Medtronic, Inc. announced that it has begun the international launch of the Driver Sprint RX Coronary Stent System, which received the CE Mark in February 2009 and is planned to be commercially available in more than 100 countries worldwide. “The Driver stent system has always been very deliverable,” explained leading stent researcher Dr. C. Dubois of Leuven University Hospital in Belgium. “Now, the new Driver Sprint system makes it even more deliverable for the most challenging anatomy.” The new system combines the proven Driver Bare-Metal Stent (BMS), which is already recognized worldwide for being highly deliverable, with an improved delivery system. Specifically, it incorporates a new tip design for a low profile and an enhanced shaft design which together greatly improve the device’s deliverability. These innovations are also incorporated in Medtronic’s Endeavor Sprint and Resolute Drug-Eluting Stent Systems. The Driver stent has been thoroughly evaluated in a variety of research settings. The outcomes of more than 3,400 patients followed in both registries and randomized controlled trials have demonstrated the device’s clinical efficacy. Short-term target lesion revascularization (TLR) rates for Driver patients in registries are low, ranging from 3.4 – 9.4 percent at six months and from 6.7 – 7.0 percent at nine months. In addition, nearly 600 Driver patients were followed to four years in ENDEAVOR II, and five-year data from this trial is due for release at EuroPCR in May. The TLR rate for these Driver patients (n=599) at four years is low for a BMS at 15.8 percent.