Invalidity dossier
US 5728061
Device and method for treating hydrocephalus
Current assignee: Individual
Added 9/23/2026, 1:40:10 PM
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Patent summary
Title, assignee, inventors, filing/issue dates, abstract, and a plain-language overview of the claims.
Patent Overview — US 5,728,061 A
Title: Device and Method for Treating Hydrocephalus
Patent number / application: US 5,728,061 A; Application US 08/592,016
Inventor / Assignee: Abdul Mateen Ahmed; assignee listed as "Individual" (original assignee also Individual).
Key dates: Priority date 1988-10-07; filing date 1996-01-26; granted/publication date 1998-03-17; anticipated expiration 2008-10-07. Status listed as "Expired – Lifetime." Priority is claimed from US 07/478,655 (patent US 5,071,408 A) and US 08/269,839 (patent US 5,616,118 A).
Purpose (from the supplied text): The device treats hydrocephalus — excess water in the brain or cranial vault caused by blocked cerebral spinal fluid flow. The increased intracranial pressure flattens the brain into a thin shell against the skull; in newborns the head swells and, untreated, this usually results in death.
Plain-language scope (from the supplied text): The device combines a one-way flow valve with a flexible shell. The valve has a membrane forming a chamber with a slit-like opening, the chamber preferably trapezoidal; the membrane has an aperture and is folded to form the slit-like opening, held in tension by a pair of plates joined by pins. The flexible, injection-molded bio-compatible polymeric shell encloses the valve and provides a reservoir with first and second ends, each having openings; the shell expands or contracts with pressure. Fluid enters from the cranial vault through an inlet tube and the valve, which permits one-directional flow and prohibits backflow to the brain; drained fluid flows into the reservoir and out an outlet tube. The text notes the valve derives from a "Glaucoma Valve," enclosed within the flexible shell for hydrocephalus treatment, and that its slit-like opening resists clogging by particulates while self-regulating in response to slight pressure changes. A rigid fin structure is mentioned as further facilitating fluid drainage.
Not established by the excerpt: Full claim language and claim count; the complete specification and drawings; the omitted "rigid fin" description; the full "method" steps of the title; inventor identity beyond name; and whether the listed assignee, dates, or legal status are authoritative. No litigation, ownership-transfer, validity, or prior-art analysis is provided.
Generated 10/1/2026, 9:52:56 PM
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Litigation summary
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Proceedings on file (0)
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PTAB challenges
AIA trial proceedings at the USPTO Patent Trial and Appeal Board — IPR, PGR, and CBM. Petitioners, judge panels, claim-level invalidation outcomes from Final Written Decisions, and Federal Circuit appeals. The single most important defensive datapoint after litigation history.
Assignment history
Inventors, original assignee, and the chain of ownership recorded with the USPTO — including the correspondent attorney who recorded each assignment, since shell-LLC chains often share one repeat-player attorney even when the entity names look unrelated. Surfaces NPE / patent-troll patterns: shell-entity transfers, known asserters in the chain, repeat correspondent fingerprints, pre-litigation assignments, and bankruptcy fire-sales.
Prior art
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Obviousness
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Extensions
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Derivative works
Defensive disclosure: derivative variations of each claim designed to render future incremental improvements obvious or non-novel.