[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 120 (Wednesday, June 22, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 36557]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-15480]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Prospective Grant of Exclusive License; Devices for Clearing 
Mucus From Endotracheal Tubes

AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, Public Health Service, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This is notice, in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 209(c)(1) and 37 
CFR 404.7(a)(1)(i), that the National Institutes of Health (NIH), 
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is contemplating the 
grant of a worldwide exclusive license, to practice the invention 
embodied in: HHS Ref. No. E-074-2005/0 ``Mucus Slurping Endotracheal 
Tube''; U.S. Patent 7,503,328 to Oculus Innovative Sciences, Inc., a 
company incorporated under the laws of the State of California having 
its headquarters in Petaluma, California. The United States of America 
is the assignee of the rights of the above inventions. The contemplated 
exclusive license may be granted in a field of use limited to devices 
for clearing mucus from endotracheal tubes.

DATES: Only written comments and/or applications for a license received 
by the NIH Office of Technology Transfer on or before July 22, 2011 
will be considered.

ADDRESSES: Requests for a copy of the patent application, inquiries, 
comments and other materials relating to the contemplated license 
should be directed to: Michael A. Shmilovich, Esq., Office of 
Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health, 6011 Executive 
Boulevard, Suite 325, Rockville, MD 20852-3804; Telephone: (301) 435-
5019; Facsimile: (301) 402-0220; E-mail: [email protected]. A 
signed confidentiality nondisclosure agreement will be required to 
receive copies of any patent applications that have not been published 
or issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office or the World 
Intellectual Property Organization.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The patent intended for licensure covers a 
mucus slurping device used to remove mucus before it reaches the tip of 
the endotracheal tube (ETT). A continuous aspiration endotracheal tube 
for subglottic secretions is fitted at its distal-most tip with a 
molded, hollow, concentric plastic ring with 3-4 (or more) small (less 
than l mm in diameter) suction ports, the latter positioned in the most 
dependent part of the ETT. A suction line is extended to the tip of the 
ETT and suction was activated for approximately half of a second, 
synchronized to the early part of expiration; and repeated once a 
minute, or as desired. Studies involving intubated sheep showed that 
all mucus was cleared from test animal and that mucus samples collected 
showed no infections that typically put patients at risk for ventilator 
associated pneumonia.
    The prospective exclusive license will be royalty bearing and will 
comply with the terms and conditions of 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR 404.7. 
The prospective exclusive license may be granted unless, within thirty 
(30) days from the date of this published notice, NIH receives written 
evidence and argument that establishes that the grant of the license 
would not be consistent with the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 
CFR 404.7.
    Properly filed competing applications for a license filed in 
response to this notice will be treated as objections to the 
contemplated license. Comments and objections submitted in response to 
this notice will not be made available for public inspection, and, to 
the extent permitted by law, will not be released under the Freedom of 
Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552.

    Dated: June 14, 2011.
Richard U. Rodriguez,
Director, Division of Technology Development and Transfer, Office of 
Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 2011-15480 Filed 6-21-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P