Best Medical International, Inc. (Best Medical) of Springfield, Va. has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Accuray, Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif. and four former Best Medical employees. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court, Western District of Pennsylvania concerns a patent over Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT) technology.

The complaint states that the defendant former employees had downloaded intellectual property and trade secrets from Best Medical computers without consent and shared the information with Accuray--where the employees now worked. Best Medical had already filed suit against the former employees for tort actions of conversion and theft of trade secrets. Best Medical had also sued Accuray and the employees regarding conspiracy to steal Best Medical's trade secrets and confidential and proprietary information.

According to the current complaint, the patent infringement involves Accuray's CyberKnife VSI System, which utilizes IMRT technology. The complaint says IMRT technology used in the CyberKnife VSI is owned by Best Medical and was allegedly provided to Accuray by the defendant former employees.
Best Medical had purchased the NOMOS Corporation and North American Scientific in 2007, including the patent for the IMRT technology.

Unlike conventional radiation therapy, IMRT can change intensity of the radiation during treatment in order to avoid adjoining normal tissue. Therefore, an increased dose of radiation can be delivered to the tumor. IMRT is a type of conformal radiation, meaning it can shape radiation beams to approximate the shape of the tumor.

Best Medical is asking for declarations that the defendants infringed the patent, enjoining defendants from further acts of infringement, damages and costs.

More Industry Headlines