• Pacemakers and medical aids powered by "two feet and a heartbeat" part of a collaborative research project funded by DTI and consortium of industry experts

A UK-based consortium of companies today announced that it is developing an in-body microgenerator that will convert energy from human body movement into power for implanted medical devices, including pacemakers, electrical stimulators, instrumented joints and body area network applications. The project, led by Zarlink Semiconductor (NYSE/TSX:ZL), has received £500,000 in funding from the UK Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), which will be match-funded by the consortium.

Today, batteries in implanted medical devices have a limited lifespan, some needing replacement within seven to 10 years depending on use. Increasing clinical applications, for example wireless monitoring of cardiac pacemakers, and the continuous drive to design less obtrusive implanted devices, is placing further strains on battery operating lifetimes.

While some implanted device batteries can be externally recharged, more commonly the patient must undergo a time-consuming and costly surgical replacement of the entire device. It is estimated that surgical replacement of a cardiac pacemaker can cost up to £10,000.

The two-year SIMM (self-energizing implantable medical micro system) project will prototype a device capable of harvesting energy from movement in or on the body, including joint movement and heartbeats. Body energy will be harvested by means of a microgenerator manufactured as a MEMS (micro-electrical-mechanical system). This prototype design is expected to achieve 10-100 times more power than previous attempts to harvest human energy.

Welcoming the new partnership, Science and Innovation Minister, Malcolm Wicks said: "This project has amazing potential to help huge numbers of people world-wide who have pacemakers and other medical implants. It's exactly this sort of research we're looking for with the Technology Programme - working with industry to develop marketable products we'll need in the future. This partnership could not only help boost the UK's economy, but make an enormous difference to the quality of people's lives."

"The ability to fit and forget implantable devices in terms of their power supply is groundbreaking with significant clinical and quality of life advances," said David Hatherall, external project leader at Zarlink's Caldicot facility and SIMM project coordinator. "The operating life and size requirements of the battery are a chief concern in the design of implanted medical devices. Providing an in-body power supply will reduce the dependence on batteries for implantable devices, and facilitate the design of new self-powered devices for applications currently not feasible due to battery life and space restrictions."

According to industry research, there is great demand for improved power supply technology in many emerging medical applications, including neurostimulation, activity monitoring, bladder control valves, drug delivery systems, medical telemetry and cochlear and retinal implants.

Perpetuum Ltd. is the technical lead for the SIMM project. "This is an exciting and potentially huge market for us to be exploring," said Perpetuum CEO Roy Freeland. "We are thrilled to be involved with this project, which is a natural extension of our proven industrial energy harvesting technology."

The SIMM Project

The multi-disciplinary consortium is made up of six companies chosen for their core engineering skill, product exploitation potential and clinical excellence. The group consists of:

• Finsbury Orthopaedics - a leading UK specialist in the design, development, manufacture and supply of advanced joint replacement products;
• Innos - the UK's leading research and development company for innovations in nanoscale technology will manage silicon fabrication of the device;
• InVivo Technology - will help establish the clinical acceptability and feasibility of a number of proposed energy capture mechanisms;
• Odstock Medical - will utilise the technology developed in the FES (functional electrical stimulation) marketplace;
• Perpetuum Ltd. - will provide kinetic energy-harvesting microgenerator technology;
• Zarlink Semiconductor - will provide advanced micro-packaging techniques at Zarlink's microelectronics facility in Caldicot, South Wales.

A proof of concept prototype as a result of the project is expected to be released in 2007. To learn more about the SIMM project, please visit: www.implantgen.com/.

About the Technology Programme

The Technology Programme provides funding using two of the DTI's business support products: Collaborative Research & Development and Knowledge Transfer Networks. Over the period 2005-2008, £370 million in grants is available to businesses to support research and development in technology areas identified by the business-led Technology Strategy Board.

The programme is investing directly in new and emerging technologies and has been designed to help businesses work collaboratively with each other or with academic partners to develop technologies that will underpin products and services of the future. The Technology Programme has allocated over £330m to Collaborative R&D competitions, awarding grants ranging from £30,000 to £11 million. About 600 projects have been funded across 40 technology areas, worth approximately £900 million.

Nineteen Knowledge Transfer Networks have also been established with funding of around £40m over three years. Further information can be found at http://www.dti.gov.uk/innovation/technologystrategy.

About Zarlink Semiconductor

For over 30 years, Zarlink Semiconductor has delivered semiconductor solutions that drive the capabilities of voice, enterprise, broadband and wireless communications. The Company's success is built on its technology strengths including voice and data networks, optoelectronics and ultra low-power communications. For more information, visit www.zarlink.com.

Shareholders and other individuals wishing to receive, free of charge, copies of the reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Regulatory Authorities, should visit the Company's web site at http://www.zarlink.com/ or contact Investor Relations.

Certain statements in this press release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and assumptions include, among others, the following: rapid technological developments and changes; our ability to continue to operate profitably and generate positive cash flows in the future; our dependence on our foundry suppliers and third-party subcontractors; increasing price and product competition; our exposure to product warranty claims resulting from product defects or failures; and other factors referenced in our Annual Report on Form 20-F. Investors are encouraged to consider the risks detailed in this filing.

Zarlink, ZL and the Zarlink Semiconductor logo are trademarks of Zarlink Semiconductor Inc.

For further information, contact:

Edward Goffin
(Media)
613 270-7112
edward.goffin@zarlink.com

Mike McGinn
(Investor Relations)
613 270-7210
mike.mcginn@zarlink.com