| SOUTHAMPTON, Pa., March 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Environmental
Tectonics Corporation (Amex: ETC) today introduced another major advance in
the safety of hyperbaric oxygen therapy, the Smooth Ride™ compression
protocol. ETC's BARA-MED® monoplace hyperbaric chamber is already widely
recognized as the most advanced chamber in the world, setting standards of
capability and safety for others to follow. Now, with the introduction of
Smooth Ride™ technology, ETC's BioMedical Systems Group has widened the
gap. The most common problem for patients undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy is equalizing the pressure in their middle ear during the compression phase of a treatment. This is known as barotrauma and can be a painful experience which, if not dealt with properly, will cause physical injury. Not surprisingly, some patients reject further treatments if they suffer barotrauma, thus losing the benefits hyperbaric oxygen brings to resolving their condition. Patient rejection and difficulties in maintaining treatment schedules caused by barotrauma cost hyperbaric therapy providers time and money. And, inappropriate management of barotrauma could expose them to litigation. Michael W. Allen, Vice President of ETC's BioMedical Systems Group, said: "It is difficult to overstate the importance of this latest advance. According to trials conducted by the U.S. Air Force, an ETC BARA-MED® incorporating Smooth Ride™ technology should reduce the incidence of barotrauma by 67%. This means that an ETC BARA-MED® not only provides improved patient comfort and safety, it offers the potential to increase operational efficiency while reducing overall operating costs. Clearly, this is a win-win situation for both patients and operators." ETC designs, develops, installs and maintains aircrew training systems, public entertainment systems, process simulation systems (sterilization and environmental), clinical hyperbaric systems, environmental testing and simulation systems, and related products for domestic and international customers. This report contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions about the company that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any other future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may," "will," "could," "would," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "continue," or the negative of such terms or similar expressions. Factors that may cause or contribute to such a discrepancy include, but are not limited to, contract cancellations, political unrest in customer countries, general economic conditions, and those issues identified from time to time in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings and other public documents, including, without limitation, our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 22, 2002. |
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