Patent protection

Cardiovascular Dynamics Inc. may not be able to sell its innovative new product in the United States at this time, but it now has assurances that no one else will either.

The Irvine medical device developer said that it just received a patent on a new twist to a widely accepted cardiac treatment called balloon angioplasty. Balloon angioplasty is a procedure in which a surgeon slips a thin catheter into the coronary artery of a heart patient whose suffers from clogged arteries.

The surgeon then inflates a small balloon, opening up the artery by pushing out the clogging plaque.

Cardiovascular Dynamics is working on FDA approval of an angioplasty balloon that not only inflates but is porous enough to allow clot-dissolving drugs to pass through its thin skin.

Although the company’s balloon catheter is currently selling in Europe, it is at least two years away from being approved for sale in the United States, said spokesman Michael Crocker.

The patent, however, will protect the company’s investment until it is ready for sale.