Angioplasty Stent Patent Filed in 1987 Issued Dec. 13, 2005 by U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

ATLANTA -- W.H. Wall Family Holdings, LLLP announced today the issuance of U.S. patent number 6,974,475. The patent, entitled "Angioplasty stent" was filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on December 8, 1987 and issued on December 13, 2005. The abstract of the patent is as follows:

"A prosthesis for use in preventing restenosis after angioplasty is formed of plastic or sheet metal, and is expandable and contractable for placement. The prosthesis can be inserted while in a collapsed position, then expanded and locked at the larger diameter. Spring force can be provided by the material itself, or metal springs can be embedded within the walls of the prosthesis. Preferably, the walls have holes there through to promote tissue growth; and, in one embodiment, the holes are in the form of slots so that the prosthesis is segmented and can bend longitudinally."

The issued patent includes a total of 42 claims, which are considered to be relatively broad, in part due to the early state of the stent industry when the device was invented and the patent was filed. The claims cover aspects of stent design, construction and delivery.

The long pendency of the patent is highly unusual and as such has drawn a great deal of interest. An example of this is the January 26, 2006 article authored by Ron Winslow and published by The Wall Street Journal entitled "Will stent makers fight dentist's patent tooth and nail?" As described in the article the length of the pendency was due in part to the application's involvement in an interference proceeding in the Patent Office and subsequent appeal to the Court of Appeals of the Federal Circuit.

This document contains forward-looking statements about W.H. Wall Family Holdings, LLLP. All forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the ability of W.H. Wall Family Holdings, LLLP to control, which may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from anticipated results, performance, or achievements. All statements contained in this document that are not clearly historical in nature or that necessarily depend on future events are forward-looking and the words "anticipate," "believe," "expect," "estimate," "plan," and similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements.