Boston Scientific Launches iCross Imaging Catheter

March 19, 2009—Boston Scientific Corporation (Natick, MA) announced the launch in the United States of its iCross coronary imaging catheter, which is designed to improve deliverability of the company's intravascular ultrasound technology, the iLab ultrasound imaging system. The iCross catheter features a Bioslide hydrophilic coating that has been shown in bench tests to provide a 28% improvement in pushability in challenging anatomy, the company stated.

In other company news, on March 3, Boston Scientific announced the launch of its Taxus Liberté paclitaxel-eluting coronary stent system in Japan. The product was approved by the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare on January 28, and reimbursement was granted by the National Health Insurance System on March 2. The company noted that the Taxus Liberté is a second-generation drug-eluting stent. Design improvements over the company's first-generation Taxus Express² stent include thinner struts to allow better stent deliverability and conformability, as well as uniform stent geometry for consistent lesion coverage and drug distribution.