SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., June 25, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In a release issued earlier today by TASER International, Inc. (Nasdaq:TASR), under the same headline, note the addition of information into Mark Kroll's comments, as well as the updated Web address for the poster presentation. The updated release follows:
TASER International, Inc. (Nasdaq:TASR), a leading provider of technology solutions and the market leader in electronic control devices (ECDs), commends the Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota for the groundbreaking study, Cataecholamines in Simulated Arrest Scenarios, which was presented this week at the Australasia College of Emergency Medicine (ACEM) Winter Symposium 2009 in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. The research led by Dr. Jeffrey D. Ho of the Department of Emergency Medicine, Hennepin County Medical Center, looked at the human physiology involved in common subject behavior, as well as police tools and tactics in arrest-related scenarios.
The study was presented at the ACEM Winter Symposium 2009 by Dr. Donald M. Dawes, another author on the study and a member of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Louisville, Kentucky.
According to the presentation, "Some authors have opined that the temporal relationship between ECD use and ARDs [arrest-related deaths] may be related to acute stress cardiomyopathy induced by high circulating catecholamines, rather than an immediate electrical-induced arrhythmia. In this study, we compared the stress response during simulated use of force encounters."
For the study, sixty subjects performed one of the following five arrest-related scenarios:
1) A 150-meter sprint, simulating flight from law enforcement
officers,
2) 45-seconds of hitting and kicking a heavy bag, simulating physical
combat with officers,
3) A 10-second TASER(r) X26(tm) ECD exposure,
4) A K-9 training exercise of approximately 30 seconds, or
5) An Oleoresin Capsicum (O.C.) spray exposure to the face.
From the data obtained in the study, the researchers concluded that "the ECD was one of the least activating of catecholamines while the simulated combat was one of the most activating. The simulated combat also lowered the pH the most of all the tasks."
"Catecholamines are the bodies 'hyper hormones' and include the well-known adrenaline. They are an indicator of the amount of stress felt by the body," stated Mark Kroll, PhD, FACC, Adjunct Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Minnesota and Chairman of the TASER International Scientific and Medical Advisory Board. "This study is one of the first to look at the human physiology in common arrest-related situations with various police tools and tactics. The research is groundbreaking in that it clearly shows that the use of a TASER device does not significantly lead to the increase of catecholamines in the human body. However struggling or running from police causes dramatic increases which can begin to cascade toward sudden death," added Kroll.
The poster presentation of the study can be found at http://tiny.cc/Tak9e
About TASER International, Inc.
TASER International's products Protect Life and Protect Truth. TASER provides advanced Electronic Control Devices (ECDs) and innovative secured digital evidence collection and management solutions for use in the law enforcement, medical, military, corrections, professional security, and personal safety markets. TASER ECDs use proprietary technology to incapacitate dangerous, combative, or high-risk subjects who pose a risk to law enforcement officers, innocent citizens, or themselves in a manner that is generally recognized as a safer alternative to other uses of force. The TASER(r) AXON(tm), a revolutionary on-officer tactical computer and video/audio recorder, combines with an integrated digital multi-media evidence storage and management platform -- EVIDENCE.COM -- to provide an end-to-end solution to capture, store securely, and analyze digital evidence and information in ways that enables tactical and strategic decision making by law enforcement, as well as for legal evidentiary use. For more information please call TASER International at (800) 978-2737 or visit our website at www.TASER.com.
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Note to Investors
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), including statements, without limitation, regarding our expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. We intend that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe-harbor provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking information is based upon current information and expectations regarding TASER International. These estimates and statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, are not guarantees of future performance, and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results could materially differ from what is expressed, implied, or forecasted in such forward-looking statements.
TASER International assumes no obligation to update the information contained in this press release. These statements are qualified by important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those reflected by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include but are not limited to: (1) market acceptance of our products; (2) our ability to establish and expand direct and indirect distribution channels; (3) our ability to attract and retain the endorsement of key opinion-leaders in the law enforcement community; (4) the level of product technology and price competition for our products; (5) the degree and rate of growth of the markets in which we compete and the accompanying demand for our products; (6) risks associated with rapid technological change and new product introductions; (7) competition; (8) litigation including lawsuits resulting from alleged product related injuries and death; (9) media publicity concerning allegations of deaths and injuries occurring after use of the TASER device and the negative effect this publicity could have on our sales; (10) TASER device tests and reports; (11) product quality; (12) implementation of manufacturing automation; (13) potential fluctuations in our quarterly operating results; (14) financial and budgetary constraints of prospects and customers; (15) order delays; (16) dependence upon sole and limited source suppliers; (17) negative reports concerning the TASER device; (18) fluctuations in component pricing; (19) government regulations and inquiries; (20) dependence upon key employees and our ability to retain employees; (21) execution and implementation risks of new technology; (22) ramping manufacturing production to meet demand; (23) medical and safety studies; (24) field test results; and (25) other factors detailed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation, those factors detailed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and its Form 10-Qs.
The statements made herein are independent statements of TASER International. The inclusion of any third parties does not represent an endorsement of any TASER International products or services by any such third parties.