Abbott Laboratories (ABT) is launching the next leg of research on a stent heart device that is completely absorbed into blood vessels, underscoring the company's belief that this could eventually become leading technology in a multibillion-dollar market.

The Abbott Park, Ill., company said Tuesday it has enrolled the first patient in the second stage of the Absorb trial. The study of about 80 patients at 10 centers outside the U.S. will broaden the research for a device that has thus far been studied in just 30 patients and needs a much deeper review to prove its capabilities.

Further study beyond this trial will be needed to target approval for the European market, which could come in 2012 or 2013. Approval in the U.S., if all goes well, would likely come a couple years later. By the end of this year, 30-day data from the just-launched study is expected.

Stents are tiny devices used to prop open clogged heart arteries, and the most commonly used stents are coated with medication to keep arteries from closing off again. Today's stents are made from metal, but Abbott's device is made from polylactic acid that is slowly metabolized by the body and is a material commonly used in medical implants, Abbott noted.

The Abbott device is designed to fade away over time, after it's done supporting a healing artery, rather than remaining in place permanently.

Though it's years away from reaching the market, Abbott has touted this device as what could be the next big technological leap in the $4 billion coated-stent market, while noting that the company is far ahead of any other companies in this area.

Abbott's Xience coated stent currently leads the U.S. and European markets, where the company competes with Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Medtronic Inc. (MDT). Abbott rivals are working on different types of next-generation stent technology.

-By Jon Kamp, Dow Jones Newswires; 617-654-6728; jon.kamp@dowjones.com