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US Army Expands Deployment of EMMA® Medication Management Devices to the Fort Carson Warrior Transition Unit for TBI and PTSD Patients

Colorado Springs, CO - Feb 17, 2010. INRange Systems, Inc. (www.inrangesystems.com) announced today that it has deployed its Electronic Medication Management Assistant, EMMA®, at the US Army Warrior Transition Unit (WTU) at Fort Carson in Colorado.

Ft. Carson is the first of three WTUs that will deploy EMMAs over the next four weeks. This implementation is an expansion of the pilot that first began at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in April 2009 which showed very compelling results. The other locations which will be deploying EMMA units as part of this expanded pilot include Ft. Bragg in North Carolina and Ft. Lewis in Washington.

“We are very excited about the results experienced at Ft. Carson. The patient acceptance, and the overall enthusiasm, is tremendous,” states Mark Drummey, Executive Vice President for Business Development, for INRange. “We feel privileged that we can be an effective part of the solution for the Military’s treatment of solders suffering from Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and other high risk behavioral health issues”.

Ft. Carson, like all of the WTUs, is tasked with the difficult challenge of transitioning wounded warriors suffering from major ailments back to duty or into a normal residential setting. Most of their patients are taking a complex regimen of medications that can be lethal if improperly administered. Medication Errors and medication non-adherence are problems which have plagued the military’s efforts to treat the thousands of wounded soldiers returning from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Earlier this year, EMMA® was approved for reimbursement by all three TRICARE (US Military Health Insurance Plan) carriers and is being provided to wounded soldiers living at home that are being treated with complex drug regimens. Many of the wounded will be on these regimens for the rest of their lives.

INRange’s Electronic Medication Management System, which has affectionately become known as EMMA® to patients, is the first, and only, FDA-cleared medical device for remotely managing patient medications. The US Army Medical Command has been piloting the use of EMMA® for the treatment of soldiers suffering from Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and High Risk Behavioral Health issues.

EMMA® is a combination of hardware and software that provides hospital-style medication management in a patient’s residence. EMMA® consists of a Medication Delivery Unit, cellular two-way communication software and a disposable medication package.

When it is time for patients to take their medications, the EMMA® Unit emits audio and visual alerts. When the patient touches the screen, medications are selected from Medication Administration Cartridges and released into a delivery tray. No programming is required by the patient and non-adherence alerts can be automatically sent to the patient and their caregivers via the phone or email.

EMMA® manages both the patient’s regularly scheduled medications as well as their PRNs (as needed medications), such as narcotics. EMMA® is delivered by INRange as a turn key in-home solution for medication management. To start up EMMA®, all that is required is a cellular connection and a local or mail order pharmacy to package the medications.

About INRange Systems, Inc.
INRange Systems, Inc. is headquartered in Altoona, PA and was founded by Dr. Mary Anne Papp, a former US Navy Medical Officer, and VA Physician, and currently a Cardiologist at the Medical College of Wisconsin. INRange Systems commercialized its remote medication management technology, called EMMA®, in August of 2008. The technology can be wirelessly controlled by a pharmacist and enable patients to manage medications in a home setting. Because the technology has been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration, a patient is not required to have a medical professional present for medication disbursement.

For more information about INRange, contact Christopher E. Bossi, President, at: cbossi@inrangesystems.com.