Irvine Biomedical, a St. Jude Medical company, has received FDA approval to market their Therapy Cool Flex ablation catheter. St. Jude Medical developed the first ablation catheter with a fully-irrigated and flexible tip for treating cardiac arrhythmias, and their product has been used in European markets since 2010. The Therapy Cool Flex ablation catheter is used in the treatment of atrial flutter by finding and destroying small areas of cardiac tissue causing atrial flutters or other arrhythmias.
Once the catheter is guided up into the heart, electrodes at the tip of the catheter detect the location of the faulty tissues through electrical mapping. Once identified, the small areas causing atrial flutter are then destroyed with radiofrequency energy using the same catheter. The flexible coil spring-loaded and laser-cut tip has a unique open irrigation pattern and is designed for efficient cooling of the tip when used on cardiac tissue. The laser-cut electrode tip’s pattern permits the tip to be flexible, which allows even distribution of saline over the ablation site.
Flashback: St. Jude Medical Therapy Cool Flex Ablation Catheter Gets CE Mark
FDA overview of the product: Therapy™ Cool Flex™ Ablation Catheter…
Product page: Therapy Cool Flex Ablation Catheter…