Ann Arbor-based Terumo Cardiovascular Systems Corp. announced that it filed a patent infringement complaint on Aug. 21 in the Northern District of California against Maquet Cardiovascular LLC.

The complaint alleges that Maquet's Vasoview Endoscopic Vessel Harvesting Systems infringe a patent for which Terumo CVS owns the rights. The complaint also requests an injunction against further sales of the product in the United States.

Terumo CVS sells the VirtuoSaph Endoscopic Vessel Harvesting System in the United States. The VirtuoSaph system is distributed in Japan and Asia by Terumo Corp. and in Europe by Terumo's European subsidiary.

"Terumo respects the valid intellectual property of others and expects that its competitors will do the same," said Mark Sutter, President and CEO, Terumo Cardiovascular Systems.

The VirtuoSaph system is used during coronary artery bypass grafting, the most common cardiac surgery procedure. During the procedure, the surgeon removes a healthy artery or vein from elsewhere in the body, most often the saphenous vein in the leg, and uses it to route blood around a blockage in a coronary artery. The VirtuoSaph system allows the surgical team to remove the saphenous vein using very small incisions. Endoscopic procedures have been shown to minimize scarring, morbidity and infection associated with traditional incisions.

Terumo Cardiovascular Systems is a global manufacturer and marketer of medical devices for cardiac and vascular surgery. The company is headquartered in Ann Arbor, with manufacturing operations in Ann Arbor; Elkton, Md.; Ashland, Mass.; and Tustin, Calif. It is one of several subsidiaries of Terumo Corp. of Japan focused exclusively on the cardiac and vascular markets.

More at www.terumo-cvs.com.