Invalidity dossier
US 6572543
Added 9/23/2026, 11:48:11 AM
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Patent summary
Title, assignee, inventors, filing/issue dates, abstract, and a plain-language overview of the claims.
Patent Overview — US 6572543 B1
Title: Sensor, method of sensor implant and system for treatment of respiratory disorders
Patent number: US 6572543 B1
Application number: US09/589,002
Filing date: 2000-06-06
Publication (grant) date: 2003-06-03
Priority date (as listed): 1996-06-26
Adjusted expiration: 2016-08-31; status "Expired – Lifetime"
Inventors: Mark A. Christopherson, John L. Sommer, Johann J. Neisz
Original/current assignee (as listed): Medtronic Inc
Classifications: A61B5/03; A61N1/3601; A61B5/7203; A61B5/7207
Purpose. The text describes the invention as relating generally to medical devices and methods, and more particularly to sensors, methods of implanting sensors, and systems using such implanted sensors in the treatment of respiratory disorders. The background discusses sleep apnea, distinguishing central sleep apnea (failure to generate neuromuscular stimulation for a respiratory cycle) from obstructive sleep apnea (upper-airway obstruction involving airway dilator muscles), and reviews approaches that monitor respiratory effort and electrically stimulate upper-airway muscles. It also notes a fully implantable stimulation system with a sensor placed where it has pressure continuity with the intrapleural space, such as the suprasternal notch, the space between the trachea and esophagus, or an intercostal placement.
Plain-language scope (from the excerpt). An implantable sensing device includes a sensing element and a mounting element. The mounting element has a first end and a second end with a longitudinal axis through it. The sensing element sits at the first end, and the mounting element has a length that is adjustable along the longitudinal axis. The sensing element may be a pressure sensing element. The mounting element may include a sleeve with a first open end and a second open end and the longitudinal axis through it; the sensing element may be positioned in the second open end with a lead body connected to it extending through that open end.
What the excerpt does not establish. It does not provide the full claim set, detailed embodiments, or the omitted sleeve description; it does not establish litigation, ownership transfers, validity, or prior-art conclusions. The listed assignee and priority date are noted as assumptions by the source.
Generated 10/1/2026, 9:53:53 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
Combinations of prior art that suggest the claimed invention would have been obvious under 35 U.S.C. § 103.
Extensions
Patent term adjustments, term extensions, continuations, divisionals, family members, and expiration dates.
Derivative works
Defensive disclosure: derivative variations of each claim designed to render future incremental improvements obvious or non-novel.