FDA approves Medtronic device to treat aortic aneurysms

Medtronic Inc. (NYSE:MDT) said Monday that the Food and Drug Administration approved its Talent Captiva system to treat aortic aneurysms.

The medical device maker based in Fridley, Minnesota, is targeting an estimated 60,000 people in the United States that suffer from the disorder in which a dangerous bulge develops in the main artery near the heart. The bulge could rupture and cause death.

The Talent Capitva system consists of a stent graft that doctors insert through the femoral artery. Doctors inflate the device once it reaches the aorta, which relieves pressure on the bulge by creating a new path through which blood can flow.

“The Captivia Delivery System’s tip-capture mechanism is designed to provide excellent control of the stent graft during deployment to ensure that blood flow isn’t occluded into the nearby arteries,” Dr. Edward Y. Woo, vice-chief and program director of vascular surgery and endovascular therapy for the University of Pennsylvania Hospital System, said in a statement. “This improvement to the delivery system also increases my confidence in the device’s deployment accuracy.”