Headquartered in Totowa, New Jersey, Vital Signs (VITL) is a leading designer, manufacturer, and marketer of airway management products for the anesthesia, respiratory/critical care, and sleep disorder markets. The company sells its products in more than 70 countries globally. The company provides the broadest single-patient use anesthesia and respiratory/critical care product lines in the industry. Beginning in 1997 with the equity interest in Breas Medical AB, the company has expanded its focus to the sleep therapy and personal ventilation markets. It also delivers technology services to FDA regulated companies. The company derives revenues principally from five segments: Anesthesia, Respiratory/Critical Care, Sleep Disorder, Pharmaceutical Technology Services, and Interventional Cardiology/Radiology. The Pharmaceutical Technology Services segment was classified, as of FQ107, as a discontinued operation, with VITL expecting the unit to be sold. However, as of FQ407, the segment has been reclassified to continuing operations since the company received no acceptable offers for sale. The Interventional Cardiology/Radiology business operates primarily as Thomas Medical. It was earlier included in the anesthesia segment, but is now segregated. The company has been operating in the Anesthesia market for 33 years and provides single-patient use anesthesia breathing circuits, face masks, and general anesthesia products. These products comprise air-filled cushion face masks, breathing circuits and temperature monitoring probes, single limb breathing circuits, single use airway devices, and fiberoptic laryngoscope systems. The Respiratory/Critical Care segment provides arterial blood gas syringes and kits, manual resuscitators, and blood pressure cuffs. The company also distributes critical care equipment kits and modules, which are color coded to allow emergency room workers to quickly and accurately determine the proper equipment size to use with pediatric patients. The Sleep Disorder segment offers sleep disorder/personal ventilation products that include continuous positive airway pressure flow generators, humidification systems, sleep disorder home screening devices, life support ventilator, and other ventilators. This segment also provides diagnostic and therapeutic services for sleep disorders. The Pharmaceutical Technology Services segment offers consulting services to medical device, diagnostic, and biotechnology companies, thereby helping the companies to develop and validate systems and processes for their manufacturing, infrastructure, research and development, and laboratory and quality assurance departments. In fiscal 2007 (fiscal year ends September) Anesthesia, Respiratory/Critical Care, Sleep Disorder, Pharmaceutical Technology Services, and Interventional Cardiology/Radiology contributed 36%, 23%, 21%, 6%, and 14% of revenues, respectively.
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