US Patent Issued to Acclarent on March 4 for "Flexible patulous eustachian tube implant with integrated venting" (California, Texas Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 5 -- United States Patent no. 12,239,508, issued on March 4, was assigned to Acclarent Inc. (Irvine, Calif.).

"Flexible patulous eustachian tube implant with integrated venting" was invented by Jetmir Palushi (Irvine, Calif.), Fatemeh Akbarian (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.), John H. Thinnes Jr. (Mission Viejo, Calif.) and Marc Dean (Fort Worth, Texas).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An implant that may maintain position with a Eustachian tube of a patient, the implant includes an engagement body, an anchoring assembly, and a pressure balance assembly. The engagement body includes an exterior surface dimensioned to bear radially outward against the Eustachian tube. The anch...