MASSDEVICE ON CALL — Minnesota medtech rivals Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) and St. Jude Medical (NYSE:STJ) each landed new patents in recent weeks.
Medtronic won a patent for a "3-dimensional antenna that may be used in an implantable medical device," describing it as a "meandering" or "serpentine" antenna with multiple segments and performance-enhancing features.
St. Jude’s patent was awarded for a suite of medical devices such as "deflectable sheaths or catheter-introducers, having a generally planar element wrapped in spiral pattern about the sheath or catheter-introducer," intended to allow better steering through a patient’s vasculature.
Medtronic’s patent was awarded on December 31 and St. Jude’s on December 30, according to 4-traders reports.
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