Cook(R) Launches New Angioplasty Balloon Catheter With Advanced Features.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Based on extensive input from physicians, Cook Incorporated is launching the Advance ATB(R) PTA Dilatation Catheter, a new percutaneous transluminal angioplasty balloon catheter, with advanced features never before offered by Cook.

For optimized performance, the new Advance balloon design has been optimized for ease of insertion and pullback into the sheath. Responding to the needs of physicians performing numerous dilatation procedures, the Advance balloon incorporates an increased lumen size for faster inflation/deflation rates while still providing sufficient rated burst pressure to dilate demanding lesions.

Cook's Ultra-Push(TM) shaft creates a strong axial force for enhanced trackability without added stiffness. The balloon's short, tapered tip allows dilatation in confined spaces and increases accessibility within strictured vascular anatomy. In addition, the Advance balloon maintains constant diameter throughout its working range of pressures. Embedded gold radiopaque markers on the catheter shaft facilitate precise positioning under fluoroscopy.

The world's largest privately held manufacturer of medical devices with international headquarters in Bloomington, Ind., COOK(R) (www.cookmedical.com/) is a leading designer, manufacturer and global distributor of minimally invasive medical device technology for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Since its founding in 1963, Cook has created innovative technologies for drug-eluting and bare metal stents, aortic and vascular endografts, catheters, wire guides, introducer needles and sheaths, embolization coils, medical biomaterials and contract manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals, vena cava filters and other minimally invasive medical devices for radiology, cardiology, urology and Ob/Gyn, critical care medicine, surgery, gastroenterology, bone access and endovascular therapies.