Cook Incorporated Introduces Its Zilver 518 Biliary Stent.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

BLOOMINGTON, Ind.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 19, 2004

The Zilver 518 Biliary Stent, a flexible, self-expanding nitinol design intended to treat patients with malignant neoplasms in the biliary system, is now available from Cook Incorporated following clearance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Incorporating the features that have made Cook's line of Zilver stents successful around the world, the Zilver 518 provides physicians with a 5 French-compatible, lower profile system delivered over a .018 inch wire guide to facilitate its use in smaller lumens.

The Zilver 518 Stent incorporates Cook's patented Z-Stent cell design for optimal radial strength while maintaining a strong, equally distributed radial force throughout the stented area of the vessel. The fine mesh slotted tube Zilver stent design displays excellent kink resistance with the flexibility needed in the biliary duct upon deployment. With its multiple gold radiopaque markers at each end to enhance visibility under fluoroscopy and zero percent foreshortening during deployment, the clinician can place the Zilver stent with great precision using Cook's proven Flexor delivery system.

With international headquarters in Bloomington, Ind., privately held COOK(R) (www.cookgroup.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 stents and stent-grafts, catheters, wire guides, introducer needles and sheaths, embolization coils, medical biomaterials, vena cava filters, implanted cardiac lead extraction equipment and other minimally invasive medical devices.