Starting at the beginning of January 2013, I started publishing what we call Companies We Follow over on IPWatchdog.com. The primary author of the series is Steven Brachmann, a freelance journalist who has covered the technology sector for years.
One of our goals is to come up with a representative set of companies that we could realistically profile from time to time in order to get a feel for what the company is working on in terms of research and development. For the most part, you know when you profile Apple that you will see a lot of mobile and wireless technologies and associated gadgets, our profiles of IBM always show that they are heavy into cloud computing and intelligence-based software systems (think Watson) and our AT&T profiles typically show a company that focuses on communications and multi-media technologies. Then there are companies like Qualcomm that work on a variety of diverse, cutting-edge technologies. But, for the most part, you know what types of innovations you are likely to find.
Recently, however, we profiled a patent application owned by General Electric that describes an enhanced system of electromagnetic tracking for surgical applications. See GE Seeks Patent on Electromagnetic Surgical Navigation. This system would be capable of automatically detecting medical instruments in use during surgery, returning data to a surgeon about their exact location within a patient. This means of automatic detection would be used to inform a surgical navigation system that increases the effectiveness of surgical procedures. This system uses an instrument assembly that includes a coil which can receive electromagnetic signals and a prong within that coil that corresponds to the length of the medical instrument. This coil receiver can gather data on an instrument’s position within a body as long as the length matches the prong inside of the coil. Additionally, a sensor can be implanted into a patient’s body to aid in instrument detection. While this may seem interesting or out of step to some, GE is known for its healthcare research, so not terribly surprising.
But the one patent that recently caught me by surprise was U.S. Patent No. 8,551,555, entitled Biocompatible Coatings for Medical Devices. While the combination of coatings and immunosuppressive drugs does somewhat improve the outlook for the patient, the incidence of device-rejection-related complications is still significant. Indeed, many medical problems stemming from implanted devices are believed to be the result of defects and non-uniformity in the biocompatible coating on the device. The innovation disclosed in the ‘555 patent relates to and protects a method of providing implanted medical devices with a more uniform biocompatible coating for a lower risk of infection.
Did you know that Intel was engaging in medical research? Perhaps not, but this type of patenting of research outside the core scope of focus is not unusual. Such efforts can and frequently do provide licensing opportunities and additional non-core revenue, and could potentially open up a variety of opportunities.
There are three independent claims in the ‘555 patent, which recite as follows:
1. A method for creating a biocompatible coating comprising: providing an object having surface to be coated with a biocompatible film; floating the object using a flowing gas wherein the flowing gas comprises a vortex in a region of the flowing gas and wherein the object is rotating about an axis in the flowing gas and wherein the object is located in the vortex; and applying a solution comprising a proteinaceous molecule to the surface to be coated under conditions that allow the proteinaceous molecule to coat the surface of the object suspended in a flowing gas.
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13. A method for coating a surface with a biocompatible coating comprising: providing an object having surface to be coated with a biocompatible film; floating the object using a flowing gas wherein the flowing gas comprises a vortex in a region of the flowing gas wherein the object is rotating about an axis in the flowing gas and wherein the object is located in the vortex; creating a silane containing layer on the surface of the object suspended in the flowing gas, wherein the silane containing layer is capable of being covalently coupled to a proteinaceous molecule; and applying a solution comprising a proteinaceous molecule to the surface of the object suspended in the flowing gas, under conditions that allow the proteinaceous molecule to covalently attach to the surface of the object, wherein the proteinaceous molecule is then covalently coupled to the silane containing layer on the surface of the object.
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22. A method for coating a surface with a biocompatible coating comprising: providing an object having surface to be coated with a biocompatible film; floating the object using a flowing gas wherein the flowing gas comprises a vortex in a region of the flowing gas wherein the object is rotating about an axis in the flowing gas and wherein the object is located in the vortex; etching the surface of the suspended object using a plasma process; creating a silane containing layer on the surface of the suspended object, wherein the silane containing layer is capable of being covalently coupled to a proteinaceous molecule; and applying a solution comprising a proteinaceous molecule to the surface to be coated of the object suspended in the flowing gas, under conditions that allow the proteinaceous molecule to covalently attach to the surface of the object, wherein the proteinaceous molecule is then covalently coupled to the silane containing layer on the surface of the object.
According to the patent, these methods for coating medical devices are advantageous because they are suitable for high-volume manufacturing. The plasma processing of the device surface can be accomplished in much less time than the traditional wet chemical approaches (hours as opposed to days). Further, the controlled environment used in embodiments of the invention minimizes contamination and provides a more uniform and reproducible bio-compatible coating.
Research for the sake of research can and certainly does go in many directions, some unexpected. The pursuit of research leads to very interesting innovations, including those that are not directly in the wheelhouse of the innovator company.
Tags: GE, Intel, medical devices, patent, patents
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