Philips sues Boston Scientific over cardiac diagnostic patents

Health technology company Philips has accused Boston Scientific of infringing six patents through the sale of its Polaris guidance system and related medical devices.

Filed Friday, October 30, at the US District Court for the District of Delaware, Philips’ suit is seeking a permanent injunction against Boston Scientific, and damages.

The accused products include Boston Scientific’s percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) guidance system Polaris, intravascular measurement devices and catheters.

PCI is a common invasive cardiovascular procedure used to open blocked arteries or to narrow blood vessels.

Philips claimed that it is a leading designer and supplier of medical devices for use in PCI procedures and that each of the patents-in-suit relate to interventional cardiology or PCI.

“Defendant has infringed and continues to infringe one or more claims of each of the patents-in-suit literally and/or under the doctrine of equivalents by making, using, selling, offering for sale, and/or importing the accused products, and all reasonably similar products,” said the suit.

IP2IPO, a subsidiary of IP Group and a company which specialises in commercialising university technology, is also named as a plaintiff in the suit.

The company is the assignee and owner of US patent number 9,775,524, called “Apparatus and method of assessing a narrowing in a fluid filled tube”. Philips is an exclusive licensee of the ‘524 patent in the field of coronary pulse pressure waveform analysis.

In addition to direct infringement, the suit accused Boston Scientific of indirectly infringing the patents.

“Defendant knows the accused products are especially made or adapted for use by its customers in a manner that directly infringe the patents-in-suit,”  said the claim.

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