Abiomed's Late Claim Construction Bid Denied in Medical Device Patent Dispute

U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV denied the motion in Maquet Cardiovascular LLC v. Abiomed Inc., finding that the defendant had ample opportunity to raise the issue during the initial claim-construction phase but instead argued for a different interpretation.

The dispute centers on U.S. Patent No. 10,238,783, which covers guidance systems for intravascular blood pumps. Abiomed sought to construe the term "guide mechanism comprising a lumen" in claim 1 as a means-plus-function term under 35 U.S.C. § 112(f), arguing that such a construction would mean its Impella devices do not infringe.

Saylor rejected the argument, noting that Abiomed had previously contended in related litigation that similar "guide mechanism" terms were structural, not functional.

In the first lawsuit between the parties, Abiomed argued that "guide mechanism configured as a lumen" terms were dissimilar to the functional term at issue in that case, the judge wrote. While Abiomed could have distinguished the "guide mechanism" term in the '783 patent or disclaimed its prior arguments, it made no attempt to do so, Saylor wrote.

The judge emphasized that Abiomed had waited until after the close of fact discovery and just weeks before trial to raise the issue, despite the parties having jointly proposed a schedule on remand that did not include supplemental claim construction.

"Abiomed had ample opportunity over that six-year period to propose that the 'guide mechanism' term in the '783 patent should be construed as a means-plus-function claim, and it failed to do so," Saylor wrote.

Abiomed had previously moved for supplemental claim construction in June 2025 but withdrew the motion without explanation. The company renewed its request in April 2026, citing a Federal Circuit decision affirming a similar construction in a related case.

Saylor found that the Federal Circuit's affirmance case did not create a new circumstance excusing the delay, as the legal principles were well-established.

"The Magnolia decision does not purport to create a new rule but merely applies existing law," Saylor wrote, citing Magnolia Med. Techs., Inc. v. Kurin, Inc.

The ruling leaves the case on track for trial, which was scheduled for May 11, 2026.

Maquet Cardiovascular LLC is the owner of a family of patents relating to guidance systems for intravascular blood pumps, including the patents at issue in this case and the related Abiomed I litigation.