Tag: patent
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USPTO Issues Inventor Verification Rules Under First-to-File
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued new procedures today to ensure the first person to file a patent application is actually the true inventor. The new rules are part of USPTO’s implementation of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA), and are scheduled to take effect on 16 March 2013. The AIA shifts the U.S.…
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Blood Test Technology Devised with Lab Chip, Smartphone App
Engineering faculty and students at University of Rhode Island in Kingston developed a hand-held blood testing technology that combines a lab-on-a-chip device with a smartphone app. The university says several patents for been filed for the system invented by mechanical engineering professor Mohammad Faghri (pictured right) and colleagues. The device captures a drop of blood…
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Feasibility Demonstrated of Tiny Wireless Cardiac Implants
Engineers at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California showed that millimeter-sized implanted cardiac devices could be powered by radio waves transmitted from outside the body. The findings from the team led by electrical engineering professor Ada Poon (pictured right) appear online in the journal Applied Physics Letters; paid subscription required. Poon, with doctoral candidates Sanghoek…
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New Process Simplifies Protein Production for Drug Companies
A chemical engineer at University of Arkansas in Fayetteville developed a new method for producing high quality proteins used in drugs for treating an assortment of disorders. Doctoral candidate Ellen Brune (pictured right) also founded a company, Boston Mountain Biotech, to commercialize the technology. Current industry methods for protein manufacturing require separating out the background…
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New Methods Developed to Combat Drug Counterfeiting
Two presentations at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society in Philadelphia highlight new methods for combating counterfeit drugs, particularly in developing countries. Toni Barstis of Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana (pictured right) discussed a paper-strip test for Panadol, a pain killer based on acetaminophen, and Facundo Fernández at Georgia Tech in…
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Hopkins Students Invent Suturing Device, Start Company
A team of biomedical engineering students at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore developed a disposable suturing tool for abdominal surgeries, to reduce the risk of complications, such as the accidental puncture of internal organs. The students, mainly undergraduates, filed a patent for their FastStitch device, and started a company to take their idea to market.…
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MIT Start-Up Building Solar Thermal Systems for Clinics
A not-for-profit company established by students and alumni at Massachusetts Institute of Technology is testing a solar energy system that generates electric power and hot water for isolated health clinics in Africa. The team led by Matthew Orosz, a recent Ph.D. recipient in mechanical engineering, will describe its work in an upcoming issue of the…
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Patent Awarded for Heat Resistant Polylactic Acid Polymers
Cereplast Inc., a manufacturer of bio-based plastics in El Segundo, California, received a patent for its formulation of heat-resistant polymers with polylactic acid. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued number 8,222,320 to Cereplast CEO Frederic Scheer and researcher William Kelly on 17 July 2012. Polylactic acid is a natural resin that can be formed…
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USPTO to Expand to Texas, Colorado, California
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) says it will open three new satellite offices in or around Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, and Silicon Valley, California. The three new offices will join Detroit, Michigan as satellites to USPTO’s headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. The Detroit office is set to open on 13 July. The Denver Post reported…
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Report: Foreign Scientists Key to U.S. Innovation, Patents
A new report on the impact of immigration on innovation in the U.S. says researchers from overseas account for a large majority of the patents granted to inventors from top research universities, particularly in high-growth science and engineering fields. The report, “Patent Pending: How Immigrants Are Reinventing The American Economy,” was prepared by the Partnership…