St. Jude Medical purchased Endosense, an electrophysiology technology manufacturer, in a purchase agreement worth $331 million. Under the acquisition arrangement, Endosense will receive $170 million in an up-front payment. The company will receive an addition $161 million in milestone payments if its TactiCath meets certain goals.

The TactiCath device by Endosense is an irrigated ablation catheter. This device gives physicians the ability to take real-time readings of the amount of pressure applied to a patient's heart wall during ablation procedures.

As of now, the device has landed CE Mark status in the European Union for the treatment of supraventricular tachycardia and atrial fibrillation. The company hopes to land the FDA's blessing for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation by the latter part of 2013.

The force-sensing technology used by TactiCath may play an important role in St. Jude Medical's electrophysiology segment. The new technology will complement the low-radiation Cool Path Duo and Safire Duo. As of now, the global cardiac ablation catheter market carries a value of $900 million.

A trial of the TactiCath was first launched in February of this year. The study was bankrolled by a Series C funding round for $40.3 million, closed last November.

"The acquisition of Endosense further strengthens our industry-leading portfolio of products to treat patients with cardiac arrhythmias, and provides an opportunity to accelerate our market share capture in the $900 million global cardiac ablation catheter market," noted Frank Callaghan, a division president at St. Jude Medical.