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Patent Lineup: Recent Noteworthy Medtech Patents

Innovation depends on protecting intellectual property.

By: Niki Arrowsmith

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  • Immunoassay test kit developer and manufacturer American Bio Medica Corporation of Kinderhook, N.Y., has been granted a U.S. patent for its urine point-of-collection drug test cup product lines, the Rapid TOX Cup II and the RDS InCup. Patent number 8,206,661 protects the development of a test device that features a transparent container (for storing a liquid sample) and test strips within the container that can detect the presence of particular drugs. The new patent expands American Bio’s intellectual property portfolio for drug abuse testing to 14 U.S. patents and 15 foreign patents.
  • BIOLASE Inc., an Irvine, Calif.-based dental laser manufacturer and distributor, has been awarded a U.S. patent for technology that treats and removes deposits from tissue surfaces. Patent number 8,221,117 B2 safeguards the expertise that enables a radially firing or side firing endodontic probe to combine multiple wavelengths of infrared and near-infrared lasers with biofluids or biopowders comprised of one or more biologically active particles or cleaning agents. The new patent expands Biolase’s intellectual property portfolio in laser endodontics to a total of 14 issued and 19 pending patents, with eight issued/eight pending in the United States and six issued/11 pending internationally. “We believe the elements included in this new patent, in combination with our other related IP, move us closer to our goal of having technologies and patents that offer a thorough and protected process of root canal sterilization, which should attract more general practitioners and endodontists that have not yet adopted laser endodontic therapy,” Chairman/CEO Frederico Pignatelli said.
  • The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a patent to Cohera Medical Inc. of Pittsburgh, Pa., for its biodegradable adhesive technology. The new patent (No. 8,182,647—“Hydrophilic Biodegradable Adhesives) covers various products, including TissuGlu Surgical Adhesive, which is used for large flap tissue approximation, and other items of varying strengths and cure properties. “This patent protects the core of our proprietary technology as well as the key features of our products…” Cohera President/CEO Patrick Daly said. Formed in 2004, the company develops absorbable surgical adhesives and sealants; last year it received CE Mark approval for TissuGlu and began selling it to German hospitals and surgeons. The product currently is undergoing clinical trials in the United States.
  • Ivera Medical Corporation of San Diego, Calif., has been issued a new continuation patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its Curos disinfecting port protector technology. Patent number 8,206,514 covers key aspects of disinfecting caps used with luer-activated intravenous (IV) valves to disinfect and clean the IV port. The company’s Curos Port Protector features two disinfection options for luer-activated needleless valves—the Curos Strip or individual Curos. “This patent further strengthens our patent protection within the disinfection cap arena,” Ivera Medical CEO Bob Rogers said.
  • The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted three patents to Miracor Medical Systems GmbH, an Austrian company with expertise in improving outcomes for heart attack and cardiac surgery patients. The new patents cover a dual balloon method and the new “Wien Algorithm” of its PICSO (Pressure-controlled Intermittent Coronary Sinus Occlusion) Impulse system, which helps improve blood flow in heart tissue and enhances the heart’s overall function after a severe coronary attack. Approved by European regulators, the PICSO Impulse System can be used during balloon angioplasty, stent placement or other methods for improving coronary blood flow. The PICSO approach intermittently increases pressure in the coronary venous system, thereby redistributing blood flow into the affected heart tissue and, in some patients, also increases coronary artery perfusion pressure.
  • Menlo Park, Calif.-based Nevro Corp. has been awarded two U.S. patents associated with its Senza High-Frequency Spinal Cord Stimulation System, a product that delivers electrical pulses to the spinal cord to reduce the transmission of pain signals to the brain. The electrical pulses are delivered by small electrodes placed near the spinal cord and connected to a compact, battery-powered generator implanted under the skin. Patent number 8,170,675 covers methods for delivering pulsed electrical signals to the spinal cord’s epidural area at frequencies between 1.5 kilohertz (kHz) and 50 kHz to relieve chronic leg or back pain without triggering a tingling buzzing sensation known as paresthesia. The Senza System is sold in Europe and Australia but is limited to investigational use in the United States.

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