Hill-Rom announced the expansion of its Asia-Pacific Innovation Center in Singapore by opening two new Research and Development (R&D) centers of excellence at its Singapore location. The new areas of focus include a Respiratory Care Development Center that will identify and develop innovative global respiratory care products expanding beyond Hill-Rom's high frequency chest wall oscillation therapy known as The Vest® Airway Clearance System. Also new is a Patient Support Development Center that will focus on developing a variety of technology solutions for emerging markets.

"We are excited to expand our R&D efforts in Singapore related to innovation for respiratory care," said John J. Greisch, president and CEO of Hill-Rom, who was present to host the event. "Importantly, this opening reinforces our commitment to Asia as a key part of our growth plans."

The Asia-Pacific Innovation Center officially opened in August 2008. Currently, 40 Hill-Rom employees work at the location, comprising Hill-Rom's R&D teams, and sales and marketing staff in the region. The Innovation Center in Singapore initially opened with 11,000 square feet of space and has now been expanded by an additional 5,000 square feet to support the work in respiratory care. The respiratory care R&D teams will focus on developing new technologies and products for the global mechanical airway clearance market while other R&D teams continue to focus on products for the medical-surgical environment, new bed technologies and connectivity solutions.