Johnson & Johnson Launches Shockwave C2 Aero Coronary IVL Catheter

May 12, 2026—Johnson & Johnson announced the global launch of its Shockwave C2 Aero coronary intravascular lithotripsy IVL catheter for the treatment of calcified coronary artery disease (CAD).

The company advised that Shockwave C2 Aero is now available in the United States and Japan and will be available in Europe and Canada in the coming months. Shockwave Medical, part of Johnson & Johnson, will feature the device at EuroPCR 2026 held May 19-22 in Paris, France.

According to Johnson & Johnson, the next-generation device leverages Shockwave IVL’s mechanism of action and the safety and effectiveness profile of its legacy catheters. It is designed to provide improved deliverability, enhanced lesion crossing, and new repositioning capabilities for the treatment of calcified CAD.

Shockwave C2 Aero has a working length of 138 cm. It features two emitters encased in an integrated balloon that fire simultaneously up to 120 pulses, delivering up to 240 shockwaves. Each Shockwave pulse creates ultrasonic acoustic pressure waves that pass through soft tissue and crack hardened calcium in place, helping to re-establish blood flow in the blocked artery.

Shockwave C2 Aero provides physicians with greater flexibility and efficiency in treatment strategy. A more flexible shaft, balloon, and marker bands enhance deliverability through tight, tortuous arteries. Its tapered tip and new hydrophilic coating ease entry and crossing of dense calcified deposits. The new balloon material is designed for more compact deflation and allows repositioning within the coronary anatomy to treat additional lesions.

“Shockwave C2 Aero makes it easier to navigate tortuous coronary anatomy without relying on additional upfront ancillary devices,” commented Margaret McEntegart, MD, in the company’s press release. “That enhanced deliverability and efficiency can change IVL use and expand its role in treatment algorithms. By continuing to address real unmet physician needs like deliverability, crossability and repositioning, Johnson & Johnson is pushing expectations for what the technology can achieve in complex percutaneous coronary intervention procedures.”

Dr. McEntegart is Director of Complex Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Program at Columbia University Medical Center/New York-Presbyterian Hospital in New York, New York.

Benjamin Honton, MD, who is an interventional cardiologist at Clinique Pasteur in Toulouse, France, added, “In earlier iterations of the technology, physicians often had to rely on additional ancillary devices to achieve optimal positioning, and treatment was generally limited to a distal-to-proximal approach in coronary lesions. The balloon rewrap capability of the Shockwave C2 Aero enables easier repositioning, allowing both proximal and distal movement within the vessel, as well as lesion recrossing when needed. This added flexibility facilitates the treatment of more complex patterns of calcification and supports more tailored pulse delivery strategies, including in multivessel disease, expanding what can be achieved with IVL.”