Cook Improves the Treatment of Kidney Stones.

SPENCER, Ind. -- The 1.7 French NCompass(R) is the Smallest Tipless Nitinol Basket that Enables Physicians to More Effectively Entrap and Extract Kidney Stones and Fragments

Cook Urological, a division of Cook, the world's largest private medical device company, is advancing the treatment of kidney stones with the 1.7 French NCompass Nitinol Stone Extractor. Featuring the smallest diameter available, the device provides significantly improved irrigation and better visibility during stone removal procedures. The tipless 16- wire basket also provides physicians with enhanced stability and ease of movement, enabling them to capture virtually all stone remnants, rendering most patients stone-free.

Each year, more than 1 million kidney stone cases are diagnosed, with an estimated 10 percent of Americans destined to suffer at some point in their lives. According to the American Urological Association, the number of people in the United States with kidney stones has been increasing over the past 20 years. Kidney stones strike most typically between the ages of 20 and 40. Additionally, when an individual forms a stone, there is a 50 percent chance they will develop another stone. Although there are many treatments and surgical options for kidney stones, devices have been limited in their ability to capture small stone fragments which frequently result in secondary procedures.

The 1.7 French NCompass Nitinol Stone Extractor features intricate multi-wire geometry and dual basket design, enabling physicians to entrap all stone fragments as small as 1.5 millimeters. It also allows for routine capture and extraction of intact stones, as well as multiple small fragments following intracorporeal lithotripsy.

The device is uniquely engineered to reduce trauma to the surrounding tissue, while the flexibility of Nitinol, a shape-memory alloy that is a metallic material containing nickel and titanium, allows for expedient capture and release of stones. When used in conjunction with the latest minimally invasive stone treatment technologies, the NCompass extractor may significantly reduce the chance for multiple stone removal procedures.

"When Cook introduced the world to nitinol technology in 1998, it was a revolutionary advance in the area of kidney stone extraction. The 1.7 French NCompass represents the latest addition to our nitinol product portfolio," said Jerry French, senior vice president and global strategic business unit leader for Cook Urological. "We are excited to offer the smallest basket in the industry, allowing physicians more irrigation and better vision that enhances their ability to render the patient stone-free. The NCompass demonstrates our continued commitment to being the world's leader in nitinol stone extractor technologies."

Cook will showcase the 1.7 French NCompass Nitinol Stone Extractor at the 24th World Congress of Endourology in Cleveland, Ohio from August 17-20, 2006. Medical professionals and attendees will be able to view the NCompass Extractor alongside other urological medical devices on display at the show.

About Cook

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 women's health, critical care medicine, surgery, gastroenterology, bone access and endovascular therapies.