A Diagnostics & Imaging Week

Greatbatch (Clarence, New York) reported that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued the company patent No. 7,363,090. The patent provides Greatbatch with the exclusive right to incorporate band-stop filtering technology into an implantable medical lead. This technology attenuates MRI-specific RF frequencies during MRI scanning, thereby eliminating the potential for lead system heating.

"This vital technology enables us to secure a strong position in the drive for MRI Conditional Active Implantable Medical Devices (AIMD)," said Mauricio Arellano, senior VP of Greatbatch's CRM & Neuromodulation business.

AIMD systems are primarily targeted for use in the cardiac rhythm management and neuromodulation markets.

Greatbatch is currently completing the development of its eM-able Brady (bradycardia) pacing lead, which incorporates the aforementioned technology and is expected to cross additional milestones this summer.

MRI Conditional products in AIMDs are a critical initiative for device manufacturers because an MRI is often the major diagnostic tool for patients. MRI Conditional AIMDs will keep the MRI diagnostic tool in the physician's hands after an implant allowing patients to receive the greatest possible level of care.

Greatbatch will showcase its eM-able line of MRI Conditional technologies at this month's CardioStim meeting in Nice, France, and was an active exhibitor and presenter at last month's Heart Rhythm Society meeting in San Francisco.

Greatbatch is a manufacturer of critical products used in implantable medical devices for the cardiac rhythm management, neuromodulation, vascular and orthopedic markets.

In other patent news, Lifeline Biotechnologies (Reno, Nevada) reported that it has begun preparation of a provisional patent on a new neural network diagnostic system after a five-year developmental period. As previously reported, Lifeline has been working with an unnamed Asian university to further develop and enhance the company's First Warning System. This pending patent is the result of that extensive work.

According to Dr. Louis Keith, emeritus professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine (Chicago). "We can now determine which of the benign lesions the First Warning detects has the potential of becoming cancer. Using a combination of five neural network constructions, we have broken this elusive barrier. This new system has the ability to provide us with 100% selectivity, finding all lesions in the breast and with specificity in the low 90s, correctly classifying all tumors. This system will continue to improve in its accuracy because it learns with each new case presented to it."

Holmes added, "After our provisional patent is filed, we will begin a search for a strategic partner."

Lifeline Biotechnologies is focused on completing the development of the First Warning System, which is designed to assist in the early detection of breast cancer.