PTAB

IPR2017-01025

Abiomed Inc v. Maquet Cardiovascular LLC

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Petition
petition

1. Case Identification

2. Patent Overview

  • Title: Intravascular blood pump with guide mechanism
  • Brief Description: The ’100 patent discloses an intravascular blood pump system and methods for its placement within a patient's circulatory system. The invention focuses on guiding the pump to a predetermined location using conventional delivery techniques, such as over-the-wire or rapid-exchange guide mechanisms.

3. Grounds for Unpatentability

Ground 1: Claims 16-17 are obvious over Aboul-Hosn in view of Siess

  • Prior Art Relied Upon: Aboul-Hosn (WO 99/02204) and Siess (Patent 5,921,913).
  • Core Argument for this Ground:
    • Prior Art Mapping: Petitioner argued that Aboul-Hosn taught all primary elements of independent claim 16: an intravascular blood pump system comprising a pump, a cannula coupled to the pump, and an over-the-wire guide mechanism with a central lumen for placement. For the limitation requiring "a blood pressure detection mechanism," Petitioner asserted that Aboul-Hosn disclosed this by teaching the use of an orifice in the cannula connected to an external fluid column or by equipping the pump itself with pressure sensors. Siess was cited as teaching the use and preferred placement of pressure sensors near the pump's inlet and outlet to monitor performance. For dependent claim 17, which recites specific sensor types, Petitioner argued that Aboul-Hosn explicitly disclosed the "fluid filled column" and that a POSITA would have found it obvious to use other well-known sensor types like piezoelectric elements or strain gauges, as they were known alternatives for pressure measurement in such systems.
    • Motivation to Combine: A POSITA would combine Aboul-Hosn’s pump system with Siess’s specific pressure sensing teachings to achieve improved pump control. Siess explicitly taught using pressure differentials to discern pump position relative to the heart valve and to identify adverse conditions like blockage or cavitation. These were known challenges, and applying Siess’s monitoring solution to Aboul-Hosn's pump was a logical step to enhance safety and efficacy.
    • Expectation of Success: The combination involved applying a known pressure monitoring technique (Siess) to a conventional intravascular pump system (Aboul-Hosn). Petitioner contended that implementing sensors as taught by Siess would be straightforward for a POSITA and would predictably result in an improved ability to control the pump.

Ground 2: Claim 18 is obvious over Aboul-Hosn in view of Siess and further in view of Nix

  • Prior Art Relied Upon: Aboul-Hosn (WO 99/02204), Siess (Patent 5,921,913), and Nix (Patent 6,176,822).
  • Core Argument for this Ground:
    • Prior Art Mapping: This ground addressed dependent claim 18, which required a pressure detection mechanism that involves "calculating blood pressure based on the relationship between the torque and motor current." Petitioner argued that this "sensor-less" method was a known alternative to using physical pressure sensors. While Aboul-Hosn disclosed a controller for monitoring pump performance, Nix explicitly taught the claimed method. Nix disclosed that pressure can be determined indirectly by measuring motor current and rotational speed, thereby eliminating the need for dedicated pressure sensors.
    • Motivation to Combine: A POSITA would be motivated to replace the physical sensors of Aboul-Hosn/Siess with the indirect calculation method of Nix to improve device reliability and reduce size and complexity. The petition cited art indicating that including physical transducers in implantable pumps was "highly undesirable due to reliability problems." Nix provided a direct, known solution to this problem. Eliminating a physical sensor would predictably result in a smaller, more reliable device with fewer components and lower manufacturing costs.
    • Expectation of Success: The relationship between motor current, torque, speed, and fluid pressure in a pump was a fundamental and well-understood engineering principle. Petitioner asserted that a POSITA could readily implement the calculation method taught by Nix in the controller for the Aboul-Hosn pump with a high expectation of successfully inferring blood pressure without a dedicated sensor.

4. Relief Requested

  • Petitioner requests the institution of an inter partes review and cancellation of claims 16-18 of the ’100 patent as unpatentable under 35 U.S.C. §103.