MedicAlert® Announces Support of U3 USB Flash Drive Platform; Nonprofit MedicAlert Endorses Vision of Personal Applications on Flash Drives

LAS VEGAS--BUSINESS WIRE—(Jan. 7, 2005) – The MedicAlert Foundation International, one of the world's largest nonprofit organizations devoted to protecting and saving lives, today announced at the CES Show that it endorses the goals that the U3(TM) platform standard has established for USB flash drives.

M-Systems Flash Disk Pioneers Limited (NASDAQ:FLSH) and SanDisk(R) Corp. (NASDAQ:SNDK), the two market leaders in USB flash drive technology, founded U3. The U3 platform provides an opportunity for an individual's personal medical information to be taken anywhere on a tiny USB flash drive without compromising privacy, and for this information to be securely communicated using the latest encryption technologies. The MedicAlert(R) healthcare application is one example of software applications that could easily be converted to be U3 compatible to provide additional capabilities and will work on any U3 device.

"U3 is a platform that will encourage the use of USB flash drives for people who need to be able to discretely and efficiently carry their health information with them at all times," said Paul Kortschak, president and CEO of MedicAlert Foundation. "This means that a MedicAlert(R) member can carry a complete medical history wherever they go to improve quality of care and to perhaps enable receiving a life-saving treatment in case of an emergency. Furthermore, this technology enhances our strategy and commitment for supporting health information technology initiatives to address medical errors and high healthcare costs related to the lack of available health information at the point of care."

"We at U3 are very excited to receive an endorsement of the platform from an organization with the stellar reputation of MedicAlert(R)," said Kate Purmal, interim executive director of U3. "U3 is committed to increasing the value and expanding the market for USB flash drives by uniting the industry around best-of-breed technology - creating novel and useful applications based on a new standardized USB platform."

About MedicAlert

Founded in 1956, MedicAlert ( www.medicalert.org) is one of the world's largest nonprofit membership organizations with a mission to protect and save lives. The MedicAlert Electronic Health Record provides a secure and seamless transfer of identification and medical information to health and safety professionals 24 hours a day anywhere in the world, thereby ensuring patient safety and improving the quality of their care. With headquarters in the United States, MedicAlert has affiliates in nine countries including Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand that help serve more than 4 million members around the globe.

About U3

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