ZOLL Medical Corporation (ZOLL) said it filed a lawsuit against Alsius Corporation (Alsius) and Alsius Medical Corporation (Alsius Medical) for patent infringement. Zoll said the patents concern a device that controls a patient's body temperature using a catheter inserted into the bloodstream. Zoll does not presently market any products using that technology, but the company said Alsius is in violation of two patents covering such a device.
Zoll said the lawsuit will not have a significant effect on its profits.
Alsius said it is reviewing the suit, and is confident in the strength of its intellectual property.
Zoll chief financial officer Ernest Whiton said the Food and Drug Administration has approved hypothermia induction as a way to reduce a patient’s body temperature. He added that doctors use the treatment on a variety of other ailments.
“It’s using hypothermia as a therapy to manage a patient’s temperature in therapy to treat other issues that a patient has, Whiton said.