Thursday, March 13, 2008

Report: Aspect's brain monitor no better at keeping patients asleep during surgery

Aspect Medical Systems Inc. saw its stock take a small hit after an early release of a study in the March 13 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine showed the medical device company's brain-monitoring system was no better than existing techniques aimed at keeping people asleep during surgery.

The study evaluated patients at high risk for anesthesia awareness, or inadvertent waking during surgery. Researchers compared anesthesia care guided by Aspect's (Nasdaq: ASPM) Bispectral Index with a protocol based on a system that uses exhaled anesthetic gas. The study found a similar occurrence of awareness in the two groups, and the authors concluded that no benefit of BIS monitoring was demonstrated.

Officials of Norwood-based Aspect said the study did not take into account several factors, including the composition of the control groups.

According to Aspect, in the last 12 months, BIS technology was used in about 17 percent of all U.S. surgical procedures requiring general anesthesia.

Aspect, a maker of brain monitors, reported a 2007 profit of $2.3 million on revenue of $97.3 million. The company employs 288 workers. In July 2007, Aspect spent $37.7 million to buy shares of its stock back from Boston Scientific Corp., after Boston Scientific ended its funding for development of Aspect's brain monitors for depression, Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders.