University of California takes more action over AFib patents

The regents of the University of California, the institution’s governing body, has filed a  complaint against US-based medical device company AtriCure for allegedly infringing patents covering a method of treating atrial fibrillation.

Atrial fibrillation, also known as AFib, is the most common type of abnormal heart rhythm.

The two patents involved are US numbers 6,164,283 and 6,502,576, both titled “Device and method for forming a circumferential block in a pulmonary vein”.

The case, which was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division on Tuesday, November 8, arose after AtriCure allegedly adopted the patented method to manufacture and market a range of medical devices.

According to the complaint, AtriCure has, at all relevant times, had knowledge of the patents.

The complaint claimed that during the early 2000s, relevant medical professionals universally adopted the patented method as the accepted method of treating AFib.

St. Jude Medical was also recently sued by the regents over the same patents.

The university alleged that “all doctors in the US that perform surgical or catheter ablation procedures to treat AFib infringe the asserted patents, including at least representative claims 1 and 25 of the ‘283 patent, and claim 1 of the ‘576 patent.”

It is seeking damages, compensation, and costs for bringing the case to court.