Zargis Medical Corp. is developing decision support products and services for the screening and diagnosis of congenital and valvular heart disease. The technology behind ZAC was developed by Siemens Corporate Research over the last six years and is based on a proprietary algorithm and system that analyzes heart sounds and murmurs, using a digital stethoscope, and identifies potential heart abnormalities.

This technology was subsequently transferred to Zargis Medical Corp. upon its formation in January 2001, when Siemens Corporate Research Inc. and Speedus Corp. (NASDAQ: SPDE) announced their co-investment in Zargis to further develop and commercially exploit this opportunity in the medical arena. 

Speedus, in addition to helping Zargis in raising capital, is under contract to design and develop wireless applications, as well as provide transaction processing to support the commercial rollout of Zargis' cardiac diagnostic products. Speedus has demonstrated, using a combination of wireless and wired technology, the ability to transfer heart sound data from a physician's office to the Data Center which will enable Zargis Medical to pursue a business model based on a fee per usage basis.
 

Cardiologist Nathaniel Reichek, M.D., (pictured in foreground), Director of Research and Education at St. Francis Hospital, Roslyn, New York, together with colleague Dennis Mihalatos, M.D., are shown using Zargis Medical's prototype cardiac acoustic system. The new technology holds potential for helping distinguish innocent from pathological heart murmurs more accurately.

Zargis is recording multi-modal clinical data from a large number of patients, with known or suspected valvular heart disease, who have been referred to St. Francis for echocardiographic evaluation of a heart murmur by their family physician. 

Shahram Hejazi, President and CEO of Zargis said, "We are fortunate to have Nathaniel Reichek, M.D., Director of Research and Education at St. Francis Hospital, serving as Principal Investigator on this project." He further noted, "Our collaboration with St. Francis, a world-class cardiac hospital, is not only indicative of Zargis' distinctive medical technology, but also is a significant step toward commercialization of our products."

Dr. Reichek is a distinguished cardiologist with many years of experience in cardiology, in pioneering ultrasound technology, research and development in magnetic resonance imaging, and in diagnostic auscultation of the heart. Dr. Reichek is evaluating the new technology in collaboration with several other outstanding cardiologists at St. Francis.

Dr. Reichek noted: "This effort by Zargis represents the very best kind of use of twenty-first century technology to produce high-quality, cost-effective healthcare. It is really digital science in service to the art of medicine. This technology will help ensure that the right patient gets the right test at the right time, and that valvular disease is treated early while the 'worried well' do not undergo unnecessary diagnostic testing."

Zargis Medical Corp. is working with other hospitals to expand its clinical data gathering efforts. Based in Princeton, New Jersey, Zargis Medical is developing advanced diagnostic decision support products and services for primary care physicians and other healthcare professionals. For more information about the company, access www.zargis.com.

About Siemens Corporate Research

Siemens Corporate Research, Inc. (SCR), Princeton, N.J., is associated with Siemens AG's Corporate Technology (CT) organization and is one of five CT R&D centers worldwide. First established in the U.S. in 1977, and now based in the Princeton Forrestal Center, SCR is staffed by approximately 200 research and support professionals. For further information visit: www.scr.siemens.com
Contact: Guy Pierce, (732) 906-3805; guy.pierce@sc.siemens.com

About Speedus Corp. 

Additional information about Speedus and its services is available at www.speedus.com.
Contact: Thomas M. Finn, (718) 567-4398, tfinn@speedus.com

Statements contained herein that are not historical facts, including, but not limited, to statements about these companies' product, corporate identity and focus, may be forward-looking statements that are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by these companies, including, but not limited to, the continuing development of these companies' sales, marketing and support efforts.