Fifth Patent Granted to Soundbite Medical

Soundbite Medical Solutions Inc. has been awarded another patent for its core technology. 

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued the company a patent for treating blood vessel lesions with shock waves (i.e., high-amplitude broadband mechanical pulses). The patent is titled, “Device for delivering mechanical waves through a balloon catheter.”

“Building our patent portfolio to address complex calcium is a testament to our highly talented engineering team. The pursuit of excellence in serving our patients with clinical solutions begins with medical devices that are unique, differentiated, and of the highest quality. Protecting that work while innovating to meet the growing challenges inherent in calcific occlusive disease will establish Soundbite as a leader in its field,” President and CEO Lori Chmura said.
 
This latest patent is the fifth to be issued around the Soundbite technology, which features a catheter body, an inflatable balloon, and at least one mechanical waveguide connected to a source of high amplitude broadband mechanical pulses for propagating the pulses to the lesion. The patent protects novel Soundbite Active Balloon devices, intended for plaque modification of calcified arteries.
 
Calcification is a dominant hallmark of advanced atherosclerotic disease and is often underestimated and under-treated. Problematic calcium in the form of stenosis and chronic total occlusions (CTOs) are encountered frequently in patients with both coronary and peripheral artery disease. These occlusions are associated with a higher risk of adverse events, decreased quality of life, worse procedural success and treatment outcomes, and increased healthcare costs. Moderate to severe calcium is present in half of peripheral artery disease patients with severe claudication, and the numbers are even higher (more than 65 percent) in CLI patients. An estimated 30 percent to 40 percent of patients undergoing PCI have calcification as determined by coronary angiography.

The patent allows Soundbite to compete in the plaque modification space with a broader array of active devices addressing a larger market and clinical challenge. 
 
Soundbite is a privately-held medical device company developing solutions for the interventional treatment of calcific peripheral and coronary arterial diseases. Soundbite has developed and deployed a proprietary method to produce and safely deliver shock waves to calcified lesions using an array of devices to improve and transform the standard of care for treatment of patients suffering from calcified and occlusive cardiovascular disease.