St. Jude Medical Inc. (NYSE: STJ) has received European regulatory approval for a catheter that’s used in cardiac ablation procedures for patients with irregular heartbeats.
The company said its Therapy Cool Flex is the industry’s first ablation catheter to have a flexible and irrigated tip, which could improve the device’s safety and efficacy, according to a company statement.
Cardiac ablation involves scarring heart tissue to create lesions that interrupt the electrical signals that cause irregular heart rhythms. Catheters are thin, flexible tubes used to deliver electromagnetic energy that destroys the tissue.
The catheter’s flexible tip allows it to bend to conform to the heart’s shape, according to the statement.
Receiving European regulatory approval, known as the CE Mark, means St. Jude is free to market the device on the continent. The Therapy Cool Flex catheter has not been cleared for U.S. sales.
Earlier in the week, St. Jude announced that it received the CE Mark for a cardiac ablation system called the EnSite Contact Technology platform, which measures the amount of electricity that’s being used to create heart lesions.