St. Jude Medical Inc.has received approval from U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European CE Mark for its Strada Carotid Guiding Sheath. The equipment is a flexible tube available in 80 and 90 cm working lengths through which physicians can deliver balloon catheters, stents and other tools to open blockages in the carotid arteries.

Covidien Ltd. has received approval from the FDA to market a surgery kit for use in laparoscopic procedures. Covidien’s SILS Procedure Kits can be used by surgeons to perform the procedures through a single incision through a patient’s belly button. The kit is set for launch this summer.