VeriChip Corporation (“Company”) (NASDAQ:CHIP), a provider of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems for healthcare and patient-related needs, announced today that Xmark’s infant protection systems, led by systems sold under the HUGS® brand, protected more than one million infants born in hospitals in 2007. Xmark is a wholly owned subsidiary of VeriChip.
Daniel A. Gunther, President and CEO of Xmark, said, “Now more than ever, hospitals value the security our infant protection systems bring to their labor and delivery wards. As the leader in this industry, we are proud to protect hospitals’ smallest and most vulnerable patients. We see sustained growth of this business in 2008 and beyond as we continue to expand our reach throughout North America and other parts of the world where these systems are less common yet no less important.”
Xmark’s infant protection systems are designed to prevent infant abductions and inadvertent child mismatching in hospitals. The main component of the systems is a wearable RFID tag that is assigned to child and mother following birth. Monitors positioned throughout the hospital detect the integrity of the tags and location of the child. If a newborn is removed from the ward, if the tag is lifted from the baby’s skin or if the ankle strap is compromised, the system immediately triggers an alarm, alerting hospital security to the situation.
Xmark infant protection systems also protect against mismatching events by affixing matching RFID tags to mother and child. If the mother is given the wrong child, the RFID tag detects the mismatch and activates an audible alarm.
For more information on Xmark’s products, please contact 1-866-55–XMARK or email sales@xmark.com. Additional information can be found online at www.xmark.com.
About Xmark
Based in Ottawa, Ontario, Xmark is a wholly owned subsidiary of VeriChip Corporation. For over 25 years, Xmark Corporation has provided RFID solutions to identify, locate, and protect people and assets in healthcare environments. Its market-leading infant protection, wander prevention, personal duress, and asset tracking applications are trusted by over 5,000 healthcare institutions worldwide to keep individuals safe.
Xmark products are installed and serviced through an international network of authorized dealers, backed by a dedicated technical services department at Xmark. All aspects of Xmark’s business are certified to the ISO 9001 quality standard.
About VeriChip
VeriChip Corporation, headquartered in Delray Beach, Florida, develops, markets and sells RFID systems used to identify, locate and protect people and assets. VeriChip's goal is to become the leading provider of RFID systems for people in the healthcare industry. The Company recently began marketing its VeriMed(TM) Patient Identification System, a passive RFID system for rapidly and accurately identifying people who arrive in an emergency room and are unable to communicate. This system uses the first human-implantable passive RFID microchip, the implantable VeriChip(TM), cleared for medical use in October 2004 by the U.S. FDA