MILPITAS, Calif., April 12, 2000 -- LifeScan, Inc. has introduced Unistik® 2 Neonatal, a single-use, disposable lancing device designed to provide greater protection for infants and for healthcare professionals who need to obtain patient blood samples for glucose and other blood-based tests.

For infants, the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) recommends a penetration depth of no more than 2.0 mm on heelsticks. Unistik 2 Neonatal helps lessen the risk of heel injury by providing a consistent and shallower penetration depth of only 1.8 mm, well within the NCCLS standard. The device's side triggering action was also designed to help minimize downward pressure of the device on an infant's heel during lancing.

For healthcare professionals, the Unistik 2 Neonatal provides "sharps" protection, featuring a needle that retracts after use. This feature was incorporated to reduce the risk of accidental needlesticks from used sharps. It is estimated that every year, between 600,000 and 800,000 healthcare workers accidentally stick themselves, posing a significant threat for cross-infection by bloodborne pathogens, such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV and antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria.

As a result, both the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have issued recommendations to make the use of devices with sharps protection a requirement at hospitals throughout the United States. Five states -- California, Maryland, New Jersey, Texas and Tennessee -- have already enacted needle safety laws, and at least 16 other states are considering similar legislation.

"The risk of injury from sharp instruments is a daily reality for healthcare workers," stated Debbie Frantz, product manager at LifeScan. "LifeScan is pleased to be introducing a lancing device designed to reduce that risk for our customers."

The leading maker of blood glucose monitoring systems for hospital point-of-care testing*, LifeScan is part of the Johnson & Johnson family of diagnostic companies, which includes Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics. For more information on LifeScan and its products, visit LifeScan.com on the World Wide Web.

*Reference: DDD database of IMS Health for combined test strips and meters, as of June 1999.

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