St Jude Medical receives CE Mark for Assura defibrillators

St Jude Medical has been granted European CE Mark approval for a new range of implantable defibrillators for use in cardiac rhythm management applications.

The Assura portfolio of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and cardiac resynchronisation therapy defibrillators (CRT-Ds) feature Shockguard technology and use three algorithms that help protect patients against inappropriate shocks while providing the highest amount of delivered energy.

Its new Fortify Assura ICD has the highest delivered energy of any product of its kind, while the Quadra Assura CRT-D features first-to-market quadripolar pacing technology and the Unify Assura CRT-D boasts a small footprint for reduced incision size.

Dr Eric Fain, president of the St Jude Medical implantable electronic systems division, said: "St Jude Medical understands patients' needs vary, which is why we are excited to add three new defibrillation technologies in Europe to our complete portfolio of cardiac rhythm management devices."

This comes after the company recently announced that its board of directors has authorised a $1 billion (622.1 million pounds) share repurchasing arrangement, showing its confidence in the firm's long-term growth prospects.