St Jude Medical has received Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) approval and reimbursement approval for its Therapy Cool Path Ablation Catheter.

St Jude Medical Therapy Cool Path Ablation Catheter is a thin, flexible tube that delivers radiofrequency (RF) energy to specific areas of cardiac tissue to create lesions, or tiny scars, that interrupt the abnormal electrical signals that contribute to irregular heart rhythms.

St Jude Medical said that the Therapy Cool Path Catheters are designed to cool the ablation electrode with the intent of reducing some of the risk factors associated with the heat of the RF energy, such as blood coagulation and charring as the amount of energy required to create an effective cardiac lesion must be carefully balanced against tissue temperature.

Additionally, irrigation is designed to allow for the creation of larger and deeper lesions, because the saline fluid from the catheter helps to cool the catheter tip and tissue. The larger and deeper legions help to stop the arrhythmia at its source, which can be deep within the heart muscle by treating the area causing the abnormal heart rhythm.

Jane Song, president of the atrial fibrillation division at St Jude Medical, said: “With research continuing to demonstrate that ablation is safe and effective therapy for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias, we are pleased to offer advanced ablation technology to the Japanese market. The Therapy Cool Path ablation catheter is the first of many product and technology launches that will put more control in the hands of physicians.”