[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 138 (Wednesday, July 17, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37279-37280]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-18101]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
National Institutes of Health


Government-Owned Inventions; Availability for Licensing

AGENCY: National Institutes of Health; HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

    The inventions listed below are owned by agencies of the U.S. 
Government and are available for licensing in the U.S. in accordance 
with 35 U.S.C. 207 to achieve expeditious commercialization of results 
of federally funded research and development. Foreign patent 
applications are filed on selected inventions to extend market coverage 
for U.S. companies and may also be available for licensing.

ADDRESSES: Licensing information and copies of the U.S. patent 
applications and issued patents listed below may be obtained by 
contacting John Fahner-Vihtelic at the Office of Technology Transfer, 
National Institutes of Health, 6011 Executive Boulevard, Suite 325, 
Rockville, Maryland 20852-3804; telephone: 301/496-7735 ext 285; fax: 
301/402-0220. A signed Confidential Disclosure Agreement will be 
required to receive copies of the patent applications.

Broadband Transmit-Receive Switch

TJ Pohida (NCRR)
Filed 06 Nov 95
Serial No. 08/554,003

    Transmit-receive (TR) switches are commonly used in complex 
electronic systems such as magnetic resonance imaging systems, radar 
systems, and a variety of communication systems. These switches are 
typically designed using quarter wavelength transmission lines in 
conjunction with solid state componentry. Although this type of TR 
switch performs well, the desirable properties of a quarter wavelength 
transmission lines are only exhibited over about a 10% variation in 
frequency. This type of TR switch is considered a narrowband switch. A 
significant need exists for a TR switch that uses the advantages of 
quarter wavelength impedance transformers and provides a broad 
bandwidth. The design of the present invention satisfies those needs by 
providing a TR switch which features a broadband frequency response. 
This invention can be implemented on any one of several transmission 
line media. Also, it can be manufactured according to any known 
manufacturing methods for similar devices. This technology has been 
implemented on a prototype imaging system. (portfolio: Devices/
Instrumentation--Diagnostics, imaging apparatus)

System and Method for Performing In Vivo Imaging and Oxymetry by Pulsed 
Radiofrequency Electron Paramagnetic Resonance

R Murugesan, MK Cherukuri, JB Mitchell, S Subramanian, R Tschudin (NCI)
Filed 20 Jul 95
Serial No. 08/504,616

    This invention provides a non-invasive system for in vivo imaging 
by fast-response pulsed radiofrequency (RF) electron paramagnetic 
resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. The imaging system can be used for 
measurement and 3-dimensional imaging of oxygen and free radicals in 
living systems, in conjunction with appropriate free radical probes. 
The system can be used to perform rapid 3-dimensional mapping of 
tissues and vasculature, for example cardiac and cerebral angiography, 
and also to distinguish normal and diseased tissues. The short 
relaxation time of the probes and the fast response associated with 
pulsed EPR techniques permit virtual real-time imaging. The system uses 
a magnetic field of only 10 mT-orders or magnitude smaller than the 
field used in conventional MRI techniques. The sensitivity, image 
resolution, and imaging speed of the pulsed RF EPR system are far 
superior to continuous wave RF EPR systems. (portfolio: Devices/
Instrumentation--Diagnostics, imaging apparatus, electron paramagnetic 
resonance; Devices/Instrumentation--Diagnostics, imaging apparatus, 
spectroscopy)

System and Method for Simulating a Two-Dimensional Radiation Intensity 
Distribution of Photon or Electron Beams

J van de Geijn, H Xie (NCI)
Serial No. 08/368,589 filed 06 Jan 95
U.S. Patent No. 5,526,395 issued 11 Jun 96

    The present invention provides a method for computer-assisted, 
interactive 3-dimensional radiation treatment planning and 
optimization. The computerized system is capable of processing and 
analyzing data obtained from x-ray, CT, MRI, PET, SPECT, and 
gammacamera devices. Hence, the system can be used as a training 
device, alleviating the need for training centers to purchase each of 
these devices. The computerized system comprises a fast, versatile, and 
user-friendly software package and computer components which are 
commercially available and which can be used without significant 
modification. Because the hardware costs of this system are much lower 
than the cost of systems of comparable ability, this invention ought to 
be particularly attractive to smaller radiation oncology facilities 
which seek a powerful treatment planning system. The low cost of the 
system is also particularly advantageous for medical training 
facilities, including medical schools. The invention also has potential 
use as a monitor for clinical quality assurance. (portfolio: Devices/
Instrumentation--Therapeutics, methods of using devices)

Variable Axial Aperture Positron Emission Tomography Scanner

MV Green, J Seidel, WR Gandler (CC)
Filed 15 Dec 94
Serial No. 08/357,574

    Development of a unique system that can operate as both a 
scintillation camera and a positron emission tomography (PET) scanner 
offers to significantly improve the visualization of physiological 
processes in the human body and other biological systems. Single photon 
emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging--which utilizes one or 
more scintillation cameras rotated around a subject--is used in nuclear 
medicine worldwide. More recently, an alternative to SPECT imaging has 
involved the development and use of positron emission tomography (PET) 
imaging, in which the subject is surrounded by rings of detectors that 
detect the emission of a pair of annihilation photons from positron 
emitting racers in the body.

[[Page 37280]]

SPECT and PET imaging, however, require different instrumentation: 
scintillation cameras used for SPECT imaging are generally regarded as 
too insensitive for effective PET imaging, while PET scanners cannot 
effectively image single photon emitting tracers used for SPECT. This 
newly developed system attempts to bridge this gap by using two 
uncollimated, tiltable scintillation cameras in time coincidence, 
rotated about the target to acquire PET image data. Tilting the cameras 
in the prescribed manner allows a tradeoff between axial field-of-view 
and photon path length through the scintillator that maximizes 2D 
coincidence sensitivity compared to cameras in full opposition. The 
resulting system exhibits the high spatial resolution expected of a 
scintillation camera at 511 keV but with substantially higher 
coincidence sensitivity. (portfolio: Devices/Instrumentation--
Diagnostics, imaging apparatus, positron emission tomography)

Enzymatic Degrading Subtraction Hybridization

J Zeng (NCI)
Serial No. 08/322,075 filed 12 Oct 94
U.S. Patent No. 5,525,471 issued 11 Jun 96

    The present invention provides an alternative method for selection 
and identification of differentially expressed genes involved in 
embryonic development and in the onset or maintenance of various 
pathological conditions due to genetic alterations in somatic cells. 
This method involves the prior modification of tester cDNA which 
contains the sequences of interest by incorporation of nuclease 
resistant nucleotide analogs. Driver cDNA not containing the sequences 
of interest is then used to remove sequences common to driver and 
tester cDNA populations through hybridization and subsequent 
exonuclease digestion, substantially enriching for the desired 
sequences. This method can also be used in conjunction with the phenol-
emulsion reassociation technique (PERT), which significantly 
accelerates the hybridization rate allowing, the cDNA molecules to be 
efficiently subtracted using a very small amount of DNA. This method is 
less expensive, more efficient, and less time-consuming than previous 
subtraction hybridization methods. (portfolio: Cancer--Research 
Reagents; Cancer--Diagnostics)

Chromatographic Method and Device for Preparing Blood Serum for 
Compatibility Testing

R Butz (CC)
Filed 18 Oct 95
DHHS Reference No. E-141-94/0

    The present invention provides a new method for antiglobulin 
testing of serum from a potential blood transfusion recipient. This 
process and device removes warm antibodies from serum to allow for the 
identification of alloantibodies present in the sample. The multiple 
absorptions required by current methods to remove the warm antibodies 
from serum of a potential blood transfusion recipient is superseded by 
this invention. The disclosed invention will remove the majority of 
warm antibodies in a single one-hour absorption. This invention also 
eliminates the need for pretreatment of cells with expensive reagents. 
Use of this column and method does not remove any clinically 
significant alloantibodies. Therefore, transfusion history accuracy and 
subsequent risk to the patient is greatly reduced. (portfolio: Internal 
Medicine--Diagnostics, cardiology; Internal Medicine--Miscellaneous)

    Dated: July 8, 1996.
Barbara M. McGarey,
Deputy Director, Office of Technology Transfer.
[FR Doc. 96-18101 Filed 7-16-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-M