St. Jude Medical (STJ) recently received CE Mark approval for its EnSite Contact Technology platform. St. Jude’s latest technology consists of a system comprising a hardware module, ablation catheters, and associated software that determines the degree of contact between the tip of an ablation catheter and the endocardial tissue at the time of cardiac ablation therapy procedures. St. Jude’s EnSite Contact Technology platform has not as yet been commercialized in the US.
Cardiac arrhythmias are treated with cardiac ablation catheters. Ablation catheters are tubes that non-invasively deliver radiofrequency energy to specific cardiac tissue in order to create small scars and lesions to interrupt abnormal electrical signals that lead to irregular heart rhythms.
Cardiac ablation procedures are useful in treating cardiac arrhythmias or irregular heartbeat. The refinement of contact between the tip of the ablation catheter and tissue is a key determinant in proper delivery of radiofrequency energy for catheter ablation procedures. The accurate measurement of radiofrequency energy located between the tip of the ablation catheter and tissue facilitates superior control, by medical practitioners, over the positioning of the catheter during procedures. Improved measurement is expected to overcome a serious information shortage involving current ablation cases.
St. Jude’s EnSite Contact Technology is compatible with both its EnSite Velocity System and the EnSite System. It is intended for use with the Contact Therapy Cool Path Duo Ablation Catheter as well as other potential irrigated ablation catheters under development.
Medical practitioners formerly relied on qualitative techniques such as fluoroscopic imaging and tactile imaging to gauge the level of contact between the tip of ablation catheter and tissue. St. Jude’s Technology is designed to overcome such limitations by developing real-time and quantitative measurement of the electrical contact between tip and tissue.
Read the full analyst report on “STJ”
Zacks Investment Research
