Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: Hill-Rom Selects NanoHorizons to Provide Antimicrobial Protection for Hill-Rom Products Using Nanotechnology

Home > Press > Hill-Rom Selects NanoHorizons to Provide Antimicrobial Protection for Hill-Rom Products Using Nanotechnology

Abstract:
Hill-Rom and NanoHorizons, Inc. today announced an agreement to incorporate NanoHorizon's antimicrobial technology into Hill-Rom's patient support surfaces. This technology, to be branded as "nanoAg+ (TM) with SmartSilver(TM)", will bring new levels of protection against institutionally-borne pathogens.

Hill-Rom Selects NanoHorizons to Provide Antimicrobial Protection for Hill-Rom Products Using Nanotechnology

BATESVILLE, IN | Posted on March 7th, 2008

Hill-Rom, the medical technology subsidiary of Hillenbrand Industries, Inc. , is a leading worldwide manufacturer and provider of medical technologies and related services for the health care industry. NanoHorizons, a leader in the field of advanced nanomaterials, engineers and delivers permanent antimicrobial solutions under the SmartSilver(TM) brand.

"Our relationship with NanoHorizons is a natural next step in Hill-Rom's commitment to leveraging and integrating differentiated external technologies to help deliver enhanced outcomes for patients and their caregivers," said Peter Soderberg, president and CEO of Hillenbrand Industries and Hill-Rom. "Caregivers and health care administrators are looking for solutions on how they can prevent health care-associated infections. We anticipate that our relationship with NanoHorizons will yield a comprehensive portfolio of products with built-in, long-lasting antimicrobial protection. Given how important this issue is for the health care industry, we aim to offer a nanoAg+ with SmartSilver option on all of our preventative and therapeutic surface products by the end of 2009."

Infection control is one of the critical issues in health care today. In its 2003 Guidelines for Environmental Infection Control in Health Care Facilities, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified that, "Contaminated textiles and fabrics often contain high numbers of microorganisms from body substances, including blood, skin, stool, urine, vomitus, and other body tissues and fluids."(1) Further, the CDC estimates that health care-associated infections account for an estimated 1.7 million infections and 99,000 associated deaths each year in US hospitals.(2)

Silver is one of nature's most powerful antimicrobial agents. In lab tests, it has been found to be 99.9 percent effective in the reduction of surface bacteria and viruses including the virulent staph infection known as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Unlocking silver's properties for use as a protector is a specialized scientific field, an area where NanoHorizons scientists have been leaders. Unlike other silver technologies being offered today, NanoHorizons has pioneered the specific use of nanotechnology to create and manipulate materials that are smaller than 100 nanometers in size. When applied to coatings, fabrics and laminates, nanotechnology allows the silver to cover an area more effectively and last much longer than any other antimicrobial coating, according to Dr. Stephen Fonash, Kunkle Chair of Engineering Science at Penn State University and Co- Founder of NanoHorizons.

To bring the enhanced benefits of SmartSilver into the hospital and other caregiver settings through application to beds and therapeutic surfaces requires the special expertise of Hill-Rom working with NanoHorizons to create nanoAg+(TM). Together, these two companies will soon introduce nanoAg+ with SmartSilver, a vital new solution for the health care environment.

"The SmartSilver brand is succeeding in a wide variety of fields with partners who share a common interest in delivering leading-edge antimicrobial product protection to today's marketplace," said Daniel Hayes, president and chief executive officer of NanoHorizons. "Hill-Rom is an ideal partner for advanced medical equipment applications, given their longstanding commitment to innovation and their unwavering dedication to improved patient outcomes."

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About NanoHorizons, Inc.
NanoHorizons, Inc., (www.nanohorizons.com/) with its solid foundation in applied chemistry and engineering, is a leader in the emerging field of practical nanotechnology. NanoHorizon's SmartSilver(TM) antimicrobial offers permanent bacterial control for textiles, medical devices and industrial materials. NanoHorizons is privately held and headquartered in State College, PA. The company works closely with customers from its R&D laboratory, manufacturing facility, and technical support office adjacent to The Penn State University.

ABOUT HILL-ROM.

Hill-Rom, an operating company of Hillenbrand Industries, Inc., is a leading worldwide manufacturer and provider of medical technologies and related services for the health care industry, including patient support systems, non-invasive therapeutic products for a variety of acute and chronic medical conditions, medical equipment rentals, and workflow information technology solutions. Hill-Rom's comprehensive product and service offerings are used by health care providers across the health care continuum in hospitals, extended care facilities and home care settings to enhance the safety and quality of patient care.

Hill-Rom... enhancing outcomes for patients and their caregivers. Hillenbrand Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release contain forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, regarding the Company's future plans, objectives, beliefs, expectations, representations and projections. The Company has tried, wherever possible, to identify these forward-looking statements using words such as "intend," "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "encourage," "expect," "may," "goal," "become," "pursue," "estimate," "strategy," "will," "projection," "forecast," "continue," "accelerate," "promise," "increase," "higher," "lower," "reduce," "improve," "expand," "progress," "potential" or the negative of those terms or other variations of them or by comparable terminology. The absence of such terms, however, does not mean that the statement is not forward-looking. It is important to note that forward- looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and the Company's actual results could differ materially from those set forth in any forward- looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from forward-looking statements include but are not limited to: the Company's dependence on its relationships with several large national providers and group purchasing organizations, changes in death rates, whether the Company's new products are successful in the marketplace, changes in customers' Medicare reimbursements, collections of accounts receivable, compliance with FDA regulations, antitrust litigation, potential exposure to product liability or other claims, failure of the Company's announced strategic initiatives and restructuring and realignment activities to achieve expected growth, efficiencies or cost reductions, disruptions in the Company's business or other adverse consequences resulting from the planned separation of the Company's two operating companies, failure of the Company to execute its acquisition and business alliance strategy through the consummation and successful integration of acquisitions or entry into joint ventures or other business alliances, competition from nontraditional sources in the funeral services business, volatility of the Company's investment portfolio, increased costs or unavailability of raw materials, labor disruptions, the ability to retain executive officers and other key personnel, and certain tax-related matters. For a more in depth discussion of these and other factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, see the discussions under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended September 30, 2007 and in Amendment 1 to the Batesville Holdings, Inc., Form 10. The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements.

(1) www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/pdf/guidelines/Enviro_guide_03.pdf (2) www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/hai.html Hill-Rom Media:

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Contacts:
Lauren Green-Caldwell
Director
Corporate Communications & Public Relations
Phone: 812-934-8692

Hill-Rom Investor Relations:
Blair A. (Andy) Rieth, Jr.
Vice President
Investor Relations
Corporate Communications & Global Brand Development
Hillenbrand Industries, Inc.
Phone: 812-931-2199