Masimo (NSDQ:MASI) announced today that it entered into a partnership with the National Basketball Association to become its official supplier of pulse oximetry.
The NBA is scheduled to return to competitive play tonight after going through steps to maintain safety in a “bubble”-style camp in Orlando, Fla. with 22 teams in an effort to ensure safety during the COVID-19 pandemic. League play has been suspended since March 11 when Utah Jazz player Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus.
Since the teams arrived to the bubble on July 7, and for the remainder of their stay, each resident will measure oxygen saturation, pulse rate and respiration rate daily as part of the league’s health and safety protocols.
Irvine, Calif.-based Masimo is set to supply the league with its MightySat fingertip pulse oximeter on the Orlando campus. The MightySat device uses Masimo’s hospital-grade SET measure-through motion and low perfusion pulse oximetry technology.
The NBA’s director of sports medicine Dr. John DiFiori said in a news release that players and staff have been quick to adapt to the technology as they keep up the effort to remain safe and healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. John DiFiori, NBA Director of Sports Medicine, said, “Fingertip pulse oximetry is an important component of the health and safety protocols that govern the NBA’s re-start in Orlando. Our players, teams and staff have been quick to adapt to the Masimo technology to monitor their oxygen saturation rates, which is contributing to keeping everyone on our campus safe and healthy.”
“I’ve personally been using the MightySat in my training these past few years,” Denver Nuggets guard Gary Harris said in the release. “It’s incredibly accurate and has helped me get the most out of my workouts and recovery. I’m glad to see it as part of our health monitoring program as our team gets ready to resume the 2020 season.”
Pulse oximeters can measure the saturation of oxygen in red blood cells by shining a light through the skin when clipped to the user’s body. They can be used at home for people with underlying health conditions and are sold online and in pharmacies and other common marketplaces.
Masimo is among several companies that experienced a boost in demand for such devices during the pandemic, as, back in April, multiple reports cited pulse oximeters as a device of interest as stores were selling out of the products amid claims of capabilities in detecting COVID-19 at home.
“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to provide our high-performance monitoring technology to such high-performance athletes,” Masimo founder & CEO Joe Kiani added. “For more than 30 years, we’ve specialized in innovative breakthrough hospital monitoring solutions, and we are excited to continue our expansion into new markets, bringing hospital-grade health and wellness monitoring solutions to everyday users, elite athletes, and organizations like the NBA.”