[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 164 (Wednesday, August 24, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 52961]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-21685]


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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-061-2004/0 ``Mucus Shaving Apparatus for 
Endotracheal Tubes''; U.S. Patent 7,051,737 to EndOclear, LLC, a 
company incorporated under the laws of the State of Michigan having its 
headquarters in Petoskey, Michigan. 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 September 23, 
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 an 
endotracheal tube cleaning apparatus which is inserted into the inside 
of an endotracheal tube to shave away mucus deposits. Mucus deposits 
contribute to bacterial growth and put intubated patients at risk for 
ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP). The preferred embodiment as 
recited in the claims is a cleaning apparatus with a flexible central 
tube and an inflatable balloon at its distal end. Affixed to the 
inflatable balloon are one or more shaving rings each having a squared 
leading edge to shave away mucus accumulations. In operation, the 
uninflated cleaning apparatus is inserted into the endotracheal tube 
and the balloon is then inflated by a suitable inflation device, such 
as a syringe, until the balloon's shaving rings are pressed against the 
inside surface of the endotracheal tube. The cleaning apparatus is then 
pulled out of the endotracheal tube to shave off mucus deposits.
    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: August 16, 2011.
Richard U. Rodriguez,
Director, Division of Technology Development and Transfer, Office of 
Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 2011-21685 Filed 8-23-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-P