We recorded revenue related to the Neurovascular business following its divestiture of $122 million, in 2012 and $141 million in 2011, as compared to 2010 revenue generated by the Neurovascular business of $340 million.
We continue to generate net sales pursuant to our supply agreements with Stryker; however, these net sales are at significantly lower levels and at reduced gross profit margins as compared to periods prior to the divestiture.
NOTE D—GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS The gross carrying amount of goodwill and other intangible assets and the related accumulated amortization for intangible assets subject to amortization and accumulated write-offs of goodwill as of December 31, 2012 and 2011 is as follows:
## Table 0 ##
In addition, we had $443 million and $502 million of purchased research and development intangible assets as of December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively.
Goodwill as of December 31, 2012 as allocated to our U. S. , EMEA, Japan, and Inter-Continental reportable segments for purposes of our goodwill impairment testing is presented below.
Our U. S.  goodwill is further allocated to our U. S.  reporting units for our goodwill testing.
The following is a rollforward of our goodwill balance by reportable segment:
## Table 1 ##
The 2011 and 2012 purchase price adjustments relate primarily to adjustments in taxes payable and deferred income taxes, including changes in the liability for unrecognized tax benefits.
Goodwill Impairment Charges 2012 Charges We test our goodwill balances during the second quarter of each year for impairment, or more frequently if indicators are present or changes in circumstances suggest that impairment may exist.
In the second quarter of 2012, we performed our annual goodwill impairment test for all of our reporting units and concluded that the goodwill within our EMEA reporting unit was impaired and recorded a $3.602 billion ($3.579 billion after-tax) charge in the second quarter of 2012.
We finalized the second step of the EMEA goodwill impairment test during the third quarter of 2012, in accordance with ASC Topic 350, Intangibles -Goodwill and Other, and there were no adjustments to the charge upon finalization.
In the third quarter of 2012, we performed an interim goodwill impairment test and recorded a non-cash $748 million (pre- and after-tax) charge associated with our U. S.  Cardiac Rhythm Management (U. S.  CRM) reporting unit, primarily driven by the reduction in the estimated size of the U. S.  CRM market, related adjustments to our business and other competitive factors, which led to lower projected U. S.  CRM results compared to prior forecasts.
We finalized the second step of the U. S.  CRM goodwill impairment test during the fourth quarter of 2012, in accordance with ASC Topic 350, Intangibles -Goodwill and Other, and there were no adjustments to the charge upon finalization.
Non-Vested Stock We value restricted stock awards and DSUs based on the closing trading value of our shares on the date of grant.
Information related to non-vested stock awards during 2012, 2011, and 2010 is as follows:
## Table 2 ##
(1) The number of restricted stock units vested includes shares withheld on behalf of employees to satisfy statutory tax withholding requirements.
The total vesting date fair value of stock award units that vested was approximately $60 million in 2012, $71 million in 2011 and $62 million in 2010.
Market-based DSU Awards During 2012, 2011 and 2010, we granted market-based DSU awards to certain members of our senior management team.
The attainment of these stock units is based on our total shareholder return (TSR) as compared to the TSR of the companies in the S&P 500 Health Care Index and is measured in three annual performance cycles.
In addition, award recipients must remain employed by us throughout the three-year measurement period to attain the full award.
We determined the fair value of the 2012 market-based awards to be approximately $8 million and the fair value of the 2011 marketbased awards to be approximately $8 million, based on Monte Carlo simulations, utilizing the following assumptions:
## Table 3 ##
We recognize the expense on these awards in our consolidated statements of operations on a straight-line basis over the threeyear measurement period.
Free Cash Flow Performance-based DSU Awards During 2012, we granted free cash flow performance-based DSU awards to certain members of our executive and operating teams.
The attainment of these stock units is based on our achievement of the 2012 annual financial plan performance for Free Cash Flow (FCF).
FCF is measured over a one-year performance period beginning January 1, 2012 and ending December 31, 2012.
The number of performance share units as to which the performance criteria under this program shall be determined to have been satisfied will be in a range of 0% to 150% of the target number of performance share units awarded to the participant.
In addition, award recipients must remain employed by us throughout the three-year measurement period to attain the full award.
We determined the fair value of the 2012 FCF awards to be approximately $7 million, based on the closing stock price at December 31, 2012 and an achievement of 130% of target payout, which is subject to approval by the Executive Compensation and Human Resources Committee of our Board of Directors.
The per unit fair value is $5.73.
We recognize the expense on these awards in our consolidated statements of operations over the vesting period which is three years after the date of grant.
Expense Attribution Except as discussed above, we recognize compensation expense for our stock using a straight-line method over the substantive vesting period.
Most of our stock awards provide for immediate vesting upon death or disability of the participant.
In addition, our stock grants to employees provide for accelerated vesting of our stock-based awards, other than market-based awards, upon retirement.
In accordance with the terms of our stock grants, for employees who will become retirement eligible prior to the vest date we expense stock-based awards, other than market-based awards, over the greater of one year or the period between grant date and retirement-eligibility.
The market-based awards discussed above do not contain provisions that would accelerate the full vesting of the awards upon retirement-eligibility.
We recognize stock-based compensation expense for the value of the portion of awards that are ultimately expected to vest.
ASC Topic 718, Compensation – Stock Compensation requires forfeitures to be estimated at the time of grant and revised, if necessary, in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from
The increase in our gross profit margin for 2012, as compared to 2011, is primarily the result of cost reductions from our restructuring and other process improvement programs.
Our gross margin was negatively impacted by declines in average selling prices related primarily to sales of our drug-eluting stent and CRM products; however, these declines were largely offset by the full conversion to our internally-developed and selfmanufactured next-generation PROMUS?
Element?
stent system during 2012.
Our PROMUS?
Element?
stent system has significantly higher gross margins than the prior generation PROMUS?
stent system, which was supplied to us by Abbott Laboratories.
Additionally, affecting our year over year comparison of year to date gross margin was the impact of a one-time $50 million credit to cost of products sold, related to a two-year retroactive pricing adjustment pursuant to our PROMUS?
supply arrangement with Abbott and product transition-related inventory charges of $54 million recorded in 2011, discussed further below.
The primary factor contributing to the decrease in our gross profit margin during 2011, as compared to 2010, was the negative impact of lower sales of Neurovascular products and at significantly lower gross profit margins as result of the divestiture of our Neurovascular business.
In addition, we recognized transitionrelated inventory charges of $54 million in 2011, primarily related to PROMUS?
excess inventory and purchase commitments as a result of our fourth quarter 2011 launch of our internallydeveloped and self-manufactured next-generation PROMUS?
Element?
stent system in the U. S.  The decreases in 2011 were partially offset by the positive impact of a $50 million credit to cost of products sold recognized in the first quarter of 2011, related to a two-year retroactive pricing adjustment pursuant to our PROMUS?
supply arrangement with Abbott for historical purchases of PROMUS?
stent systems.
Declines in average selling prices of our products, particularly our drug-eluting stent systems, were offset by the positive impact of product mix related to sales of our drug-eluting stent systems, as we began shifting sales to our internally-developed and manufactured stent systems with more favorable gross profit margins during 2011.
In addition, our gross profit margin in 2010 was negatively impacted by the ship hold and product removal actions associated with our U. S.  CRM business.
We are subject to a final retroactive pricing adjustment pursuant to our PROMUS?
supply arrangement with Abbott for historical purchases of PROMUS?
stent systems.
We may record a one time benefit or charge to our gross profit in the future as a result of this adjustment process.
Operating Expenses The following table provides a summary of certain of our operating expenses:
## Table 4 ##
Selling, General and Administrative (SG&A) Expenses In 2012, our SG&A expenses increased $48 million, or two percent, as compared to 2011, and were 240 basis points higher as a percentage of net sales.
This increase was driven primarily by continued investments in acquisitions and in commercial resources and infrastructure for global expansion, particularly in emerging markets, and a non-recurring asset impairment charge as a result of a program termination.
Also contributing to the yearover-year increase was a benefit recorded in 2011 as a result of a reversal of previously established allowances for doubtful accounts against long-outstanding receivables in Greece.
These increases in SG&A were partially offset by declines in spending as a result of our restructuring and other cost reduction initiatives and the impact of changes in foreign currency exchange rates.
Beginning in January 2013, as a result of new legislation, all medical device manufacturers will be subject to a 2.3 percent excise tax on U. S.  sales of Class I, II and III medical devices.
We intend to record this tax within our selling, general and administrative expenses and expect that our excise tax liability for 2013 will be up to $80 million.
In 2011, our SG&A expenses decreased $93 million, or four percent, as compared to 2010, and were 50 basis points lower as a percentage of net sales.
Our SG&A expenses were lower in 2011, as compared to 2010, as a result of the sale of our Neurovascular business to Stryker in January 2011 and lower expenses due to our restructuring initiatives and cost containment discipline.
In addition, our SG&A expenses for 2011 benefited from the reversal of $20 million of previously established allowances for doubtful accounts against long-outstanding receivables in Greece in 2011.
These receivables had previously been fully
$252 million.
This increase was driven primarily by accounts receivable and inventory reductions, which generated approximately $103 million; the impact of litigation-related payments of approximately $300 million to the U. S.  Department of Justice in 2011; and lower tax-related net cash outflows of approximately $40 million during 2012.
Partially offsetting these items was the impact of lower operating profit in 2012 and a $35 million increase in restructuring-related payments as compared to 2011.
Our cash provided by operating activities in 2011 also included proceeds of approximately $80 million related to the termination of our outstanding interest rate derivative contracts and the receipt of a $75 million manufacturing cost true-up payment from Abbott in accordance with our supply agreement.
During 2011 we generated $683 million more of operating cash flows than in 2010.
This increase was driven primarily by lower litigation-related payments of approximately $1.3 billion.
Our 2011 litigation-related payments primarily consisted of a payment of approximately $300 million to the U. S.  Department of Justice in the first quarter of 2011; during 2010, we made payments of $1.725 billion to Johnson & Johnson related to a patent litigation settlement and received $104 million in connection with a litigation settlement with Medinol.
Our cash provided by operating activities in 2011 also included proceeds of approximately $80 million related to the termination of our outstanding interest rate derivative contracts and the receipt of a $75 million manufacturing cost true-up payment from Abbott in accordance with our supply agreement.
In 2011 we incurred net tax payments in the amount of $138 million as compared to net tax related receipts of $286 million in 2010.
In addition, our 2010 cash flows include the receipt of a $250 million milestone payment from Abbott.
Investing Activities During 2012, cash used for investing activities was $579 million.
Our investing activities included capital expenditures of $226 million and payments for the acquisitions of Cameron Health Inc. , Bridgepoint Medical Inc. , Rhythmia Medical Inc. , and Vessix Vascular Inc. , totaling $366 million.
We expect to incur total capital expenditures of approximately $300 million during 2013.
During 2011, cash provided by investing activities was comprised primarily of proceeds from the sale of our Neurovascular business to Stryker.
We received $1.440 billion of net cash proceeds during 2011 related to the sale of this business.
This cash inflow was partially offset by payments of $370 million for acquisitions consummated during 2011; and capital expenditures of $304 million.
During 2010, our investing activities were comprised primarily of capital expenditures of $272 million, as well as payments of approximately $200 million to acquire Asthmatx, Inc.  and certain other strategic assets.
Financing Activities Our cash flows from financing activities reflect issuances and repayments of debt, proceeds from stock issuances related to our equity incentive programs and repurchases of common stock pursuant to our authorized repurchase programs, discussed in Note L—Stockholders’ Equity to our 2012 consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this Annual Report.
Additionally, our financing activities included $146 million of contingent payments primarily associated with the achievement of receiving FDA approval of the S-ICD?
system in September 2012.
Debt We had total debt of $4.256 billion as of December 31, 2012 and $4.261 billion as of December 31, 2011.
The debt maturity schedule for the significant components of our debt obligations as of December 31, 2012 is as follows:
## Table 5 ##
Note: The table above does not include unamortized discounts associated with our senior notes, or amounts related to interest rate contracts used to hedge the fair value of certain of our senior notes.
In July 2011, Fitch Ratings upgraded our corporate credit rating to BBB-, an investment-grade rating; and in February 2012, Moody’s Investors Service upgraded our corporate credit rating to Baa3, an investment-grade rating.
In addition, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has maintained an investment-grade corporate credit rating for us since 2009.
We believe our investment grade credit profile reflects the size and diversity of our product portfolio, our leading share position in several of our served markets, our strong cash flow, our solid financial fundamentals and our financial strategy.
Term Loan and Revolving Credit Facility During 2011, we prepaid the remaining $1.000 billion of our term loan maturities without premium or penalty.
In the second quarter of 2012, we established a $2.000 billion revolving credit facility, maturing in April 2017, with a global syndicate of commercial bank and terminated our previous
VISA INC.  NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—(Continued) September 30, 2013 (4) Participating securities are unvested share-based payment awards that contain non-forfeitable rights to dividends or dividend equivalents, such as the Company’s restricted stock awards, restricted stock units and earned performance-based shares.
Note 16—Share-based Compensation The Company’s 2007 Equity Incentive Compensation Plan, or the EIP, authorizes the compensation committee of the board of directors to grant non-qualified stock options (“options”), restricted stock awards (“RSAs”), restricted stock units (“RSUs”) and performance-based shares to its employees and nonemployee directors, for up to 59 million shares of class A common stock.
Shares available for award may be either authorized and unissued or previously issued shares subsequently acquired by the Company.
The EIP will continue to be in effect until all of the common stock available under the EIP is delivered and all restrictions on those shares have lapsed, unless the EIP is terminated earlier by the Company’s board of directors.
No awards may be granted under the plan on or after 10 years from its effective date.
Share-based compensation cost is recorded net of estimated forfeitures on a straight-line basis for awards with service conditions only, and on a graded-vesting basis for awards with service, performance and market conditions.
The Company’s estimated forfeiture rate is based on an evaluation of historical, actual and trended forfeiture data.
For fiscal 2013, 2012, and 2011, the Company recorded share-based compensation cost of $179 million, $147 million and $154 million, respectively, in personnel on its consolidated statements of operations.
The amount of capitalized share-based compensation cost was immaterial during fiscal 2013, 2012 and 2011.
Options Options issued under the EIP expire 10 years from the date of grant and vest ratably over three years from the date of grant, subject to earlier vesting in full under certain conditions.
During fiscal 2013, 2012 and 2011, the fair value of each stock option was estimated on the date of grant using a Black-Scholes option pricing model with the following weighted-average assumptions:

<table><tr><td></td><td colspan="2">As of December 31, 2012</td><td colspan="2">As of December 31, 2011</td></tr><tr><td>(in millions)</td><td>Gross Carrying Amount</td><td>AccumulatedAmortization/ Write-offs</td><td>Gross Carrying Amount</td><td>AccumulatedAmortization/ Write-offs</td></tr><tr><td>Amortizable intangible assets</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Technology-related</td><td>$8,020</td><td>$-3,005</td><td>$7,823</td><td>$-2,734</td></tr><tr><td>Patents</td><td>559</td><td>-352</td><td>539</td><td>-331</td></tr><tr><td>Other intangible assets</td><td>810</td><td>-428</td><td>808</td><td>-376</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>$9,389</td><td>$-3,785</td><td>$9,170</td><td>$-3,441</td></tr><tr><td>Unamortizable intangible assets</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Goodwill</td><td>$15,450</td><td>$-9,477</td><td>$14,888</td><td>$-5,127</td></tr><tr><td>Technology-related</td><td>242</td><td></td><td>242</td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td>$15,692</td><td>$-9,477</td><td>$15,130</td><td>$-5,127</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td>(in millions)</td><td>United States</td><td>EMEA</td><td>Japan</td><td>Inter-Continental</td><td>Total</td></tr><tr><td>Balance as of December 31, 2010</td><td>$5,189</td><td>$3,915</td><td>$551</td><td>$531</td><td>$10,186</td></tr><tr><td>Purchase price adjustments</td><td>14</td><td>-10</td><td>2</td><td></td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td>Goodwill acquired</td><td>161</td><td>99</td><td>1</td><td>5</td><td>266</td></tr><tr><td>Goodwill written off</td><td>-697</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>-697</td></tr><tr><td>Balance as of December 31, 2011</td><td>$4,667</td><td>$4,004</td><td>$554</td><td>$536</td><td>$9,761</td></tr><tr><td>Purchase price adjustments</td><td>-2</td><td>—</td><td>—</td><td>1</td><td>-1</td></tr><tr><td>Goodwill acquired</td><td>292</td><td>154</td><td>31</td><td>86</td><td>563</td></tr><tr><td>Goodwill written off</td><td>-748</td><td>-3,602</td><td>—</td><td></td><td>-4,350</td></tr><tr><td>Balance as of December 31, 2012</td><td>$4,209</td><td>$556</td><td>$585</td><td>$623</td><td>$5,973</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td></td><td>Non-VestedStock AwardUnits(in thousands)</td><td>WeightedAverageGrant-Date FairValue</td></tr><tr><td>Balance as of December 31, 2009</td><td>27,890</td><td>$12</td></tr><tr><td>Granted</td><td>17,619</td><td>7</td></tr><tr><td>Vested -1</td><td>-8,431</td><td>14</td></tr><tr><td>Forfeited</td><td>-3,794</td><td>10</td></tr><tr><td>Balance as of December 31, 2010</td><td>33,284</td><td>$9</td></tr><tr><td>Granted</td><td>14,640</td><td>7</td></tr><tr><td>Vested -1</td><td>-10,344</td><td>10</td></tr><tr><td>Forfeited</td><td>-4,004</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td>Balance as of December 31, 2011</td><td>33,576</td><td>$8</td></tr><tr><td>Granted</td><td>17,073</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td>Vested -1</td><td>-10,158</td><td>9</td></tr><tr><td>Forfeited</td><td>-3,898</td><td>7</td></tr><tr><td>Balance as of December 31, 2012</td><td>36,593</td><td>$7</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td></td><td>2012 Awards</td><td>2011 Awards</td><td>2010 Awards</td></tr><tr><td>Stock price on date of grant</td><td>$6.28</td><td>$7.16</td><td>$7.41</td></tr><tr><td>Measurement period (in years)</td><td>3.0</td><td>3.0</td><td>3.0</td></tr><tr><td>Risk-free rate</td><td>0.38%</td><td>1.10%</td><td>1.29%</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td></td><td colspan="6">Year Ended December 31,</td></tr><tr><td></td><td colspan="2">2012</td><td colspan="2">2011</td><td colspan="2">2010</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td>% of Net</td><td></td><td>% of Net</td><td></td><td>% of Net</td></tr><tr><td>(in millions)</td><td></td><td>$Sales</td><td></td><td>$Sales</td><td></td><td>$Sales</td></tr><tr><td>Selling, general and administrative expenses</td><td>2,535</td><td>35.0</td><td>2,487</td><td>32.6</td><td>2,580</td><td>33.1</td></tr><tr><td>Research and development expenses</td><td>886</td><td>12.2</td><td>895</td><td>11.7</td><td>939</td><td>12.0</td></tr><tr><td>Royalty expense</td><td>153</td><td>2.1</td><td>172</td><td>2.3</td><td>185</td><td>2.4</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td>(in millions)</td><td>2013</td><td>2014</td><td>2015</td><td>2016</td><td>2017</td><td>Thereafter</td><td>Total</td></tr><tr><td>Senior notes</td><td></td><td>$600</td><td>$1,250</td><td>$600</td><td>$250</td><td>$1,500</td><td>$4,200</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td>$600</td><td>$1,250</td><td>$600</td><td>$250</td><td>$1,500</td><td>$4,200</td></tr></table>

Question: In the year with the most Patents of Gross Carrying Amount, what is the growth rate of Technology-related of Gross Carrying Amount?