Expanded Partnership Furthers iRobot’s Commitment to Healthcare
BEDFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 31, 2012--
iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ: IRBT), a leader in delivering robotic
technology-based solutions, today announced a $6 million investment and
expanded partnership with InTouch Health, a leading remote presence
telemedicine solution provider. The $6 million investment represents a
minority position in the company.
Today’s announcement expands upon the joint development and licensing
agreement iRobot announced in July 2011, which was established to
explore opportunities for healthcare applications on iRobot platforms,
such as the iRobot Ava mobile robotics platform. Under the expanded
agreement, InTouch Health will provide access to FDA regulated
healthcare facilities, providing iRobot with an initial foray into
hospitals, emergency care facilities, patient wards and operating and
procedure rooms. Working closely together, iRobot and InTouch will
collaborate on a wide variety of technologies across each company’s
patent portfolio and leverage combined expertise in remote presence
telemedicine solutions.
“Currently operating in over eighty hospitals in the U.S. and around the
world, InTouch is in a very unique position as one of the first
developers of FDA-cleared telemedicine devices,” said Colin Angle,
chairman and CEO of iRobot. “iRobot’s investment will further align
these two leaders, creating a best of breed partnership that will
develop robots for remote healthcare and assistive technologies for the
elderly.”
“As evident from the demonstrations of Ava, iRobot is the industry
leader in navigation, mobility, manipulation and artificial
intelligence.” said Yulun Wang, chairman and CEO of InTouch Health.
“Working together, InTouch Health and iRobot will pioneer remote
presence in healthcare settings, providing anytime anywhere patient care
in hospital ICU's, patient wards and operating and procedure rooms.”
About iRobot Corp.
iRobot
designs and builds robots that make a difference. The company’s home
robots help people find smarter ways to clean, and its government and
industrial robots protect those in harm’s way. iRobot’s consumer and
military robots feature iRobot Aware® robot intelligence systems,
proprietary technology incorporating advanced concepts in navigation,
mobility, manipulation and artificial intelligence. For more information
about iRobot, please visit www.irobot.com.
About InTouch
InTouch
Health provides comprehensive telemedicine solutions and expertise
that enable physicians to perform real-time consults with patients.
Through a single portal, physicians can access a host of purpose-built,
FDA-cleared telemedicine devices to provide care anywhere across the
continuum: homes, clinics, ambulances, procedure rooms, EDs, ICUs, and
patient wards. The InTouch Health Remote Presence telemedicine network
is powered through its SureConnect® cloud-based infrastructure providing
unparalleled connection quality and reliability, interoperability,
workflow imaging and documentation, and services and support. Wherever
access to medical expertise is limited, InTouch Health's Remote Presence
telemedicine solutions can effectively extend the physician's reach to
manage patient care, thereby removing critical time and distance
barriers.
The Company has more than 400 hospital locations on six continents
enrolled in its Remote Presence network for the delivery of telemedicine
services such as stroke, critical care, cardiology, trauma,
pediatrics, neonatology, psychiatry, language translation, and clinical
education and surgical/procedure mentoring. For more information about
InTouch Health, please visit www.intouchhealth.com.
For iRobot Investors
Certain statements made in this press release that are not based on
historical information are forward-looking statements which are made
pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This press release contains express or
implied forward-looking statements relating to, among other things,
iRobot Corporation’s expectations concerning management's plans,
objectives and strategies. These statements are neither promises nor
guarantees, but are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties,
many of which are beyond our control, which could cause actual results
to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking
statements. Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to
place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak
only as of the date hereof. iRobot Corporation undertakes no obligation
to update or revise the information contained in this press release,
whether as a result of new information, future events or circumstances
or otherwise. For additional disclosure regarding these and other risks
faced by iRobot Corporation, see the disclosure contained in our public
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including, without
limitation, our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Source: iRobot Corp.
iRobot Corp.
Elise Caffrey, 781-430-3003
Investor Relations
ecaffrey@irobot.com
or
iRobot
Corp.
Matthew Lloyd, 781-430-3720
Media Relations
mlloyd@irobot.com
or
InTouch
Health
Roselie Wright, 805-562-8686
Marketing Communications
rwright@intouchhealth.com
