Opinion ID: 223134
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Stent Systems

Text: In treating coronary artery disease (i.e., clogged arteries), physicians often use stents in angioplasty procedures as an alternative to open heart surgery. A stent delivery system consists of three central components: (1) a catheter, which is a long hollow plastic tube used to guide the stent along the inside of the arteries, (2) a balloon that is laser welded to the end of the catheter, and (3) the stent itself, which is crimped (or collapsed) on the deflated balloon. During an implant procedure, the balloon is inflated, which expands and deploys the stent and clears the blockage. After the stent is deployed and apposed to the artery wall, the balloon is deflated and withdrawn. BSC makes two different stent systems. There is the Taxus system, on which plaintiff's claims rest, and the Express2 system, which is very similar to Taxus. The primary difference between them is that the stent in the Taxus system is coated with a polymer containing a drug to ease complications associated with stent implant, while the stent in the Express2 system is not coated. Both the Express2 and Taxus systems are built using the same Express2 catheter.