Medgraph sues Medtronic over glucose monitor patent

December 11, 2009 by MassDevice staff

Medgraph Inc. accuses Medtronic Inc. of violating one of its telemedicine patents with Medtronic's Carelink diabetes management system.

A relative bantam is stepping into the patent infringement ring with one of the industry's heavyweights.

Medgraph Inc., a Rochester, N.Y.-based telemedicine firm, sued Medtronic Inc. (NYSE:MDT), accusing the Minneapolis medical device monolith of patent infringement for its Carelink diabetes management system.

Medgraph alleges that Medtronics' Carelink Therapy management software, which collects and manages blood glucose monitoring data, violates its patent for a "Method and System Aiding Medical Diagnosis and Treatment," according to a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for Western New York. The alleged violattion was deliberate, willful and with full knowledge of the patent, according to the lawsuit. Medgraph wants the court to stop Medtronic from selling the Carelink system and a jury trial.

Medtronic has had its share of legal woes lately. California attorney general Jerry Brown subpoenaed the company, demanding documents relating to its cardiac rhythm therapy devices, including revenue, sales, marketing and promotional information. And a federal judge in Minnesota lambasted the firm in a decision involving defective batteries in some of its pacemaker models.