COCONUT CREEK, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--An estimated 40 million Americans suffer from undiagnosed slee...

1. New Hybrid(TM) CPAP Mask Emerging as a Strong
Alternative to C-Flex/EPR and Bi-level Machines
COCONUT CREEK, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--An estimated 40 million Americans suffer from
undiagnosed sleep apnea,
according to Terrence Davidson, M.D., Professor of Surgery, University
of California San Diego, Division of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck
Surgery. An additional 30 million Americans have already been diagnosed
with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA).
The advent of the new Hybrid TM CPAP mask,
developed by RespCare, Inc., helps OSA patients to breathe more easily
and comfortably. The device is a substantially lower cost alternative to
C-FLEX/EPR and bi-level machines. The new product helps these
individuals, who, during sleep, stop breathing for 10 to 30 seconds at a
time, sometimes up to 400 times a night. OSA is a potentially
life-threatening condition that requires immediate medical attention. If
gone undiagnosed, the risks of OSA include heart attacks, strokes,
impotence, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure and heart disease.
Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the most consistently
successful and extensively studied treatment for obstructive sleep
apnea. CPAP machines contain a fan that blows air under pressure into
the nostrils. Most users of conventional CPAP (especially at pressures
exceeding 10-12 cm H2O) find the pressure hard
to exhale against. Hence, their natural reaction is to leak through
their mouth to relieve this somewhat. But this "mouth-leaking"
adversely impacts the therapy.
C-Flex/EPR machines were developed to make exhalation easier. Bi-level

2. machines allow the user to exhale against a lower pressure. However,
C-Flex/EPR and Bi-level machines cost users hundreds of dollars in
addition to their mask. Yet, these devices were widely adopted to
eliminate "mouth leaking"
because the other alternative of using a conventional full face mask (to
allow mouth leaking) was extremely uncomfortable and ineffective.
The new Hybrid TM CPAP mask has changed the
game. With the new Hybrid, a very comfortable effective dual airway mask
that can allow for mouth leaking, there is now a lower cost alternative.
A patient can opt to spend additional $50 for the Hybrid
TM CPAP mask as opposed to competing devices, such as Respironics'
CPAP with C-Flex, ResMed's CPAP with EPR, or a
Bi-level machine, all of which can cost an additional $300 - $500.
Hybrid TM is a trademark of RespCare, Inc., a
Coconut Creek, FL company that competes with companies in the sleep
therapy market such as ResMed, Inc. (NYSE:RMD), Respironics, Inc.
(NASDAQ:RESP), Tyco Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:TYC) and Fisher Paykel
Healthcare, Inc. (NYSE:FPH). The Hybrid TM is
exclusively distributed by Teleflex Medical, a division of Teleflex
Incorporated (NYSE:TFX).
About RespCare, Inc.
RespCare, Inc., headquartered in Coconut Creek, Fl is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Mergenet Solutions, Inc. and is engaged in developing,
commercializing, manufacturing and marketing products to treat
obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and other respiratory disorders. Its
sister company, InnoMed Technologies, Inc. developed and launched the

3. revolutionary Nasal-Aire CPAP interface in 2002 that captured 10% market
share within 2 years and continues to be a widely accepted CPAP
interface in the worldwide OSA and non-invasive ventilation (NIV)
markets. More information on the Hybrid TM
interface can be found at www.hybridmask.com.