A Medical Device Daily

Crux Biomedical (Menlo Park, California) reported that it was awarded a U.S. patent, (US 7,582,100 B2), for its novel vena cava filter. The filter, which is designed to trap blood clots that can lead to a potentially fatal pulmonary embolism (PE), is expected to enter the clinical evaluation phase in the U.S. in the next few months.

"We are very pleased with the issuance of this comprehensive patent. The Crux technology is applicable for a breadth of applications to the human vasculature", stated Mel Schatz, CEO of Crux Biomedical.

First introduced in the late 1960's, vena cava filters have become an increasingly important tool in the effort to reduce the occurrence of a PE.

Vena cava filters were originally designed as a permanent implant. Over the last decade, design improvements have permitted physicians the choice to either leave a filter in place on a permanent basis or retrieve the filter once a patient is no longer at risk of a PE. Currently in the U.S., more than 50% of all vena cava filters implanted are designed to be retrieved.