The current market size for retrievable IVC filters is estimated at approximately $250 million in the US, and growing at 11% annually.  Currently, prophylactic indication is the most common reason for using retrievable IVC filters, and it is anticipated that 70% of the filters used over the next several years will fit into this category.

Recent CMS guidelines that eliminate reimbursement for the treatment of hospital acquired PE have highlighted the need for improved management of this condition.  The significance and potential for this market is further highlighted by the number of entrants into the field, with designs from Bard Peripheral Vascular, Cordis Corporation (a division of Johnson & Johnson), Boston Scientific Corporation, Cook Medical, and others competing for share.

However, the current IVC market is constrained by the limitations of the existing designs that address only a narrow therapeutic window, require additional procedures to insert and retrieve, complicate patient treatment logistics, and are cumbersome to remove.  The Angel™ Catheter has been designed to overcome these shortcomings, allowing the potential for substantially increased adoption of this means of PE prophylaxis.