NATICK, Mass., March 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Boston Scientific Corporation today announced the launch of its iCross™ Coronary Imaging Catheter, a product designed to improve the deliverability of the Company's market-leading intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) technology, the iLab® Ultrasound Imaging System. IVUS technology enables physicians to see detailed images inside the heart and coronary arteries. The Company said the iCross Catheter would be available immediately in the United States.

"Boston Scientific's iCross Coronary Imaging Catheter is a powerful tool for visualizing coronary intravascular pathology, especially in patients with complex coronary artery disease," said Augusto Pichard, M.D., Director, Cardiac Catheterization Lab, Washington Hospital Center. "The combination of the iCross' outstanding image quality and excellent deliverability should help physicians better identify lesion characteristics."

"This latest advance builds on the success of our existing Atlantis® SR Pro Catheter," said Hank Kucheman, Senior Vice President and Group President, Cardiovascular for Boston Scientific. "We expect that the improvements iCross offers to physicians and their patients will help further solidify our leadership in intravascular ultrasound."

The iCross Catheter features a Bioslide® Hydrophilic Coating that has been shown in bench tests to provide a 28 percent improvement in pushability in challenging anatomy(1).

Boston Scientific is a worldwide developer, manufacturer and marketer of medical devices whose products are used in a broad range of interventional medical specialties. For more information, please visit: www.bostonscientific.com.

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This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words like "anticipate," "expect," "project," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "intend" and similar words. These forward-looking statements are based on our beliefs, assumptions and estimates using information available to us at the time and are not intended to be guarantees of future events or performance. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements regarding new product development and performance, regulatory approvals, alternative technologies and our growth strategy. If our underlying assumptions turn out to be incorrect, or if certain risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the expectations and projections expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. These factors, in some cases, have affected and in the future (together with other factors) could affect our ability to implement our business strategy and may cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the statements expressed in this press release. As a result, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any of our forward-looking statements.

Factors that may cause such differences include, among other things: future economic, competitive, reimbursement and regulatory conditions; new product introductions; demographic trends; intellectual property; litigation; financial market conditions; and, future business decisions made by us and our competitors. All of these factors are difficult or impossible to predict accurately and many of them are beyond our control. For a further list and description of these and other important risks and uncertainties that may affect our future operations, see Part I, Item 1A- Risk Factors in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which we may update in Part II, Item 1A - Risk Factors in Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q we have filed or will file thereafter. We disclaim any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in our expectations or in events, conditions, or circumstances on which those expectations may be based, or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. This cautionary statement is applicable to all forward-looking statements contained in this document.

(1) Pushability is the amount of force required to push a catheter to a specific depth in the anatomy. Testing completed by Boston Scientific Corp. Data on file. Bench test results may not necessarily be indicative of clinical performance. Twenty-eight percent improvement as compared to Boston Scientific's Atlantis SR Pro catheter.

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SOURCE: Boston Scientific Corporation

Web site: http://www.bostonscientific.com/