BIOTRONIK Announces Market Release and Nationwide Implantations of the Next Generation of Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators: the Lexos Family.

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

LAKE OSWEGO, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 17, 2004

BIOTRONIK, Inc. today announced market release and subsequent nationwide implantations of its next-generation ICD family, Lexos, the only device available in a small, physiologic shape that provides completely automated, wireless early detection of cardiac events -- without patient action.

The Lexos ICD offers four distinct advantages for patients and physicians alike: a small, thin profile designed to increase patient comfort and reduce incision size; industry-proven capacitors that deliver competitive, consistent charge times throughout the life of the device; up to six years longevity that provides fewer device replacements and more cost-effective therapy; and BIOTRONIK's exclusive Home Monitoring system.

Home Monitoring with early detection technology allows physicians to remotely monitor ICD patients on a 24-hour basis and quickly intervene when necessary. Events are automatically transmitted from the ICD to the Home Monitoring web site, which provides access to patient and device data anytime, from anywhere. Early detection technology immediately reports information on VT/VF detection and therapy, changes in heart rate, medication effects, shock and pacing lead impedance, as well as battery status, voltage, and ERI flags.

Lexos' unparalleled combination of Home Monitoring early detection technology with a full range of competitive features provides additional benefits, including the following:

-- AV Hysteresis with Repetitive and Scan enhancements to reduce

unnecessary RV pacing, which recent studies suggest may

contribute to heart failure in ICD patients. BIOTRONIK is the

second company on the market to provide this feature. Home

Monitoring provides continuous patient monitoring and periodic

reporting of intrinsic conduction versus pacing therapy to

allow physicians to remotely identify excessive RV pacing.

-- SMART Detection and Redetection, the most accurate AV

discrimination algorithm available to distinguish

life-threatening arrhythmias from normal heart rhythms.

-- Intracardiac-electrogram (IEGM) recordings of up to 30 minutes

of dual-channel or 60 minutes of single-channel IEGM storage,

as well as separate IEGM recordings for SMART Detection

successes. Up to 23 diagnostics for each tachycardia episode

are available to assist the physician in clinical decision

making.

-- An automatic, built-in, 24-hour Holter feature that requires

no special equipment.

-- Capability to program the VT-1 zone below the Upper Tracking

Rate (UTR). This function may be particularly helpful for

patients who have slow, symptomatic VTs and active lifestyles.

With this feature, patients have the freedom to exercise at

higher heart rates with the continued protection of arrhythmia 

detection provided by SMART. BIOTRONIK is the first major

manufacturer to provide this feature.

Available in both single- and dual-chamber models, the Lexos family enhances BIOTRONIK's existing market-released tachycardia product portfolio.

BIOTRONIK's U.S. headquarters are located near Portland, Oregon. Started in 1963, BIOTRONIK today ranks as one of the leading cardiac rhythm management (CRM) companies, conducting business in over 60 countries worldwide and providing a full range of innovative cardiovascular products of the highest quality and reliability. BIOTRONIK has pioneered many innovative technologies, including Home Monitoring and Closed Loop Stimulation, which uses the cardiovascular system's own natural feedback loop to regulate heart rate and cardiac output. BIOTRONIK's motto, "Technology Helping to Heal," is reflected in the company's primary guiding principle: helping patients by researching, developing, and marketing biomedical products to restore, secure, and enhance their quality of life.