[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 144 (Wednesday, July 27, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44939-44940]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-18966]


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

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Government-Owned Inventions; Availability for Licensing

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

ACTION: Notice.

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

SUMMARY: The inventions listed below are owned by an agency 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.

Wirelessly Powered MRI Signal Amplification System and Method

    Description of Technology: The invention is in the field of MRI, 
and more specifically relates to device and method that may provide 
great improvements in the area of interventional MRI. The technology 
describes an MRI detection coil that has been integrated with a 
parametric amplifier to provide local signal detection fully integrated 
with amplification. This amplification is done in a way that is 
inherently wireless, thus enabling efficient signal transmission. The 
integrated MRI detector/amplifier can be used in a number of 
applications. First, it can replace conventional MRI amplification 
typically done with transistor, thus eliminating the need for wires. 
Second, it can replace what is traditionally used as part of implanted 
or catheter coils for interventional procedures with MRI. The advantage 
is that the signal can be amplified, and wireless transmission is part 
of the amplification scheme. Therefore signal can be transmitted from 
the subject in a way that provides detection at higher sensitivity than 
conventional coils without internal amplification.

[[Page 44940]]

    Applications: MRI diagnostics and in particular in interventional 
MRI applications:
     The device can be used as part of a catheter MRI coil for 
MRI guided surgery.
     It can also be used as implantable NMR coils for localized 
spectroscopy with better sensitivity.
     The device can potentially be used as a free floating MRI 
detector/amplifier and swallowed for internal MRI detection as has been 
done quite successful with optical imaging devices for imaging the 
human intestine.
     There may be use in MRI coil arrays where interaction 
between wires in large element arrays is a problem.
    Advantages:
     The detector/amplifier integrated system eliminates the 
need for transistors and is wireless, therefore heat is reduced and 
sensitivity of detection is increased.
     The system is compatible with interventional MRI devices.
    Development Status:
     Proof of principle has been demonstrated on a prototype 
device.
     Testing a second generation device right now with smaller 
dimension that could be implanted into transplanted organs and used in 
mm sized catheters for interventional devices or the digestive tract.
     Plans to develop methods to decouple elements for use in 
MRI detector arrays.
    Inventors: Chunqi Qian et al. (NINDS)
    Relevant Publications:
    1. Qian C, Murphy-Borsch J, Dodd S, Koretsky A. Local detection and 
parametric amplification of MRI signals. Abstract/Presentation, 52nd 
Experimental Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Conference, April 10-15, 2011, 
Pacific Grove, CA.
    2. Qian C, Murphy-Borsch J, Dodd S, Koretsky A. Integrated 
detection and wireless transmission of MRI signal using parametric 
amplifier. Abstract/Presentation, 19th Annual Meeting & Exhibition of 
the International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, May 7-13, 
2011, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
    3. Qian C, Murphy-Borsch J, Dodd S, Koretsky A. Sensitivity 
enhancement of remotely coupled NMR detectors using wirelessly powered 
parametric amplification. Magn Reson Med. 2011, under review.
    Patent Status: U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/648,911 filed 29 
Mar 2011 (HHS Reference No. E-113-2011/0-US-01).
    Licensing Status: Available for licensing and commercial 
development.
    Licensing Contacts:
     Uri Reichman, PhD, MBA; 301-435-4616; [email protected].
     John Stansberry, PhD; 301-435-5236; [email protected].

An Antibody Specific for the Ubl4A Protein

    Description of Technology: The antibody developed against the Ubl4A 
protein is available for licensing. Ubl4A is involved in the proper 
targeting of tail-anchored proteins to membranes by acting as a 
chaperone to prevent inappropriate interactions or aggregation. 
Alterations in membrane insertion or protein degradation may be related 
to Ubl4a in certain disease states making Ubl4a an attractive biomarker 
for the study of disease development or as a tool for the development 
of assays for disease detection.
    Applications: The Ubl4a-specific antibody detects Ubl4a in total 
cell lysates and tissues and can be used to study Ubl4a interactions 
with other proteins.
    Inventor: Ramanugan Hegde (NICHD).
    Related Publication: Mariappan M, Li X, Stefanovic S, Sharma A, 
Mateja A, Keenan RJ, Hegde RS. A ribosome-associating factor chaperones 
tail-anchored membrane proteins. Nature. 2010 Aug 26;466(7310):1120-
1124. [PMID: 20676083].
    Patent Status: HHS Reference No. E-058-2011/0--Research Tool. 
Patent protection is not being pursued for this technology.
    Licensing Status: This technology is available as a research tool 
under a Biological Materials License.
    Licensing Contact: Steve Standley, PhD; 301-435-4074; 
[email protected].
    Collaborative Research Opportunity: The NICHD is seeking statements 
of capability or interest from parties interested in collaborative 
research to further develop, evaluate, or commercialize Ubl4A assay 
detection for disease diagnostics. Please contact Charlotte McGuinness 
at 301-435-3130 or [email protected] for more information.

The Human Nuclear Co-Repressor Gene: Applications for Cancer 
Diagnostics/Therapeutics and Gene Expression Research

    Description of Technology: The human nuclear receptor co-repressor 
(huN-CoR) forms multimolecular complexes that alters chromatin 
structure, resulting in disrupted gene expression. The huN-CoR complex 
is central to normal processes such as erythropoiesis and thymocyte 
development, but is also linked to multiple cancers including 
colorectal carcinomas, endometrial cancers and leukemia, particularly 
acute myeloid leukemia. Thus, huN-CoR is a potentially-valuable tool 
for cancer diagnosis, as well as a target for the development of huN-
CoR-based cancer therapeutics. HuN-CoR is also an attractive research 
tool for the study of gene regulation, epigenetic modification and gene 
silencing.
    The technology claims nucleic acid sequences comprising the huN-CoR 
gene and fragments thereof, as well as a gene chip array incorporating 
such fragments.
    Applications:
     Target for novel anti-cancer therapies.
     Use as a tool for prognosis and diagnosis of HuN-Cor-
related diseases.
     Use as a target for antibody production and development of 
biological assays to diagnose human disease related to HuN-CoR.
     Target for rational drug design of novel agents to reverse 
transcriptional repression
     Study of molecular repression of targeted genes using HuN-
Cor fusion proteins.
    Inventors: Johnson M. Liu and Jianxiang Wang (NHLBI).
    Related Publications:
    1. Wang J, Wang M, Liu JM. Domains involved in ETO and human N-CoR 
interaction and ETO transcription repression. Leuk Res. 2004 
Apr;28(4):409-414. [PMID: 15109542].
    2. Wang J, Hoshino T, Redner RL, Kajigaya S, Liu JM. ETO, fusion 
partner in t(8;21) acute myeloid leukemia, represses transcription by 
interaction with the human N-CoR/mSin3/HDAC1 complex. Proc Natl Acad 
Sci U.S.A. 1998 Sep 1;95(18):10860-10865. [PMID: 9724795]
    Patent Status: HHS Reference No. E-088-1999/0--U.S. Patent No. 
6,949,624 issued 27 Sep 2005.
    Licensing Status: Available for licensing.
    Licensing Contact: Tara Kirby PhD; 301-435-4426; [email protected].

    Dated: July 21, 2011.
Richard U. Rodriguez,
Director, Division of Technology Development and Transfer, Office of 
Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 2011-18966 Filed 7-26-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P