Medtronic Navigation Inc., a Louisville company that makes computer imaging technology for surgeons, is seeking at least $144 million from a German competitor that it says stole its technology.
A jury trial in Medtronic’s 7-year-old lawsuit against BrainLAB AG begins today in U.S. District Court in Denver, barring a last-minute settlement.
Researchers at St. Louis University and Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, who helped develop Medtronic’s “StealthStation” computer systems to assist brain, spinal and orthopedic surgeons, also are plaintiffs in the suit.
They claim BrainLAB has infringed on four patents held on the technology, which gives surgeons three-dimensional images of a patient’s anatomy from multiple angles during an operation. An example of the StealthStation’s use is to help a doctor pinpoint the precise location of a brain tumor during surgery.
Medtronic says in court filings that it seeks $144 million from BrainLAB for lost profits and royalty payments, plus interest and legal costs.
BrainLAB says the technology behind its surgical navigation tools differs from Medtronic’s.
Medtronic Navigation is a subsidiary of Minneapolis-based medical-device giant Medtronic Inc., a publicly traded company. It employs more than 140 workers in Louisville, including 50 research and development engineers.
The company says it has installed nearly 2,000 StealthStations in hospitals worldwide, making it the market leader.
Formerly known as Surgical Navigation Technology Inc., Medtronic Navigation developed the software and engineered the system integration for the StealthStation in the early 1990s. Founder Kurt Smith sold the Broomfield company to Sofamor Danek Group Inc. of Memphis, Tenn., in 1996. Medtronic Inc. bought Sofamor Danek in 1998.
Munich-based BrainLAB, founded in 1989 by Stefan Vilsmeier, says it has installed about 1,990 image-guided medical technology systems in more than 65 countries. The privately held company employs about 670 people worldwide. Its U.S. office is in Redwood City, Calif.
Vilsmeier was named “World Entrepreneur of the Year” by Ernst and Young in 2002.
Staff writer Greg Griffin can be reached at 303-820-1241 or ggriffin@denverpost.com.
