In a tour de force of new product development and introduction, Cook Medical is introducing six new products in parallel to provide better treatment options to the physicians treating the 27 million people worldwide* afflicted with some form of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and other diseases of the circulatory system.

Cook Medical Unveils An Integrated Line of New Devices to Improve Peripheral Arterial Disease Patient Outcomes

In a tour de force of new product development and introduction, Cook Medical is introducing six new products in parallel to provide better treatment options to the physicians treating the 27 million people worldwide* afflicted with some form of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and other diseases of the circulatory system.

These products include new microwires, stents and angioplasty balloons that are integral to Cook's advanced Leg Therapy Program, the industry's broadest line of products engineered specifically to address the dynamic circulation of the iliac, femoral, popliteal and infrapopliteal vascular systems. In addition, Cook will introduce a new thoracic aneurysm endograft and a sophisticated new delivery and retrieval system for Cook's inferior vena cava filters for pulmonary embolism prevention to physicians attending VIVA 2009.

"This is a significant day for patients suffering from PAD, as Cook proudly rolls out an integrated line of minimally invasive products designed specifically for treating PAD," said Rob Lyles, vice president and global leader of Cook Medical's peripheral intervention division. "People tend to associate leg conditions exclusively with injury, and fail to recognize the importance of maintaining the overall health of the legs until it's too late. By introducing these six products to the vascular medicine and interventional communities, we are giving vascular interventionalists six tools to improve their patient outcomes and deliver actionable solutions to those who need them most."

PAD, often dubbed a "silent killer", occurs when blood vessels become clogged with a build-up of fatty deposits and circulation to areas of the body including the legs, feet and kidneys is limited:

• Between 4-6 percent of all patients with lower extremity PAD die from heart attack, stroke or amputation within 5 years
• Every year, 200,000 PAD-related amputations are performed
• Of the nearly 20 percent of diabetics with PAD, nearly 14 percent express no PAD symptoms
• Only 25 percent* of those affected receive any form of treatment. Even fewer are aware that minimally invasive treatment

options exist apart from amputation or surgical bypass, the current gold standard in treating this condition.

To reverse these statistics, Cook, which has put nearly half a century of work in advancing minimally invasive healthcare, is introducing these new products that adjust to the multi-system manifestations of leg disease.

The company's Approach™ CTO microwires, the first .014-inch wires designed specifically for crossing chronic total occlusions and extremely tight lesions in the peripheral arteries. The Advance® line of balloon dilatation catheters comprises three low-profile balloons (14LP, 18LP, 35LP) that range in size and composition to treat lesions in the peripheral arteries (from the femoral through the popliteal and into the infrapopliteal region). Each balloon features a low crossing profile and small-sheath compatibility, which helps reduce the need for an invasive arterial entry and may shorten patient recovery time. Used as an adjunct to percutaneous transluminal angioplasty in the iliac, the Zilver 518 RX® is a self-expanding nitinol stent with rapid exchange capabilities that ensure accuracy.

"At Cook, we work constantly to generate disease awareness and improve patient outcomes, and the products under the Leg Therapy Program are the latest manifestation in our drive to provide physicians with valuable solutions in all segments of medicine," said Lyles. "Billions of dollars will be spent in the next decade to treat leg disease, and we remain committed to working in earnest to ensure these treatment methods are being developed in the most impactful way possible."

In addition to its new PAD products, at VIVA 2009 in Booth 150, Cook also will have cutting-edge products on display to improve the prognosis of individuals with abdominal aortic aneurysm or pulmonary embolism. The Zenith TX2 Pro-Form endograft, engineered especially for procedures in which the product must be positioned in tight aortic arches, utilizes an improved delivery system that allows for carefully controlled deployment of the endograft to help establish proximal conformity of the device to the aortic wall. The new NavAlign™ IVC filter delivery system, introduced last month for both the Cook Celect® and Günther Tulip™ filters, is designed to minimize trauma and streamline filter placement with easy jugular access.

Don't miss the other Cook-sponsored activities taking place in the Cook Pavilion, Room Latour 5, including sessions addressing challenging CLI cases, percutaneous EVAR and PE prevention and an interactive physician discussion on the economics of healthcare. In addition, the Cook Pavilion will be available for consultations with key Cook Medical sales staff and management. View the full schedule of Cook-sponsored events on Cook's VIVA 2009 microsite here.

About Cook Medical

Founded in 1963, Cook Medical helped invent and popularize interventional medicine, pioneering many of the devices now commonly used worldwide to perform minimally invasive medical procedures throughout the body. Today, the company integrates minimally invasive medical devices, drugs and biologics to enhance patient safety and improve clinical outcomes. Since its inception, Cook has operated as a family-held private corporation focused on providing superior patient outcomes while reducing health care costs. For more information, visit www.cookmedical.com. You may sign up to follow Cook Medical on Twitter at