time and I thought, there has to be a better way. That’s when KoalaSafe was born.”

Internet and gaming addiction is a global phenomenon, with 80% of kids exceeding recommended screen time limits by up to 2-3 times, up from only 25% in 2006.[1] Internet Gaming Addiction is now included in the psychiatric handbook, the DSM-5.

The company is young, but growing fast, with a recent AU$50,000 injection from Startmate, a leading Sydney tech accelerator and is already in homes all around the country. It is also among the growing number of startups taking the 1% pledge, a form of early-stage corporate philanthropy.

http://koalasafe.com

For more information contact:

Steve Pack
Founder
+61-450-164-216
steve@koalasafe.com

Adam Mills
Founder
+61-410-389-092
adam@koalasafe.com

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-technology-solves-minecraft-addiction-and-puts-parents-back-in-control-300056443.html

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  • March 25, 2015

Autism Partnership Offers Free Download of iPad Apps for Autism

HONG KONG, March 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ —

  • For four consecutive weeks starting April 2, 2015, free download of iPad apps for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is available at Apple Store to support the ASD community
  • There are five Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) applications developed by Autism Partnership, which are “Token Economy”, “Receptive Colours”, ” Receptive Labels”, “Picsmart” and “ABA Timers”

April 2 of each year is the World Autism Awareness Day, designated by United Nations General Assembly, to raise awareness for Autism. To support this initiative, Autism Partnership will offer free download for two of its five ABA iPad applications developed recently to assist ASD children to learn specific skills, improve learning interests and attention span through the application the interactive games. For four consecutive weeks starting on April 2, 2015, the two apps available for public download at Apple Store  are “Token Economy” and “Receptive Colours”.

“ABA is a scientifically proven and evidence-based treatment for autism.  By introducing ABA elements into these applications, we hope to enhance the students with ASD to learn skills effectively and with motivation,” said Mr. Raymond Fung, Behavioural Consultant of Autism Partnership, and the designer of the applications.

Along with this annual event, Autism Partnership Foundation (APF) launches “APF Dress Blue Day” with aims to raise the awareness about autism, and to raise funding through donations to support all age groups of the affected children and their families in Hong Kong as well as in Asia.  This year, Hong Kong and Singapore offices of Autism Partnership will support and promote this Dress Blue Day campaign.  The target is to raise two million Hong Kong Dollars within the year to achieve its mission in supporting the ASD community.  The donation received from this campaign will help promote public awareness and acceptance towards individuals with autism.

Token Economy

It is a very powerful tool in accelerating progress for both children with ASD and attention deficit as well as typically developing children.  It can motivate individuals to change their behaviours and learn important skills in different settings such as special school, general education classroom, home, work environment and clinical settings

Receptive Colours

It is an ABA programme for children with ASD or other learning difficulties to learn colours. Users can custom-made their own colours and voice recording. This educational application is developed from an evidence-based teaching methodology, “Discrete Trial Teaching”, to maximize learning.  Instructions and feedback are all recorded by professional ABA therapists.  It is also suitable for typically developing children.

Aside from the above two free-of-charge applications in April, Autism Partnership also has developed three related iPad applications, which are “ABA Timers”, “Receptive Labels” and “Picsmart”.  “Receptive Labels” is available in both English and Chinese to cater for various requirements of the users.

ABA Timers

It consists of three ABA programmes. It helps to improve users on patience, agility and attention span. It is developed to increase their performance such as quality of responses and work efficiency, and to reduce disruptive behaviours. ABA Timer is suitable for children with ASD and attention deficit disorder as well as typically developing children, teenagers and adults.

Receptive Labels

It is an ABA programme for children with ASD or other learning difficulties to learn labels. It is developed by two Board Certified Behaviour Analysts (BCBA) with over 15 years of international experiences, teaching individuals with ASD and other learning disabilities in the field of ABA.

Picsmart

It is a picture communication system which “speaks” for autism and children with special needs to communicate and to socialise. It has different levels to help children to talk progressively.  Users can create new words. The application is very easy to use, effective, cost saving and child-friendly.  The colour-coded folders include popular phrases, verbs, adjectives, emotions, food, toys, home, people, places, clothing, body parts, animals, school, date, time, alphabets and numbers.

About Autism Partnership

Autism Partnership (AP) is a worldwide authority and one of the largest and most established Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) service providers for the autism. Established since 1994 in the United States, AP is run by professional clinicians and specializes in providing one-on-one therapy, group intervention and overseas consultation for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and their families. We also provide customized school-based training and social group to meet different needs of schools in the region.

Drawing on over 40 years of experience in ABA and treatment of ASD, our premium service is highly recognized by local and international service agencies and government bodies. Dedicated in research and scientific studies, AP has involved in all aspects of seminal projects including development of curriculum and behavioral intervention strategies, implementing and supervising treatment, training therapists, teachers, parents and helping professionals.

AP has over 250 top-notch staff working throughout our international offices in USA, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong , Korea, Philippines, Singapore and United Kingdom.  More information about AP Hong Kong: www.autismpartnership.com.hk or www.facebook.com/APautism.

About Autism Partnership Foundation

Autism Partnership Foundation (APF), a registered charity body (qualified for the exemption from tax under section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance) in Hong Kong, is committed to improving the lives of the children with autism. Through various fundraising initiatives, APF raises funds to generate public awareness and knowledge about autisms and provide support and help for individuals with ASD and their families in Asia. APF is devoted to advocate Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) treatments and intervention for autisms through community programs of education and research. More information about APF: www.apschool.com or www.facebook.com/APFHongKong

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  • March 25, 2015

Market Opportunities in Digital Health and Wearables

Frost & Sullivan reveals the current and future market states of digital health and wearables

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., March 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — The digital health market is rapidly expanding with this booming sector becoming a top growth opportunity for the U.S. healthcare system as it attempts to modernize to become more affordable and outcomes focused. Digital health adoption is accelerating given health IT progression, changing provider and consumer needs leveraging technology, telehealth, and mobility interests. Wearables are now a key component of the digital health area with both consumers and providers seeking to leverage these devices as part of healthcare and wellness in a variety of ways.

Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan

During the 2015 Intelligent Health Association (IHA) Symposia Workshops, the morning keynote on Wearables in Healthcare will be hosted by Frost & Sullivan Healthcare Research Director Daniel Ruppar.

Attendees should expect insights on the following:

  • Digital health market ecosystem overview
  • Value chain shifts and changing vendor landscape
  • Consumer insights on activity trackers
  • The future of wearables and hurdles to get there

Please join Ruppar at the IHA Symposia and at the Intelligent Health Pavilion at HIMSS 2015. To view more information regarding the events please visit, bit.ly/1CtA9VI  

“Consumers will be increasingly flooded with technology as they build data ecosystems around themselves and their home, yet the end goal will be to integrate devices, services and experience into a cohesive one, to best serve healthcare and wellness goals,” said Ruppar (@danielruppar). 

Ruppar has extensive experience in a multitude of healthcare sectors. He focuses on the digital transformation of healthcare, especially solutions reaching across the continuum of care, including telemedicine and mHealth. To learn more about Frost & Sullivan’s Connected Health research program.

The Intelligent Health Association Symposia and Pavilion will be held at the 2015 HIMSS Annual Conference & Exhibition. The conference will take place on April 12-16 in Chicago, Illinois. Frost & Sullivan is proud to partner with IHA at their upcoming IHA Symposia Workshops and the IHA Pavilion at HIMSS 2015.

About Frost & Sullivan

Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today’s market participants. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Contact us: Start the discussion

Contact:
Kayla Belcher
Corporate Communications 
P: 210.247.2450
E: kayla.belcher@frost.com

http://www.frost.com

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  • March 19, 2015

Heraeus enters agreement to acquire NeoMetrics

ST. PAUL, Minnesota and PLYMOUTH, Minnesota, March 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Heraeus Medical Components, a global business unit of Heraeus Holding GmbH, has executed a share purchase agreement to acquire 100% of the stock in NeoMetrics.  NeoMetrics, headquartered in Plymouth, Minnesota, specializes in designing and manufacturing guidewires and components for medical devices.  The company’s production facilities, in both Minnesota and Costa Rica, include cleanroom manufacturing and extensive guidewire fabrication technologies.  Closing of this transaction is expected to occur in the next 60 days.

“With this acquisition, Heraeus Medical Components will add new interventional technologies to augment their leadership position as a sourcing solution for the world’s medical device companies. We are excited about the potential growth opportunities within the interventional field,” said Dr. Nicolas Guggenheim, President of Heraeus Medical Components.  “NeoMetrics’ experience in the development of interventional and vascular access guidewires substantially builds upon our existing component capabilities.  We plan to use our combined expertise to bring new solutions for our medical device customers.”

“We are excited to become part of Heraeus Medical Components,” said Dave Liebl, President, NeoMetrics.  “Joining Heraeus will allow us to support our continued growth, including the opportunity to introduce our products and expertise to new markets.  Both companies share a culture of consistently exceeding customer expectations.”

The management team and employees of NeoMetrics will continue as part of Heraeus, contributing important domain expertise and ensuring continuity for customers.  Gene Champeau, co-founder and CEO of NeoMetrics will assist Heraeus in developing new business platforms and product strategies on a consulting basis. Heraeus intends to continue operation of both of the NeoMetrics facilities post-closing.

About NeoMetrics
NeoMetrics, headquartered in Plymouth, Minnesota, is a private company that was founded in 2001.  The company operates exclusively as an OEM partner of medical device companies. They specialize in designing, manufacturing and securing Regulatory clearance for interventional and vascular access guidewires. 

About Heraeus
Heraeus Medical Components is a global business unit of Heraeus Holding GmbH. Heraeus, the technology group headquartered in Hanau, Germany, is a global, private company with more than 160 years of tradition. We create high value solutions for our customers, strengthening their competitiveness for the long term. Our fields of competence include precious metals, materials and technologies, sensors, biomaterials and medical products, quartz glass, and specialty light sources.

In fiscal year 2013, Heraeus achieved product revenue of €3.6 billion and precious metals trading revenue of €13.5 billion. With some 12,500 employees in over 110 subsidiaries worldwide, Heraeus holds a leading position in its global markets.

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