EXHIBIT 99.1
                                        
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT FOR PURPOSES OF THE SAFE HARBOR PROVISIONS OF THE PRIVATE
SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995

    From time to time, in both written reports and in oral statements by the
Company's senior management, expectations and other statements are expressed
regarding future performance of the Company.  These forward-looking statements
are inherently uncertain and investors must recognize that events could turn out
to be different than such expectations and statements.  Key factors impacting
current and future performance are discussed in the Company's Annual Report on
Form 10-K with which this Exhibit is filed and other filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission (the "Commission"). In addition to such information in
the Company's Annual Report on form 10-K and its other filings with the
Commission, the following risk factors should be considered in evaluating the
Company and its business, as well as in reviewing forward-looking statements
contained in the Company's periodic reports filed with the Commission and in
oral statements made by the Company's senior management.  The Company's actual
results could differ materially from such forward-looking statements due to
material risks, uncertainties and contingencies, including, without limitation,
those set forth below.

STRINGENT GOVERNMENT REGULATION

    The Company's products are subject to extensive regulation by the Food and
Drug Administration (the "FDA") and, in some jurisdictions, by state and foreign
governmental authorities.  In particular, the Company must obtain specific
clearance or approval from the FDA before it can market new products or certain
modified products in the United States.  With the exception of one product, the
Company has, to date, obtained FDA marketing clearance only through the 510(k)
premarket notification process.  Certain products under development and future
product applications, however, will require approval through the more rigorous
Premarket Approval application ("PMA") process.  The process of obtaining such
clearances or approvals can be time consuming and expensive, and there can be no
assurance that all clearances or approvals sought by the Company will be granted
or that FDA review will not involve delays adversely affecting the marketing and
sale of the Company's products.  The Company is required to adhere to applicable
regulations setting forth current Good Manufacturing Practices ("GMP") which
require that the Company manufacture its products and maintain its records in a
prescribed manner with respect to manufacturing, testing and control activities.
In addition, the Company is required to comply with FDA requirements for
labeling and promotion of its products.  Failure to comply with applicable
federal, state or foreign laws or regulations could subject the Company to
enforcement action, including product seizures, recalls, withdrawal of
clearances or approvals, and civil and criminal penalties, any one or more of
which could have a material adverse effect on the Company.  Medical device laws
and regulations with similar substantive and enforcement provisions are also in
effect in many of the foreign countries where the Company does business.
Federal, state and foreign laws and regulations regarding the manufacture and
sale of medical devices are subject to future changes.  No assurance can be
given that such changes will not have a material adverse effect on the Company.

SIGNIFICANT COMPETITION AND CONTINUAL TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE

    The markets for medical devices are highly competitive.  The Company
currently competes with many companies in the development and marketing of
catheters and related medical devices.  Some of the Company's competitors have
access to greater financial and other resources than the

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Company.  Furthermore, the markets for medical devices are characterized by
rapid product development and technological change.  The present or future
products of the Company could be rendered obsolete or uneconomical by
technological advances by one or more of the Company's current or future
competitors.  The Company's future success will depend upon its ability to
develop new products and technology to remain competitive with other developers
of catheters and related medical devices.  The Company's business strategy
emphasizes the continued development and commercialization of new products and
the enhancement of existing products for the critical care and interventional
procedure markets.  There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to
continue to successfully develop new products and to enhance existing products,
to manufacture these products in a commercially viable manner, to obtain
required regulatory approvals or to gain satisfactory market acceptance for such
products.

COST PRESSURES ON MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY AND PROPOSED HEALTH CARE REFORM

    The Company's products are purchased principally by hospitals, hospital
networks and hospital buying groups.  Although the Company's products are used
primarily for non-optional medical procedures, the Company believes that the
overall escalating cost of medical products and services has led and will
continue to lead to increased pressures upon the health care industry to reduce
the cost or usage of certain products and services, which has included and will
continue to include those of the Company.  In the United States, these cost
pressures are leading to increased emphasis on the price and cost-effectiveness
of any treatment regimen and medical device.  In addition, third party payors,
such as governmental programs, private insurance plans and managed care plans,
which are billed by hospitals for such health care services, are increasingly
negotiating the prices charged for medical products and services and may deny
reimbursement if they determine that a device was not used in accordance with
cost-effective treatment methods as determined by the payor, was experimental,
unnecessary or used for an unapproved indication.  In international markets,
reimbursement systems vary significantly by country.  Many international markets
have government managed health care systems that control reimbursement for
certain medical devices and procedures and, in most such markets, there also are
private insurance systems which impose similar cost restraints.  There can be no
assurance that hospital purchasing decisions or government or private third
party reimbursement policies in the United States or in international markets
will not adversely affect the profitability of the Company's products.

    In recent years, several comprehensive health care reform proposals have
been introduced in the U.S. Congress.  While none of these proposals have to
date been adopted, the intent of these proposals was, generally, to expand
health care coverage for the uninsured and reduce the rate of growth of total
health care expenditures.  In addition, certain states have made significant
changes to their Medicaid programs and have adopted various measures to expand
coverage and limit costs.  Implementation of government health care reform and
other efforts to control costs may limit the price of, or the level at which
reimbursement is provided for, the Company's products. Similar initiatives to
limit the growth of health care costs, including price regulation, are also
underway in several other countries in which the Company does business. The
Company anticipates that Congress, state legislatures, foreign governments and
the private sector will continue to review and assess alternative health care
delivery and payment systems. The Company cannot predict what additional
legislation or regulation, if any, relating to the health care industry may be
enacted in the future or what impact the adoption of any federal, state or
foreign health care reform, private sector reform or market forces may have on
its business. No assurance can be given that any such reforms will not have a
material adverse effect on the medical device industry in general, or the
Company in particular.

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DEPENDENCE ON PATENTS AND PROPRIETARY RIGHTS

    The Company owns numerous U.S. and foreign patents and has several U.S. and
foreign patent applications pending.  The Company also has exclusive license
rights to certain patents held by third parties.  These patents relate to
aspects of the technology used in certain of the Company's products.  From time
to time, the Company is subject to legal actions involving patent and other
intellectual property claims.  Successful litigation against the Company
regarding its patents or infringement by the Company of the patent rights of
others could have a material adverse effect on the Company.  In addition, there
can be no assurance that pending patent applications will result in issued
patents or that patents issued to or licensed-in by the Company will not be
challenged or circumvented by competitors or found to be valid or sufficiently
broad to protect the Company's technology or to provide it with any competitive
advantage.  The Company also relies on trade secrets and proprietary technology
that it seeks to protect, in part, through confidentiality agreements with
employees, consultants and other parties.  There can be no assurance that these
agreements will not be breached, that the Company will have adequate remedies
for any breach, that others will not independently develop substantially
equivalent proprietary information or that third parties will not otherwise gain
access to the Company's trade secrets.

    There has been substantial litigation regarding patent and other
intellectual property rights in the medical devices industry.  Historically,
litigation has been necessary to enforce certain patent and trademark rights
held by the Company.  Future litigation may be necessary to enforce patent and
other intellectual property rights belonging to the Company, to protect trade
secrets or know-how owned by the Company or to defend the Company against
claimed infringement of the rights of others and to determine the scope and
validity of the proprietary rights of the Company and others.  Any such
litigation could result in substantial cost to and diversion of effort by the
Company.  Adverse determinations in any such litigation could subject the
Company to significant liabilities to third parties, could require the Company
to seek licenses from third parties and could prevent the Company from
manufacturing, selling or using certain of its products, any of which could have
a material adverse effect on the Company's business, financial condition and
results of operations.

RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS

    The Company generates significant sales outside the United States and is
subject to risks generally associated with international operations, such as
unexpected changes in regulatory requirements, tariffs, customs, duties and
other trade barriers, difficulties in staffing and managing foreign operations,
longer payment cycles, problems in collecting accounts receivable, political
risks, fluctuations in currency exchange rates, foreign exchange controls which
restrict or prohibit repatriation of funds, technology export and import
restrictions or prohibitions, delays from customs brokers or government agencies
and potentially adverse tax consequences resulting from operating in multiple
jurisdictions with different tax laws, which could materially adversely impact
the success of the Company's international operations. As its revenues from its
international operations increase, an increasing portion of the Company's
revenues and expenses are denominated in currencies other than U.S. dollars, and
changes in exchange rates could have a greater effect on the Company's results
of operations. There can be no assurance that such factors will not have a
material adverse effect on the Company's future operations and, consequently, on
the Company's business, results of operations and financial condition. In
addition, there can be no assurance that laws or administrative practices
relating to regulation of medical devices, taxation, foreign exchange or other
matters of countries within which the Company operates will not change. Any such
change could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, financial
condition and results of operations.

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POTENTIAL PRODUCT LIABILITY

    The Company's business exposes it to potential product liability risks which
are inherent in the testing and marketing of catheters and related medical
devices.  The Company's products are often used in intensive care settings with
seriously ill patients.  In addition, many of the medical devices manufactured
and sold by the Company are designed to be implanted in the human body for long
periods of time and component failures, manufacturing flaws, design defects or
inadequate disclosure of product-related risks with respect to these or other
products manufactured or sold by the Company could result in an unsafe condition
or injury to, or death of, the patient.  The occurrence of such a problem could
result in product liability claims and/or a recall of, or safety alert relating
to, one or more of the Company's products.  There can be no assurance that the
product liability insurance maintained by the Company will be available or
sufficient to satisfy all claims made against it or that the Company will be
able to obtain insurance in the future at satisfactory rates or in adequate
amounts.  Product liability claims or product recalls in the future, regardless
of their ultimate outcome, could result in costly litigation and could have a
material adverse effect on the Company's business or reputation or on its
ability to attract and retain customers for its products.

RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH DERIVATIVE FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS

    As a partial hedge against adverse fluctuations in exchange rates, the
Company periodically enters into foreign currency exchange contracts with
certain major financial institutions.  By their nature, all such contracts
involve risk, including the risk of nonperformance by counterparties.
Accordingly, losses relating to these contracts could have a material adverse
effect upon the Company's business, financial condition and results of
operations.  The Company's policy prohibits the use of derivative instruments
for speculative purposes.

DEPENDENCE ON KEY MANAGEMENT

    The Company's success depends upon the continued contributions of key
members of its senior management team, certain of whom have been with the
Company since its inception in 1975.  Accordingly, loss of the services of one
or more of these key members of management could have a material adverse effect
on the business of the Company.  None of these individuals has an employment
agreement with the Company.

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