SAN DIEGO — ResMed announced July 6 it has acquired an Irish medical technology company that has developed a non-contact device to monitor sleep and breathing in the home and hospital.
Dublin-based BiancaMed's SleepMinder is described as an "accurate, touch-free device that measures sleep and breathing with sophisticated biometric software." The core of the company's proprietary technology is a sensitive radio frequency motion sensor that can detect respiration and movement without physical contact with the human body. The software converts the motion data into a measurement of sleep.
BiancaMed, which is also working on a number of other applications for its technology, will become part of ResMed's new Ventures and Initiatives unit, formed earlier this year when the global sleep sector giant restructured its management and reorganized.
"We are committed to innovation in sleep and respiratory medicine and the related co-morbidities by commercializing products incorporating novel technologies," ResMed Chairman and CEO Peter Farrell said in a release. Calling BiancaMed's new technology "exciting," Farrell added there are other opportunities for the company's applications "that will provide future growth."
According to its website, the company has also developed the world's first and only non-contact baby movement monitor called BiancaBaby, which monitors a baby's smallest movements.
A report from The Irish Times said BiancaMed's technology is also being tested in a Dublin hospital trial for patients with congestive heart failure. Patients are monitored at home for sudden weight gain, which can signal a problem, with the hope "that the technology will be able to cut hospital readmissions significantly," the report said.
ResMed has been an investor in BiancaMed since its inception in 2003 when it was formed as a University College Dublin spin-out to commercialize research from UCD's School of Electrical, Electronic and Mechanical Engineering. Other shareholders include Enterprise Ireland, DFJ ePlanet Ventures, Invest Northern Ireland, Seventure Partners and UCD.
ResMed plans to retain BiancaMed's 29 employees, and the office in Dublin will remain active.
JC Kyrillos, president of ResMed Ventures and Initiatives, said the acquisition is right in line with goals for the new unit.
"In May of this year, we created ResMed Ventures and Initiatives to focus on opportunities in chronic disease states related to sleep-disordered breathing and other market opportunities," he said. "BiancaMed represents the type of investment we are pursuing because it has current applications in our core sleep market, and several potential future applications in chronic diseases, such as heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease."
ResMed purchased all of BiancaMed's outstanding shares with cash and estimated that the acquisition will dilute earnings by approximately $0.04 per share in FY 2012, excluding amortization of intangibles and one-time acquisition-related costs.
