USPTO grants Micardia's patent concerning reshaping the anatomy of the heart

MiCardia® (MiCardia® Corporation, Irvine, California) today announced that The United States Patent Office granted patent number US7,594,887 B2, "Shape Memory Devices and Methods for Reshaping Heart Anatomy," on September 29th, 2009.

MiCardia Chief Technical Officer, Founder and co-inventor, Mr. Samuel Shaolian describes the patent as allowing for systems, methods and devices capable of reshaping the anatomy of the heart by implanting shape memory elements. Commenting on this patent issuance Mr. Shaolian said, "This patent foresees ways to manage disease caused by induced dilation of the ventricles of the heart and the associated reduced contractility of the heart muscle which leads ultimately to heart failure. MiCardia's technology allows adjustable implants in the heart to be tuned to positively affect stroke volume and cardiac output. If we can remodel the shape of the ventricles so that blood can be pumped out more efficiently, it may be possible to halt the progression of heart failure or even reverse it. The most recent patent is part of an expanding suite of intellectual property focused on shape memory and magnetically activated implantable technologies that we have developed since our founding. These devices represent a new generation of therapeutic implants that are truly dynamic and allow the physician to make adjustments to the heart's shape minimally invasively long after the initial procedure. By extending the therapeutic window of implantable heart devices we believe we can positively affect the long-term outcomes for patients."

Commenting on the most recent patent issuance, Mr. Paul Molloy, Chief Executive Officer at MiCardia said "MiCardia is dedicated to treating structural heart disease and the consequent incidence of heart failure which affects more than 15 million people in the US and Europe today. MiCardia's first Dynaplasty® devices will be available in Europe in early 2010 and provide ground breaking solutions for the treatment of recurrent mitral and tricuspid valve regurgitation. These are key components of the heart failure equation. MiCardia's ninth patent, combined with our existing portfolio of eight issued and forty pending patents, represent a tremendous asset for the company on which new therapies can be built."

SOURCE: MiCardia