[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 191 (Friday, October 2, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59796-59797]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-24994]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Prospective Grant of Exclusive License: Miniature Serial 
Sectioning Microtome for Block-Face Imaging

AGENCY: National Institutes of Health, HHS.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This is notice, in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR 
part 404, that the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of 
Health and Human Services, is contemplating the grant of an exclusive 
license to Carl Zeiss Microscopy GmbH, which is located in Germany, to 
practice the inventions embodied in the following patent applications:

1. US Provisional Application 61/991,929, filed May 12, 2014 (E-121-
2014/0-US-01)
2. PCT Application PCT/US2015/030359, filed May 12, 2015 (E-121-2014/0-
PCT-02)

    The patent rights in these inventions have been assigned to the 
United States of America.
    The prospective start-up exclusive license territory may be 
worldwide and the field of use may be limited to microtomes for 
scanning electron microscopes (SEMs) or light microscopes for life 
science applications.

DATES: Only written comments and/or applications for a license which 
are received by the NIH Office of Technology Transfer on or before 
November 2, 2015 will be considered.

ADDRESSES: Requests for copies of the patent application, inquiries, 
comments, and other materials relating to the contemplated exclusive 
license should be directed to: Susan Ano, Ph.D., NINDS Technology 
Transfer and Development Branch, 31 Center Drive, Suite 8A52, MS2540, 
Bethesda, MD 20892; Telephone: (301) 435-5515; Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A microtome device is used in a variety of 
microcopy techniques to remove very thin (e.g., in the tens of 
nanometers range) portions from the top of a sample between successive 
images. This technology discloses a design for a microtome device that 
offers several unique features and advantages over commercially 
available microtomes. A prototype of the microtome has been built and 
demonstrated to work with a serial block-face scanning electron 
microscopy in order to serially collect ultrathin sections from plastic 
embedded biological tissues. This microtome design allows for a sample 
to be cut at a location removed from the electron beam axis, reducing 
interference from debris and allowing imaging at a greater range of 
working distances. This microtome device is lightweight and easy to 
install utilizing the built-in stage of existing microscopes such that 
a sample's position and orientation can be controlled along three-axes 
of rectilinear translation and two axes of rotation. This microtome 
design utilizes a diamond blade coupled to both the base plate and an 
actuator to control the movement of the blade in a direction 
perpendicular to the exposed surface of the pedestal, while producing 
an output

[[Page 59797]]

signal that indicates the blade location with respect to the base 
plate. Advantageously, this allows for a stage coupled pedestal to be 
moved accurately from an imaging location on the beam axis to a cutting 
location off the beam axis.
    The prospective start-up exclusive license may be granted unless 
within thirty (30) days from the date of this published notice, the 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 part 404.
    Complete applications for a license in the field of use filed in 
response to this notice will be treated as objections to the grant of 
the contemplated start-up exclusive license. Comments and objections 
submitted 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: September 28, 2015.
Richard U. Rodriguez,
Acting Director, Office of Technology Transfer, National Institutes of 
Health.
[FR Doc. 2015-24994 Filed 10-1-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4140-01-P