TROY, Michigan and MARSEILLE, France, July 30 /PRNewswire/ --

- CAE suite and use of finite element analysis streamline development 
processes in the development of medical devices

Altair Engineering, Inc., a leading global provider of simulation
technology and engineering services that empower client innovation and
decision-making, and PROTOMED SA announced today that PROTOMED SA has chosen
Altair Engineering's computer-aided engineering (CAE) software suite,
HyperWorks, to enhance its numerical simulation capabilities. PROTOMED SA
continues to expand its medical device R&D services by choosing Altair as its
official computational software partner. The products of the software suite,
especially its RADIOSS solver for implicit analysis tasks will be used within
service projects of PROTOMED and to develop new and innovative implantable
medical devices. PROTOMED engineers use CAE to predict physical responses of
biological systems to known load conditions and will use HyperWorks to model
medical devices for various applications, ranging from coronary stents to
orthopedics implant.

"We were looking for a high-performance finite element analysis tool to
assess mechanical resistance limits in relation to our European device
development and test services activities," said Frederic Mouret, CEO and
founder of PROTOMED. "HyperWorks is an essential component of our fatigue
simulation efforts, computational fluid mechanics and trauma simulation
capabilities. It will reinforce our technical resources and our ability to
anticipate the behavior of new implants in their simulated biological
environment."

Global healthcare is a dynamic and fast-growing industry. Designers and
manufacturers of medical devices are constantly challenged to improve product
performance, deliver quality and reliability and meet regulatory standards.
CAE tools are increasingly used in the biomed industry to meet design and
quality challenges and are gaining acceptance in validation processes.

"Altair Engineering is happy to work with PROTOMED in its use of
simulation for development of medical devices," said Joanne Zuzelski,
director of business development at Altair Engineering. "PROTOMED's
leadership in the advanced application of simulation technologies such as
RADIOSS, provides valuable, reliable solutions for the medical device
market."

HyperWorks delivers complex models and procedures for biomedical
applications with high-fidelity simulation. From its capability to quickly
and easily model detailed geometry to the simulation of complex physical and
biological processes, HyperWorks is an enterprise simulation solution for the
medical device industry. HyperWorks includes best-in-class modeling,
analysis, visualization and data management solutions for linear, nonlinear,
structural, optimization, fluid-structure interaction and multi-body dynamics
applications. For more information, please visit www.altairhyperworks.com.

About PROTOMED

PROTOMED SA provides medical device companies with the best mechanical
R&D practices in the industry. Its ISO 9001 and 13485 certified services help
device manufacturers meet the highest standards in the industry in support of
FDA submission and CE mark certification. PROTOMED offers turnkey R&D
solutions for companies developing implantable and interventional devices. To
learn more, please visit www.protomed.fr.

About Altair Engineering

Altair Engineering, Inc. empowers client innovation and decision-making
through technology that optimizes the analysis, management and visualization
of business and engineering information. Privately held, with more than 1,300
employees, Altair has offices throughout North America, South America, Europe
and Asia/Pacific. With a 20-year-plus track record for product design,
advanced engineering software, grid computing technologies and enterprise
analytics solutions, Altair consistently delivers a competitive advantage to
customers in a broad range of industries. To learn more, please visit
www.altair.com.