Compumedics Granted Patents for Sleep Treatment

COMPUMEDICS LIMITED 2002-10-11 ASX-SIGNAL-G

HOMEX - Melbourne

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Medical technology company Compumedics Ltd (ASX:CMP) has been granted
US patents for two breakthrough developments for the treatment of
sleep disorders. These developments take Compumedics, already a world
leader in equipment for diagnosing sleep disorders, further into the
larger field of treatments for the disorders.

The most common sleep disorder, obstructive sleep apnoea, is commonly
treated with a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device, a
small air pump attached to a mask that keeps the air passages open
during sleep. Individually, the new Compumedics patents cover a mask
with integrated sensors (Biomask TM) and a sleep linked automatic
gas delivery system (SPAP TM), but it is the combination of the two
that presents the greatest potential advance for sleep apnoea
sufferers.

Compumedics executive chairman, David Burton said, "We have applied
Compumedics core competence in diagnostics to devise an intelligent
sleep treatment system that monitors the quality of the patient's
sleep by measuring brain activity. By using that information to
control the rate of air delivered from the pump, we expect patients
to enjoy a significant improvement in sleep quality from that
experienced with conventional CPAP systems."

While conventional CPAP systems clearly improve the quality of an
apnoea sufferer's sleep, Compumedics' research has found that a
degree of arousal from sleep occurs when the air pump is activated to
compensate for the patient's own restricted breathing. To address
this shortcoming, the Compumedics Biomask TM detects arousals from
sleep and the SPAP TM optimises positive air pressure treatment in
order to minimise sleep fragmentation and maximise sleep quality.

Professor Robert Pierce from the Institute for Breathing and Sleep at
Melbourne's Austin and Repatriation Medical Centre described the new
Compumedics technology as a potentially significant advance in sleep
medicine. "There can be no disputing the benefits that CPAP has
brought to apnoea sufferers. However some breathing disturbance still
occurs with the current devices before the pressure adjustment is
triggered. Compumedics' system may be able to detect and eliminate
breathing disturbance earlier by monitoring brain activity and
sending that information back to be integrated into the response of
the air delivery pump," he said.

The latest developments confirm Compumedics' progress along the
strategic path outlined in the prospectus for its initial public
offering in 2000. "In 2000, we identified smart CPAP technology,
specifically related to automatic control of air delivery, as one of
the growth platforms for Compumedics. The awarding of these patents
is a crucial step towards our entry into this lucrative world
market," David Burton said.

It is estimated that around $1.3 billion is currently spent each year
on equipment to treat obstructive sleep apnoea. Untreated sleep
apnoea is one of the major causes of daytime drowsiness and
consequently is also one of the major causes of driver fatigue.
Compumedics was recently awarded an Australian Research Council grant
to develop vehicle based monitoring and warning devices to counter
the potentially fatal effect of driver fatigue. This project was also
identified as a key development project for the company in the 2000
prospectus.

Clinical trials to determine the benefits of the Biomask TM/SPAP TM
technologies in controlling sleep disordered breathing have
commenced.


For further information:

David Burton David Lawson
EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, CEO COMPANY SECRETARY
Phone: +61 3 8413 7300 Phone: +61 3 8413 7300
Fax: +61 3 8413 7399 Fax: +61 3 8413 7399
[email protected]