[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 154 (Thursday, August 8, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41418-41419]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-20267]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Government-Owned Inventions; Availability for Licensing

AGENCY: National Institutes of Health.

ACTION: Notice.

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    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 David Sadowski at the Office of Technology Transfer, 
National Institutes of Health, 6011 Executive Boulevard, Suite 325, 
Rockville, Maryland 20852-3804 (telephone: 301/496-7056 ext 288; fax: 
301/402-0220). A signed Confidential Disclosure Agreement will be 
required to receive copies of the patent applications.

Nurse's Hand Protection

B Thornton, A Peterson, M Allen, B Fahey, M Woolery Antill, J Taylor, V 
Wheeler, P Coleman, S Kedrowski, L Jeanneret (CC)
Filed 15 Aug 95
Serial No. 08/515,499

    This invention provides nurses and other health care workers with 
protection against accidental needle sticks. Specifically, a device has 
been

[[Page 41419]]

created which protects the most susceptible areas on the back and sides 
of the thumb, forefinger, and the area of the hand there between. This 
offers the notable advantage of preventing infections from accidental 
needle sticks. This invention is particularly useful during the risky 
task of inserting a twisted or kinked needle (such as a Huber needle) 
into a pot-a-cath. Stage of Development: prototype built. (portfolio: 
Devices/Instrumentation--Environmental Technology, prevention, 
apparatus; Devices/Instrumentation--Miscellaneous)

Separation of Polar Compounds by Affinity Countercurrent 
Chromatography

Y Ma, Y Ito (NHLBI)
Filed 14 Aug 95
Serial No. 08/514,917
Patent Status: U.S. patent application pending, foreign rights 
available

    A new and highly advantageous method of purifying polar organic 
compounds using affinity countercurrent chromatography, has been 
created. This invention permits separation of very hydrophilic organic 
compounds using countercurrent chromatography in which a ligand for the 
desired analytes is used to enhance the partitioning of polar species 
into the organic layer of an aqueous-organic solvent mixture. Examples 
of polar organic compounds which may be recovered using the present 
invention include: compounds having two or more functional groups on 
each molecule which are hydroxyl, amino, acid or lower acyl (e.g., 
catecholamines, carbohydrates, polyalcohols, polyamines, amino acids, 
peptides, and nucleic acids). Stage of Development: completed and 
tested. (portfolio: Devices/Instrumentation--Research Tools, devices, 
chromatographic)

Apparatus and Method for the In-Situ Detection of Areas of Cardiac 
Electrical Activity

H Bassen, V Krauthamer (FDA)
Filed 11 Aug 95
Serial No. 08/513,713
Patent Status: U.S. patent application pending and foreign rights 
available

    This invention provides new means for diagnosis (e.g., two 
dimensional mapping) and treatment of electrically-active tissue 
without the need for surgery. For example, electrical activity of the 
heart may be mapped in vivo, in a minimally invasive manner, without 
cutting either the chest wall or the heart wall. The invention employs 
a multifibered endoscope and multiple tissue dyes to map electrical 
activity. This permits identification and treatment of potentially 
lethal electrical abnormalities without surgery. In regard to the 
cardiac diagnosing aspect of this invention alone, over 400,000 people 
die in the U.S. each year from cardiac electrical rhythm diseases. This 
invention provides a minimally invasive and less expensive means for 
diagnosis and treatment of such diseases. (portfolio: Devices/
Instrumentation--Diagnostics, devices, invasive; Devices/
Instrumentation--Diagnostics, imaging; Devices/Instrumentation--
Therapeutics, devices)

Displacement Countercurrent Chromatography

Y Ito (NHLBI)
Serial No. 08/263,924 Filed 21 June 94
U.S. Patent No. 5,449,461 issued 12 Sep 95

    A new method of preparative scale pH-zone refining countercurrent 
chromatography has been invented, which may be operated analogously to 
displacement chromatography. It has been discovered that use of a 
retainer base or acid in the stationary phase retains analytes in the 
column. The analytes may then be eluted using a displacer acid or base 
in order of increasing or decreasing pKa or hydrophobicity. This 
invention has many advantages, including: producing a train of highly 
concentrated rectangular solute peaks with minimum overlap; the 
retaining and displacing compositions may be switched (i.e., the 
retaining material may be made the displacing material, and vice 
versa); eluted material is provided as a salt free acid or base in an 
organic solvent, which can easily be separated by evaporating the 
solvent; the displacement mode of this invention may be utilized in a 
ligand-affinity separation which may cover a broad range of analytes, 
including nonionizable compounds; allowing the sample to be loaded onto 
the separation column as a suspension, or as a mixture of compounds 
that are only partially soluble in the solvent system, and; permitting 
the separation of greater volumes than with previous methods. 
(portfolio: Devices/Instrumentation--Research Tools, devices, 
chromatographic)

Method for In Situ Testing of Integrity of Electrical Stimulator 
Leads

R Schmukler (FDA)
Filed 21 Jun 94
Serial No. 08/263,312

    This invention provides an in situ method for testing the integrity 
of the insulation of electrical stimulators leads. It allows the 
electrical stimulator to measure and thereby continually monitor the 
insulation of its leads. By being able to detect premature degradation 
of the leads of implanted electrical stimulators, e.g., pacemakers, 
unexpected failures of the device can be reduced. Replacement of the 
electrical stimulator leads in the heart is a traumatic process, to be 
avoided unless necessary. Currently available pacemakers and other 
implanted electrical stimulators do not allow for accurate monitoring 
of the lead insulation, so that advance warning of degradation may be 
obtained. This invention allows for the degradation of the lead 
insulation to be detected earlier than is now possible, thereby 
providing warning of potential failure before it becomes critical to 
the patient. (portfolio: Devices/Instrumentation--Therapeutics, 
devices, implants)

A Detection Device and Quantification Method for Therapeutic Agents 
in Blood

E Kohn, L Liotta (NCI)
Serial No. 08/041,438 filed 31 Mar 93
U.S. Patent No. 5,405,782 issued 11 Apr 95

    New methods have been invented which provide improved determination 
of therapeutic agents in blood. A solid phase extraction of a solute 
from plasma is followed by reverse phase high performance liquid 
chromatography on a column of irregularly shaped C-18 liquid 
chromatography on a column of irregularly shaped C-18 modified silica. 
By comparing the chromatogram produced by this invention with a 
standard, a precise and accurate quantification of the amount of solute 
in the blood may be made. This invention also has the advantage of 
facilitating automation of the extraction and chromatography steps, 
thereby permitting rapid testing of a plurality of samples. (portfolio: 
Devices/Instrumentation--Research Tools, devices, chromatographic; 
Devices/Instrumentation--Research Tools, devices, separation; Cancer--
Therapeutics, conventional chemotherapy, antimetabolites)

    Dated: July 30, 1996.
Barbara M. McGarey,
Deputy Director, Office of Technology Transfer.
[FR Doc. 96-20267 Filed 8-7-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-M