ALEXANDRIA, Va., July 21 -- United States Patent no. 12,685,547, issued on July 21, was assigned to SHOCKWAVE MEDICAL INC. (Santa Clara, Calif.).
"Shockwave balloon catheter system" was invented by John M. Adams (Snohomish, Wash.), Daniel Hawkins (Santa Clara, Calif.) and Clifton A. Alferness (Olalla, Wash.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A system for breaking obstructions in body lumens includes a catheter including an elongated carrier, a balloon about the carrier in sealed relation thereto, the balloon being arranged to receive a fluid therein that inflates the balloon, and an arc generator including at least one electrode within the balloon that forms a mechanical shock wave within the bal...