Patents

Realheart holds three patents that cover the core technology of the TAH.

  • The first patent has priority from 2001 in the United States, Sweden, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Japan. It was the first patent describing the completely implantable heart prosthesis intended to replace the natural heart’s pumping activity.
  • The second patent was applied for in 2015 and aims to primarily cover the pumping principle of the device and its structure and functions. Patent protection of the general pump principle is granted in the United States, Europe (Great Britain, Sweden, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, and Ireland), China and India
  • The third patent, applied in 2017, focuses mainly on the housing that encloses and protects a four-chambered TAH. The patent was granted for the United States, Sweden, Great Britain, Germany, France, Australia, Japan and India in order to protect the latest version of Realheart® TAH. This is also submitted and pending for Canada.

In 2021 Realheart applied for patent protection for the automatic heart control technology along with the pressure sensor technology and applications are pending in the United States, Europe, China, Australia, Japan and India. The patents relate to the controller unit and the method for efficiently regulating the pressure data from sensors to adjust the pump’s operation and achieve the desired fluid pressure.

During 2018, a new connective socket for a simple and safe connection between Realheart® TAH and the body’s circulatory system was designed and a patent for it is granted in the United States, Canada, Australia, Great Britain, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria.

Apart from the patent protection as described above, Realheart’s patent portfolio also covers future products in the R&D pipeline: Sternal prosthesis, PulsePump®, and RealVAD®.

The markets in which the inventions are protected in are the largest and most important markets for artificial hearts as of now, and also include China and India which are considered to be important emerging markets.

The existing patents together with the new patent applications lead the board to conclude that the company has a strong patent situation and strong protection. 

Besides above Realheart is examining the possibility to license the technique to other companies.