PatIntNews

St. Jude Medical, which was named "Most Admired Medical and Precision Equipment Company" for the second time in Fortune Magazine's, is acquiring the Israeli medical-technology company MediGuide, which develops technology to guide catheters in minimally invasive medical procedures, for $283 million in cash.

"We believe MediGuide's proprietary technology may also extend across a variety of other product categories. We look forward to bringing this technology into our portfolio so that we can further develop and capture these potential opportunities," Daniel J. Starks, chairman, president and chief executive officer of St. Jude Medical, said

MediGuide was founded in 2001 as an internal division of Elbit Systems, which is one of Israel's largest defense electronics manufacturers. MediGuide developed medical uses for guidance technology that the parent company had developed. Many of the technologies developed by Israel's defense industry are successfully adapted to sectors across the board.

MediGuide's navigation system tracks a tiny sensor mounted on a needle, guide wire, catheter or other medical device placed in the body by a physician during a catheterization or other minimally invasive procedure

Mediguide has agreements with Medtronic, Siemens, Asahi Intecc of Japan, Boston Scientific, and Philips and will become part of St. Jude's atrial fibrillation division.

Minnesota-based St. Jude focuses mainly on technology to manage heartbeat rhythm, devices for cardiac surgery and implantable neuro-stimulation devices for the management of chronic pain.