A longstanding patent dispute between Tyco Healthcare's Nellcor division (Pleasanton, CA) and Masimo Corp. (Irvine, CA) was finally resolved earlier this month. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld an earlier ruling by the Federal District Court in Los Angeles that Nellcor had violated two of Masimo's patents. The appeals court also reinstated a jury verdict that found Nellcor had infringed on a third Masimo patent.

The patent dispute revolved around the signal-processing technology used in pulse oximetry monitoring devices. Pulse oximetry is used in medical devices and instrumentation to measure a patient's oxygen saturation level and pulse rate.