Guidant Sued For Patent Infringement
April 05, 2006The San Jose Mercury News reports that Guidant's rival Medtronic is suing the medical device maker claiming Guidant is infringing on its patents. The devices in question are two of Guidant's heart stents - the Multi-Link Vision and Xience V. Stents are used to prop open arteries after they have been clogged. The Vision stent is an older model made of bare metal, while the Xience is a drug-coated stent which is designed to prevent arteries from re-clogging. Stent technology is moving away from bare-metal and advancing toward drug coating.