ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 9 -- United States Patent no. RE50,481, issued on July 8, was assigned to MOST Cardio LLC (Marblehead, Mass.).
"Catheter atherector" was invented by Pavel Menn (Salem, Mass.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An improved catheter atherector for shaving, cutting, and emulsifying accumulated plaque into fine particles, and removing the particles from blood vessel walls without cutting or permanently stretching the walls, and without substantially blocking the blood flow through the vessel during plaque removal operation. The catheter atherector includes an emulsification reduction sphere and extraction wire that rotate and move axially inside the vessel to engage the occlusive...