St. Jude Medical wins CE Mark for Infinity DBS device

St. Jude Medical (NYSE:STJ) said today that it won CE Mark approval in the European Union for its Infinity deep-brain stimulation device and directional lead for treating movement disorders.

Little Canada, Minn.-based St. Jude said the Infinity system is designed so that Apple (NSDQ:AAPL) mobile devices can be used as wireless controllers, via a Bluetooth connection. It’s the only upgradable DBS system for movement disorders including Parkinson’s disease, tremor and dystonia.

The directional leads are designed to allow doctors to “steer” current to different parts of the brain, tailoring treatment to reduce side effects, St. Jude said.

“The Infinity DBS system, including our directional lead and wireless technology, represents a major step forward in our DBS product portfolio, demonstrating St. Jude Medical’s commitment to patient-centric solutions to help alleviate the debilitating effects of movement disorders,” president Dr. Eric Fain said in prepared remarks. “Not only are we able to offer therapy solutions for a broad set of indications for movement disorders, but we’ve also designed the system to provide patients the best possible experience with their therapy while helping physicians manage their patients more efficiently and effectively.”

Patients using the Infinity system can link it to Apple’s iPod Touch; physicians can program the device using the Apple iPad Mini, according to St. Jude.

“The new St. Jude Medical Infinity DBS system is enabling physicians to improve management of our patient’s symptoms so we can tailor our therapy approach and provide optimal treatment solutions unique to the patient,” added Dr. Jan Vesper of Dusseldorf’s Heinrich Heine University. “In addition to the benefits associated with the new Infinity platform, with the St. Jude Medical directional lead physicians will have access to a tremendous leap forward in technology that has the potential to support improved patient outcomes and potentially reduce side effects.”

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