US Patent Issued to Pipeline Medical Technologies on June 3 for "Mitral leaflet tethering" (Michigan, California Inventors)

ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 4 -- United States Patent no. 12,318,296, issued on June 3, was assigned to Pipeline Medical Technologies Inc. (Newark, Del.).

"Mitral leaflet tethering" was invented by Steven F. Bolling (Ann Arbor, Mich.) and Randall T. Lashinski (Windsor, Calif.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "This disclosure includes apparatuses and techniques to access the right ventricle via trans-femoral vein threading a catheter or catheters to the apex or bottom of the right ventricle. Piercing through the venous or right side of the heart in the interventricular septal wall to access the left ventricle a catheter can be passed to turn upward pointing to the mitral valve. From this access point i...