The Boston Scientific Corporation (abbreviated BSC), is a worldwide developer, manufacturer and marketer of medical devices whose products are used in a range of interventional medical specialties, including interventional cardiology

Cardiology

Cardiology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the heart . The field includes diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart disease and electrophysiology...

, peripheral interventions, neuromodulation

Neuromodulation

In Neuromodulation several classes of neurotransmitters regulate diverse populations of central nervous system neurons...

, neurovascular intervention, electrophysiology

Electrophysiology

Electrophysiology is the study of the electrical properties of biological cells and tissues. It involves measurements of voltage change or electric current on a wide variety of scales from single ion channel proteins to whole organs like the heart...

, cardiac surgery

Cardiac surgery

Cardiovascular surgery is surgery on the heart or great vessels performed by cardiac surgeons. Frequently, it is done to treat complications of ischemic heart disease , correct congenital heart disease, or treat valvular heart disease from various causes including endocarditis, rheumatic heart...

, vascular surgery

Vascular surgery

Vascular surgery is a specialty of surgery in which diseases of the vascular system, or arteries and veins, are managed by medical therapy, minimally-invasive catheter procedures, and surgical reconstruction. The specialty evolved from general and cardiac surgery...

, endoscopy

Endoscopy

Endoscopy means looking inside and typically refers to looking inside the body for medical reasons using an endoscope , an instrument used to examine the interior of a hollow organ or cavity of the body. Unlike most other medical imaging devices, endoscopes are inserted directly into the organ...

, oncology

Oncology

Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer...

, urology

Urology

Urology is the medical and surgical specialty that focuses on the urinary tracts of males and females, and on the reproductive system of males. Medical professionals specializing in the field of urology are called urologists and are trained to diagnose, treat, and manage patients with urological...

 and gynecology.

Boston Scientific is well known for the development of the Taxus

Taxus

Taxus is a genus of yews, small coniferous trees or shrubs in the yew family Taxaceae. They are relatively slow-growing and can be very long-lived, and reach heights of 1-40 m, with trunk diameters of up to 4 m...

 Stent

Stent

In the technical vocabulary of medicine, a stent is an artificial 'tube' inserted into a natural passage/conduit in the body to prevent, or counteract, a disease-induced, localized flow constriction. The term may also refer to a tube used to temporarily hold such a natural conduit open to allow...

, a drug-eluting stent

Drug-eluting stent

A drug-eluting stent ' is a peripheral or coronary stent placed into narrowed, diseased peripheral or coronary arteries that slowly releases a drug to block cell proliferation. This prevents fibrosis that, together with clots , could otherwise block the stented artery, a process called restenosis...

 which is used to open clogged arteries.

Boston Scientific's main competitors are Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson is an American multinational pharmaceutical, medical devices and consumer packaged goods manufacturer founded in 1886. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company is listed among the Fortune 500....

, Medtronic

Medtronic

Medtronic, Inc. , based in suburban Minneapolis, Minnesota, is the world's largest medical technology company and is a Fortune 500 company.- History :...

, and St. Jude Medical

St. Jude Medical

St. Jude Medical, Inc. is a $16 billion global medical device company, with headquarters in Little Canada, Minnesota, United States, a suburb of St. Paul. The company sells products in more than 100 countries and has over 20 operations and manufacturing facilities worldwide. Its principal...

.
On April 21, 2006, the company acquired longtime competitor Guidant

Guidant

Guidant Corporation, part of Boston Scientific and Abbott Labs, designs and manufactures artificial pacemakers, implantable defibrillators, stents, and other cardiovascular medical products. Their company headquarters is located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Their main competitors are Medtronic, St...

 for $27.2 billion. The former Guidant was split between BSC and Abbott Laboratories

Abbott Laboratories

Abbott Laboratories is an American-based global, diversified pharmaceuticals and health care products company. It has 90,000 employees and operates in over 130 countries. The company headquarters are in Abbott Park, North Chicago, Illinois. The company was founded by Chicago physician, Dr....

.




Navilyst Medical

Navilyst Medical

Navilyst Medical headquartered in Marlborough, MA, was formed in February 2008 from Boston Scientific's Fluid Management and Vascular Access business units. Its devices including PASV Valve Technology, expanded line of Xcela PICCs, NAMIC Fluid Management products and Exodus Drainage Catheters help...

 was formed in February 2008 from Boston Scientific's Fluid Management and Vascular Access business units.

In October 2010, the company was fined $600,000 by the US Department of Justice for paying a US Army doctor to use their devices and recommend them to others.

External links

• Boston Scientific official web site.
• Yahoo! - Boston Scientific Corporation Company Profile.
• Boston Scientific stock performance chart from GStock
  Gstock
  GStock is a distributed computing project formed in 2006 for stock market analysis. It is enabled by users that volunteer to download and run a software client and donate some idle capacity of their computer processing unit . The gathered computing power is used to search for an investment strategy...
  
  
• "Gamble wins big at Boston Scientific", boston.com.