Exhibit 99.1

                     i-STAT Announces First Quarter Results
           Progress on Rebuilding Distribution Infrastructure Reported

      EAST WINDSOR, NJ, April 24, 2003 - i-STAT Corporation (Nasdaq: STAT), the
leading manufacturer of point-of-care diagnostic systems for blood analysis,
today announced its consolidated financial results for the first quarter of
2003.

 Quarter Results

      For the three months ended March 31, 2003, i-STAT's consolidated net
revenues were approximately $15.4 million, up from $14.4 million for the quarter
ended March 31, 2002. Gross margin on total net revenues for the first quarter
of 2003 was approximately $3.9 million, up 136.2% from $1.7 million in the first
quarter of 2002. The net loss for the first quarter of 2003 was approximately
$0.6 million, down from a net loss of $3.8 million for the first quarter of
2002. The net loss to common stockholders for the quarter was approximately $1.1
million or $0.05 per share, after Preferred Stock dividends of approximately
$0.4 million and accretion of Preferred Stock of approximately $0.1 million, as
compared with a net loss to common stockholders for the quarter ended March 31,
2002 of $4.4 million or $0.22 per share, after Preferred Stock dividends of
approximately $0.5 million and accretion of Preferred Stock of approximately
$0.1 million.

      These consolidated results include cartridge sales of approximately $11.2
million and analyzer sales of approximately $2.4 million for the first quarter
of 2003, compared with $9.3 million generated from cartridge sales and $2.9
million in analyzer sales for the three months ended March 31, 2002.
Approximately 3.5 million cartridges were sold in the first quarter of 2003, up
28.6% from shipments in the first quarter of 2002 of approximately 2.7 million
units and up 5.6% from shipments of 3.3 million units in the fourth quarter of
2002.

      Other income during the quarter ending March 31, 2003 included
approximately $1.4 million in currency exchange gains related to short-term,
intercompany debt owed by the Company's Canadian manufacturing subsidiary.
<PAGE>

      As of March 31, 2003, i-STAT had approximately $28.0 million in cash and
cash equivalents and total marketable securities, up from $27.1 million at
December 31, 2002.

      Analyzer sales for the first quarter of 2003 totaled 936 units, down 20.3%
from the 1,175 units shipped in the first quarter of 2002. Analyzer sales were
high early in 2002 due to a significant program conducted by Abbott Laboratories
to upgrade existing customers to the newer i-STAT(R) 1 analyzer, a unit that
incorporates the ability to read Medisense(R) glucose strips marketed by Abbott.
This program met with early success and the demand for such upgrades has largely
been met.

Additions to Management

      The Company continues to take actions to broaden and strengthen its
management team in preparation for resumption of direct product distribution in
2004. In March, David Phillips joined the Company as Director of Marketing with
a significant and distinguished record of leadership in developing the point of
care market with Roche Diagnostics. In April 2003, Steven Parker joined the
Company as General Manager, heading up the Company's program to directly market
product in Europe.

Corporate Update

      Actions to prepare for the transition to direct product distribution that
began early in 2002 continue, with staffing of the sales specialist portion of
the Company's sales force focused on existing customers and the introduction of
new products. The other Company sales force, its sales consultant group largely
hired in 2002, is fully active and in the field, with the objective of assuring
broad adoption of the concept of point-of-care blood testing (POCT) by the
clinical, management and laboratory leaders. Continued adoption by hospitals not
currently using POCT remains critical to reestablishing the aggressive rates of
sales growth. Most of these sales consultant positions have now been filled for
approximately one year and these personnel are becoming increasingly established
in their territories and skilled in managing this complex, consultative sale.
Both teams will be fully trained and operational by January 2004.
<PAGE>

      The i-STAT System and POCT have been promoted through the marketing
efforts of Abbott during the term of its agreement with the Company, along with
Abbott's many other diagnostic products, most of which address the needs of the
hospital central clinical laboratory. This year, the Company is launching an
intensive marketing program, focused solely on accelerating the adoption of POCT
and the i-STAT System. This program is being led by David Phillips and has
already resulted in independent attendance by i-STAT at the recent American
College of Cardiology meeting in Chicago, the first such activity by the Company
in five years. Increased direct clinician contact at meetings, symposia and
conventions will continue along with journal articles, direct mail,
telemarketing, user groups, product positioning studies and other interventions
to aggressively bring the value of the i-STAT System to clinicians and
administrators in target hospitals.

      While POCT, with its inherently faster therapeutic turnaround time is
broadly assumed and anecdotally reported to be of significant value in securing
superior patient clinical outcomes, little exists in the literature to support
these reports. In 2002, the Company initiated work on five prospective outcome
studies to document the clinical value of rapid, accurate blood test results at
the point of patient care.

      These studies are investigating such outcomes as:

            o     reduction in the need for blood replacement with lower test
                  volumes;

            o     reduction in ventilator time;

            o     reduction in ICU length of stay with rapid monitoring of blood
                  gases;

            o     reduction in morbidity and mortality with trauma patients.

      It is anticipated that these studies will result in peer-reviewed
publications available to the clinical community. One of these studies is
expected to conclude later this year as protocols developed for the other four
initial studies are completed and work on those studies begins. The studies are
being conducted at major research hospitals including Stanford University
Medical Center in Palo Alto, CA; Sentara Norfolk General in Norfolk, VA;
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angles, CA; and Harris Methodist Medical
Center in Fort Worth, TX.
<PAGE>

New Product Programs

      Prothrombin Time (PT) - In 2002, i-STAT received Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) clearance to market its prothrombin time (or "PT") test
used to monitor patients on anti-coagulant therapy, such as COUMADIN(R), to
prevent blood clot formation. Commercial distribution of an easy to use "finger
stick" version of this product began in March 2003. Testing frequency for these
otherwise well, ambulatory patients has been positively correlated with improved
long-term clinical results, making ease-of-use a critical point of product
differentiation. Short-term evaluations of the product are underway at selected
high-volume hospital and clinic sites throughout the U.S. Commercial production
has begun to support anticipated demand as evaluations convert to routine
clinical usage.

      Troponin I - This cardiac marker, the Company's first immunoassay test, is
specified in new guidelines published by the American College of Cardiology
(ACC) and the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) which stress the need to
obtain rapid test results to speed diagnosis and therapeutic intervention for
patients who may have suffered cardiac injury.

      Clinical trials to collect data in support of the filing of a 510(k)
Notification with the FDA began in December 2002 at Hennepin County Medical
Center in Minneapolis (a University of Minnesota affiliate) and have continued
at Washington University in St. Louis, MO and at the University of Maryland in
Baltimore, MD. These trials demonstrated sensitivity equivalent to that
available from central laboratory testing systems while providing the clinician
with a reading of the patient's Troponin I level in approximately 10 minutes,
compared to the 30-60 minute response time provided by the best central labs.

      A paper prepared by Dr. Frederick Apple, lead investigator for the
Hennepin County Medical Center trial, has been accepted for oral presentation to
the Society of Chest Pain Clinics and Providers Conference in May 2003. This and
other data to support the filing of a 510(k) Notification, seeking permission to
market this Troponin I test, has been collected and the filing is anticipated
later this spring. Subject to FDA approval, launch of this product is
anticipated in the second-half of this year.

      Kaolin Activated Clotting Time (ACT) - Discussions with the FDA regarding
the 510(k) Notification seeking permission to market our kaolin ACT coagulation
test continue.
<PAGE>

This coagulation test is the companion test to the Celite(R) ACT coagulation
test already being marketed by the Company. It is critical that patients
undergoing invasive cardiac procedures have the coagulation characteristics of
their blood monitored constantly. Clinicians select either the Celite ACT or the
kaolin ACT test, based upon the specific drug therapy being used. The Company
believes that the ability to market both of these tests will increase the
utility of the i-STAT System in cardiovascular operating rooms.

Conference Call

      In conjunction with this first quarter press release, i-STAT will host a
conference call beginning at 10:30 a.m. EDT on Thursday, April 24, 2003. To
participate via telephone, dial (973) 582-2703 or go to the i-STAT web site at
www.i-stat.com and click on the live webcast link. Please log onto the web site
at least 15 minutes prior to the call in order to register, download and install
any necessary software. The call will be available for replay on the Company web
site in the Investor Info section.

      i-STAT Corporation develops, manufactures and markets diagnostic products
for blood analysis that provide health care professionals critical diagnostic
information accurately and immediately at the point of patient care. Through the
use of advanced semiconductor manufacturing technology, established principles
of electrochemistry and state-of-the-art computer electronics, i-STAT developed
the world's first hand-held automated blood analyzer capable of performing a
panel of commonly ordered blood tests on two or three drops of blood in just two
minutes at the patient's side.

      Certain statements in this press release may relate to future events and
expectations and as such constitute "forward-looking statements," within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words
"believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," and similar expressions are
intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may
cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be
materially different from any future results, performance or achievements
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and to vary
significantly from reporting period to reporting period. Such factors include,
among others, competition from existing manufacturers and marketers of blood
analysis products who have greater resources than the Company, economic and
geopolitical conditions affecting the Company's target markets, acts of
terrorism, the uncertainty of new product development initiatives, the ability
to attract and retain key scientific, technological and management personnel,
dependence upon limited sources for product manufacturing components, upon a
single manufacturing facility and upon innovative and highly technical
manufacturing techniques, market resistance to new products and point-of-care
blood diagnosis, inconsistency in customer order patterns, domestic and
international regulatory constraints, uncertainties of international trade,
pending and potential disputes concerning ownership of intellectual property,
availability of capital upon favorable terms and dependence upon and contractual
relationships with strategic partners, particularly Abbott Laboratories. In
addition, the Company's decision to end its alliance with Abbott Laboratories
and resume direct distribution of its products involves additional risks and
uncertainties that are difficult to quantify at this time. For example the
Company may incur costs or recognize revenues in connection
<PAGE>

with resuming direct distribution that are greater or lesser, respectively, than
anticipated. See additional discussion under "Factors That May Affect Future
Results" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December
31, 2002, and other factors detailed from time to time in the Company's other
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.


COUMADIN(R) is a registered trademark of Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.
Celite(R) is a registered trademark of Celite Corporation for its diatomaceous
earth products.

                          [Financial Tables To Follow]
<PAGE>

                               i-STAT Corporation

                      Consolidated Statements of Operations

                                   (unaudited)

           (in thousands of dollars; except share and per share data)

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                                       Three Months Ended
                                                                                            March 31,
                                                                                 ------------------------------
                                                                                     2003               2002
                                                                                 -----------       ------------
<S>                                                                              <C>               <C>
Net revenues:
     Related party net revenues............................................       $   12,971        $    11,556
     Third party net revenues..............................................            2,237              2,669
     Other related party net revenues......................................              175                175
                                                                                 -----------       ------------
         Total net revenues ...............................................           15,383             14,400

Cost of net revenues.......................................................           11,481             12,748
                                                                                 -----------       ------------

Gross margin on total net revenues.........................................            3,902              1,652

Operating expenses:
     Research and development..............................................            1,721              1,886
     Sales and marketing...................................................            2,670              2,180
     General and administrative............................................            1,616              1,527
                                                                                 -----------       ------------

         Total operating expenses..........................................            6,007              5,593
                                                                                 -----------       ------------

              Operating loss...............................................      (     2,105)      (      3,941)

Other income, net..........................................................            1,542                189
                                                                                 -----------       ------------

Net loss...................................................................      (       563)      (      3,752)

Accretion of Preferred Stock...............................................             (114)      (        112)
Dividends on Preferred Stock...............................................             (413)      (        549)
                                                                                 ------------      -------------

Net loss available to Common Stockholders..................................      ($    1,090)      ($     4,413)
                                                                                 ===========       ============

Basic and diluted net loss per share available to Common Stockholders......      ($     0.05)      ($      0.22)
                                                                                 ===========       ============

Shares used in computing basic and diluted net loss per share
     available to Common Stockholders......................................       20,117,110         19,980,887
                                                                                 ===========       ============
</TABLE>
<PAGE>

                               i-STAT Corporation

                           Consolidated Balance Sheets

                                   (unaudited)

           (in thousands of dollars; except share and per share data)

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
                                                                                  March 31,          December 31,
                                                                                    2003                2002
         ASSETS                                                                  -----------         ------------
<S>                                                                              <C>                  <C>
Current assets:
     Cash and cash equivalents.............................................       $   11,612           $ 27,059
     Marketable securities, current........................................           11,796                 --
     Accounts receivable from related party, net...........................            5,990              7,070
     Accounts receivable, net..............................................            1,030                393
     Inventories...........................................................           13,622             14,509
     Prepaid expenses and other current assets.............................            1,210              2,089
                                                                                 -----------          ---------
         Total current assets..............................................           45,260             51,120
Marketable securities, long-term...........................................            4,595                 --
Plant and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation of
     $39,299 in 2003 and $36,130 in 2002...................................           11,900             11,858
Other assets...............................................................              978                980
                                                                                 -----------          ---------
         Total assets......................................................       $   62,733           $ 63,958
                                                                                 ===========          =========
         LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' (DEFICIT) EQUITY
Current liabilities:
     Accounts payable......................................................       $    1,603           $  2,927
     Accrued expenses......................................................            3,879              4,860
     Related party liability, current.....................................            10,019             10,019
     Deferred revenue, current.............................................              120                 30
                                                                                 -----------          ---------
         Total current liabilities.........................................           15,621             17,836
     Deferred revenue - non-current........................................            1,900                 --
     Deferred liability - related party, non-current.......................           47,000             47,000
                                                                                 -----------          ---------
         Total liabilities.................................................           64,521             64,836
                                                                                 -----------          ---------

Series D Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock, liquidation value
     $33,270 in 2003 and  $32,617 in 2002..................................           28,988             28,223

Stockholders' (deficit) equity:
     Preferred Stock, $0.10 par value, 7,000,000 shares authorized:
         Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, $0.10 par value,
         1,500,000 shares authorized; none issued..........................               --                 --
         Series C Convertible Preferred Stock, $0.10 par value,
         25,000 shares authorized; none issued.............................               --                 --
     Common Stock, $0.15 par value, 50,000,000 shares authorized:
         20,157,927 shares issued and 20,117,110 shares outstanding
         in 2003 and 2002..................................................            3,024              3,024
     Treasury Stock, at cost, 40,817 shares................................      (       750)         (     750)
     Additional paid-in capital............................................          252,005            252,771
     Loan to officer, net..................................................      (        12)         (      93)
     Accumulated deficit...................................................      (   283,568)         ( 283,005)
     Accumulated other comprehensive loss..................................      (     1,475)         (   1,048)
                                                                                 -----------          ---------
         Total stockholders' (deficit) equity..............................      (    30,776)         (  29,101)
                                                                                 -----------          ---------
         Total liabilities and stockholders' (deficit) equity..............       $   62,733           $ 63,958
                                                                                 ===========          =========
</TABLE>