[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 129 (Friday, July 5, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44859-44860]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-16795]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
National Institutes of Health
Government-Owned Inventions; Availability for Licensing
AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, Public Health Service, DHHS.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: 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 companies and may also be available for licensing.
ADDRESSES: Licensing information and copies of the U.S. patent
applications listed below may be obtained by writing to the indicated
licensing contact at the Office of Technology Transfer, National
Institutes of Health, 6011 Executive Boulevard, Suite 325, Rockville,
Maryland 20852-3804; telephone: 301/496-7057; fax: 301/402-0220. A
signed Confidential Disclosure Agreement will be required to receive
copies of the patent applications.
Radio Frequency Cauterization Biopsy
Bradford J. Wood and Christan Pavlovich (CC)
DHHS Reference Nos. E-207-01/0 filed Oct 17, 2001 and E-207-01/1 filed
Apr 08, 2002
Licensing Contact: Dale Berkley; 301/496-7735 ext. 223; e-mail:
[email protected].
The invention is a method and apparatus for using radio frequency
(RF) energy to cauterize the needle track after percutaneous image-
guided needle biopsy using an RF ablation probe. The invention is
designed to limit the risks of bleeding and needle track seeding that
are inherent risks of any needle biopsy. The device uses a coaxial
biopsy arrangement with the outer needle coated with a non-conducting
polymer that insulates the needle shaft and the tissue immediately in
contact with the shaft. As the needle is pulled back from the organ or
tumor target, RF energy is applied to an exposed end portion of the
probe, causing cauterization and coagulation of the tissue immediately
adjacent to the needle track. A variation on the device could be used
to limit bleeding after catheter placement into organs, such as for
nephrostomy, biliary drainage, or transhepatic islet cell
transplantation.
Method and Apparatus for Countercurrent Chromatography
Yoichiro Ito (NHLBI)
DHHS Reference No. E-148-01/0 filed Apr 05, 2002
Licensing Contact: Dale Berkley; 301/496-7735 ext. 223; e-mail:
[email protected].
This invention is an improved column design for High Speed Counter
Current Chromatography (HSCCC) that increases partition efficiency by
using novel tubing geometries. A standard HSCCC centrifuge uses a
multilayer coil as a separation column to produce a high efficiency
separation with good retention of the stationary phase in many solvent
systems. However, the standard HSCCC, when used for highly viscous, low
interfacial solvent systems, is unsuccessful at retaining a suitable
amount of the stationary phase. This invention greatly improves
efficiency by modifying the column from a coil to spiral geometry.
Thereby, this invention creates a centrifugal force gradient, which
allows for distribution of the heaver phase in the peripheral and the
lighter phase in the proximal part of the column. The effect of the
gradient becomes more pronounced as the pitch of the spiral is
increased.
Method for Segmenting Medical Images and Detecting Surface Anomalies in
Anatomical Structures
Ronald M. Summers et al. (CC)
U.S. Patent 6,246,784 issued Jun 12, 2001; U.S. Patent 6,345,112 issued
Feb 05 2002; Serial No. 10/072,667 filed Feb 05, 2002
Licensing Contact: Dale Berkley; 301/496-7735 ext. 223; e-mail:
[email protected].
[[Page 44860]]
The invention is a method for automatically detecting surface
anomalies in anatomical structures in virtual colonoscopy and other
imaging studies. A region growing method segments three-dimensional
image data of an anatomical structure using a tortuous path length
limit to constrain voxel growth. The path length limit constrains the
number of successive generations of voxel growth from a seed point to
prevent leakage of voxels outside the boundary of the anatomical
structures. Once segmented, a process for detecting surface anomalies
performs a curvature analysis on a computer model of the surface of the
structure. This process detects surface anomalies automatically by
traversing the vertices in the surface model, computing partial
derivatives of the surface at the vertices, and computing curvature
characteristics from the partial derivatives. To identify possible
anomalies, the process compares the curvature characteristics with
predetermined curvature characteristics of anomalies and classifies the
vertices. The process further refines potential anomalies by segmenting
neighboring vertices that are classified as being part of an anomaly
using curvature characteristics. Finally, the process colorizes the
anomalies, and computes a camera position and direction for each one to
assist the user in viewing 2D rendering of the computer model.
The method may be useful for automated detection of inflammatory,
pre-cancerous and cancerous lesions of internal body cavities, such as
the colon, airways, blood vessels and bladder. An example of a
potential commercial application is as a component of software for
clinical interpretation of virtual colonoscopy (CT colonography)
examinations.
This research is also described in Summers et al., ``Automated
Polyp Detection at CT Colonography: Feasibility Assessment in a Human
Population,'' Radiology 219:51-59 (2001) and in Summers et al.,
``Complementary Role of Computer-Aided Detection of Colonic Polyps with
CT Colonography,'' Radiology, in press.
Dated: June 24, 2002.
Jack Spiegel,
Director, Division of Technology Development and Transfer, Office of
Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 02-16795 Filed 7-3-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P