Proven, innovative, and rigorously tested technology. An uncompromising commitment to better patient care wherever anesthetics and sedatives are used. Increasing recognition, acceptance, and use by the anesthesia community. Happier, healthier patients.
These are just a few of the strengths Aspect Medical Systems brings to the market for consciousness monitoring.
Not only is Aspect the pioneer of consciousness monitoring, we are clearly the industry leader today.
 Customers tell us there are two key reasons why they selected Aspect's technology.
First, the efficacy, safety, and clinical utility of the technology have been clearly established in clinical trials.
The value of BIS monitoring is now documented in more than 600 articles and abstracts. Second, BIS technology has been proven in practice: To date, BIS monitoring has been used in more than 2.5 million surgical cases of every type imaginable. Anesthesia providers can now manage the administration of anesthetics with confidence based on a direct measure of effect on the patient's level of consciousness.
 Through year-end 2000, BIS monitors have been installed in approximately 21 percent of all U S operating rooms and the technology is gaining acceptance in the rest of the world. In 2000, total revenue increased 32 percent over 1999 to $36 million. We believe our market is strong and growing and that the opportunities ahead of us are substantial.
Several strategic developments were particularly significant for Aspect in 2000:
 The successful completion of Aspect's initial public offering raised a net of $54.6 million.
Multi-year, worldwide, sole-source licensing agreements with two major anesthesia original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), Datex-Ohmeda and GE Medical Systems, to incorporate BIS technology into their anesthesia equipment. These complement our existing OEM agreements with Agilent, Drager, Nihon Kohden and Spacelabs. Combined, these manufacturers equip more than 90 percent of all operating rooms and intensive care units worldwide.
 In a parallel agreement, Datex-Ohmeda and its affiliated distributors became Aspect's primary distributor of the A-2000 BIS monitor outside of North America, Japan, and Australia.
Five new agreements with leading group purchasing organizations (GPOs) in the U.S.
 FDA market clearance for three new BIS sensor products and for the BIS module kit, which allows BIS monitoring technology to be integrated into our OEM partners' anesthesia equipment.
The year 2000 also presented many challenges for medical device manufacturers driven by increased financial constraints on the healthcare system. Additionally, Aspect faced the entry of a competitor into the marketplace in mid-2000. These factors, together with several internal challenges, had the effect of slowing sales growth. In response, we refocused our sales strategy with a greater emphasis on ongoing, comprehensive clinical education. By the fourth quarter, sales of BIS technology again trended upward as customers demonstrated a clear preference for our technology and the clinical support that Aspect provides. The challenges we addressed in 2000 helped drive innovation, sharpen corporate and employee focus, and stimulate the creation of new marketing strategies.
 Looking forward, our long-term goals are clear. First, we will drive the growth in our installed base of BIS monitoring equipment through clinical education and additional large-scale outcome studies, and we will expand outreach and collaboration with the anesthesia community. Demonstrating the clinical benefits of BIS monitoring is key to our second goal: to establish BIS monitoring as a routine part of patient care wherever anesthesia and sedation are used.
To help the company achieve these goals, Aspect intends to:
 Accelerate placement of monitors and modules through innovative sales and marketing programs.
Expand Aspect's leadership in clinical education and research, including a world-class Internet-based training site.
 Leverage existing OEM and GPO relationships worldwide to expand access to patients and providers.
Devote increased resources to the introduction of BIS technology outside the OR - to critical care facilities and other settings where anesthetic agents and sedatives are routinely used.
 Introduce new sensor products to enhance BIS system performance.
Continue investigations into promising new applications for BIS technology, such as early detection of Alzheimer's disease.
 Simply stated, BIS monitoring results in improved care. Until now, there has never been a way to measure directly the effects of anesthetic agents on the brain. Armed with the information that the BIS index provides, clinicians can achieve their anesthetic plan with greater confidence, administer anesthetics with better precision, and provide a safer environment for their patients.
Moving forward, the qualities that have established Aspect as the industry leader in consciousness monitoring will continue to serve us well: focus, expertise, rigorous clinical research and testing, commitment to the anesthesia community, and improved quality of patient care.
 I am proud of Aspect's record of achievement and extremely optimistic about its future. Thank you for being a part of this success.

Sincerely,