St. Jude Joins Forces with Hansen - Analyst Blog

Medical devices giant St. Jude (STJ) has formed a strategic alliance with Hansen Medical (HNSN), a leader in medical robotics technology, to jointly develop products to treat heart rhythm disorders (arrhythmia) leveraging their proprietary technologies. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The deal will combine St. Jude’s coveted EnSite Velocity Cardiac Mapping System with Hansen’s Sensei X CoHesion 3D visualization module, which will enable physicians to use these devices to visualize, locate and robotically control catheters within the heart to diagnose arrhythmia. The companies plan to commercialize the integrated solution in the U.S. and the European Union.

St. Jude received the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for its EnSite Mapping System in September 2009. The system helps physicians to more efficiently diagnose and guide therapy to treat arrhythmia. The device has strengthened St. Jude’s Atrial Fibrillation (AF) business, which accounted for 13% of its sales in the most recent quarter.

The EnSite System is the leading cardiac mapping system used in minimally invasive electrophysiology procedures, which analyses the electrical activity of the heart. The system consists of catheters with electrodes (electric conductors) that are inserted into a cardiac chamber. These electrodes are then visualized by the system that records electrical information from the heart and displays it in a 3D anatomical model. The anatomical models (known as maps) help physicians to diagnose and guide therapy for arrhythmia.

EnSite enhances procedural efficiency and speed, thereby making it more user-friendly from set-up and operation to clinical application. The system is compatible with all diagnostic and ablation catheters, recording systems and energy sources used for ablation procedures.

Hansen’s Sensei X Robotic Catheter System (approved by the FDA in September 2009) is a next generation flexible robotic platform that uses robotic catheter technology to provide stable and accurate control of catheter movement during complex cardiac arrhythmia procedures.

Integration of Sensei X System’s 3D motion control with EnSite’s 3D visualization should enhance an electrophysiologist’s ability to visualize and place catheters in difficult-to-reach locations and maintain stability throughout interventional procedures.
 
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