Medical Patent Device Drives Video Game Evolution

Posted on September 15, 2011 by John Rizvi

Here is a tried-and-true way to increase your chances of success with your patent. First, take something that is working in one field. Next, add a little twist that will make it a success in another market.

Sometimes this is as easy as wrapping cardboard around a coffee cup and coming up with a new insulator (yes, that is patented). Other times the technology is not quite as obvious in its applications, requiring some creative thought to provide the best return on the investment. 

Medibotics’ patent for a full body motion control suit is an example of this process in action.

The suit, making use of fluid or air filled tubes, can convert the motion of the body into computer signals, which can be used to control a video game character, or provide telemetry for medical devices. At first glance, the two applications, medical telemetry and video game controller would seem to have little similarity, but in truth they are closely related and can help drive the creation of not just a medical device patent, but several patents. 

While the control suit can be used to provide telemetry for those undergoing physical therapy, or to determine how quickly someone is recovering from an operation, this device can also be used quite effectively in the field of video games. Unlike most techniques, which divorce the user from the action in the game, a full body control suit would allow the user to feel like they were fully immersed in the action, a vital part of what makes a commercially successful video game.

Even better, this use is sufficiently unique from that covered by the medical device patent that the company can easily take out another patent. In this way, the expensive research and development that went into the original concept is repaid twice over. 

It is even possible to relate the two uses to produce third patent.

With the growth and integration of telepresence technology into the medical field, a full body motion control suit could be used to allow nurses and doctors to remotely manipulate robots to permit them to examine and change patients while they remain in their office. Thus, this single concept now generates yet another medical device patent, this time modified from the video game controller patent.

The possibilities are quite literally limitless. 

In today’s financial environment, it is imperative that a company receive the best return on any investment. A concept that can apply to more than one field, especially if it can do so inexpensively, can provide the company with two or more patents, each one of which will generate extra revenue. Since you have already spent the money for the research and development, it makes a great deal of sense to extract all the value you can from your work. 

The difference between success and failure often hinges on how effectively an individual or company can make use of all their assets, and that includes finding new ways to use currently existing assets. The creation of a new patent is one of the best ways to insure a long term and dependable revenue stream, whether from your own use of the patent or simply by licensing the patent out to third parties.

So that leaves us with the final question...what else can you move from one industry to another to get a new patent on?

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New Shape to An Old Medical Patent

Posted on June 17, 2011 by John Rizvi

For decades heart surgeons have used stents to prop open veins and arteries after angioplasty surgery. Now, a new medical patent aims to help keep the “flow” open in other areas of the body as well.

Allium Medical Solutions Ltd. – developer and manufacture of site-specific stents – has just been granted a patent by the Japanese Patent Office for stents used to treat enlarged prostates.

Allium makes an entire line of stents for use in various places along the urethra. But what makes this one different than their other stents (and ones heart surgeons use) is that instead of a balloon-like stent, this one is shaped like a triangle.

Why Patent a Different Shape?

The prostatic urethral lumen (the part that gets “squeezed” when the prostate is enlarged) has a unique size and shape in each man. Sometimes it’s longer. Sometimes it’s shorter. And each prostate has different contours. Because of this, traditional stents that are cylindrically shaped don’t always do a great job of keeping the flow open.

This new patented medical device takes aim at that problem.

The triangular shape of the stent allows it to fit unique male anatomy better, resulting in higher flow volume and improved comfort compared to existing stents.

It’s called the Triangular Prostatic Stent.

Also – and this is what makes it really unique – it doesn’t put the guy’s voluntary continence mechanism at risk. In plain English, guys can control when they go to the bathroom.

What is a Patent Like this Worth?

Let’s take a look at the numbers…

Prostate cancer develops primarily in men over 50 years old, with more than 80% of men developing prostate cancer before their 80th birthday.

It is the most common type of cancer in men in the United States, with 186,000 new cases in 2008 and 28,600 deaths. It’s the second leading cause of cancer death in men in the U.S. and UK behind lung cancer. And the problem is growing.

 

 

And since traditional prostate disease treatments focus on removing the cancer (either through chemotherapy, radiation or surgery), side effects include incontinence and impotence.

Surely, an alternative that reduces these risks would be a welcome option to any patient.

For their efforts, Allium won the 2011 Medical Design Excellence Award competition for the Triangular Prostatic Stent. This competition recognizes the achievements of medical product manufacturers and new medical patents that are changing the face of healthcare.

If you have an idea for a new medical device you think could be patented, request your free “Medical Device Patent Kit” by calling 1-866-433-2288.

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The One Letter Medical Patent Mistake

Posted on May 9, 2011 by John Rizvi

 Patents give you 20 years of exclusive ownership of your idea.

That means no one else can sell your idea...no one else can manufacture your idea...no one else can import your idea.  And if they do, you can sue the pants off of them (sometimes getting as much as 3 times the damages from them as well as reimbursement of your attorney fees).

But that's only if the patent application is properly prepared.

Said another way, if you make a mistake on your application – even a tiny one – you can flush those twenty years of protection down the drain.

How small of a mistake can put your idea at risk?patent_revoked

Very small. 99.99% of your patent application can be squeaky clean: no errors, no omissions, nothing wrong. However, just that .01%...sometimes just ONE letter...and you are out of luck.

And that's exactly what happened that cost one company potential millions of dollars.

The One Letter Patent Snafu

A few years back, Central Admixture Pharmacy Services (CAFC) sued Advanced Cardiac Solutions for patent infringement relating to a chemical solution used during heart surgery. 

A certificate of correction was sought on the patent and was issued by the patent office to replace all instances of the word "osmolarity" with the word "osmolality".

You might be thinking what's the big deal? So they changed the "R" in osmolaRity with a "L" so that it reads osmolaLity. The problem was changing the two words broadened the claims of the patent.

Enough so that even though the district court found the certificate of correction proper, the CAFC disagreed, resulting in massive litigation.

Seeing as average legal costs for patent litigation can easily run over a million dollars through trial, it pays to make sure a patent is written correctly the first time.

With that in mind, let's explore a few common patent application mistakes.

3 Huge Patent Application Mistakes

Patent Application Mistake #1: Not filling out the patent application in its entirety

Believe it or not, patent examiners reject applications simply because they do not contain all the necessary ingredients. If you fail to include required elements, such as a background section or discussion limitations of the prior art, or setting forth scope of the invention in claims...your patent application may be dismissed immediately.

Patent Application Mistake #2: Being too specific

Patents are title to property. And explaining too many aspects of your invention in excruciating detail can actually shrink your intellectual property...and...reduce the profitability in the long run.

For example, imagine you have a new invention that uses a metal spring.

While you are describing your invention in the claims of the patent, you explicitly state it uses a metal spring. Now, what's stopping another inventor from copying your invention piece for piece, but instead of using a metal spring they use a plastic spring, rubber spring or even an elastic band?

Do you see how this seemingly small specific wording could invite other people to copy your idea and make small changes that would invalidate your patent?

Patent Application Mistake #3: Being too vague

Now this may sound contradictory to mistake #2, but too many patent applications do not go into detail about how their idea works. Do not assume your idea is understood. Failing to describe the idea in detail could leave "gaps" in the patent, leaving it vulnerable to being found invalid.  If your patent is invalidated, others can come in sell similar products with no liability.

Make no mistake, applying for a patent is tricky.

Worst of all, you may not know you even made a mistake on your patent until YEARS after submitting the application...when an examiner at the patent office finally gets around to reviewing your patent application.  Sometimes the mistakes are not caught until you are ready to enforce the patent against a competitor. 

A qualified patent attorney can make sure this never happens to you. If you would like free information on the ins and outs of the patent application process (including how to get a patent and the fees involved) go to our free patent information request page. Include your information and we will rush you an informational packet immediately.

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Medical Patent Stories of the Week

Posted on February 18, 2011 by John Rizvi

Time's Up for Patents on Drugs

Pharmaceutical companies are facing a wave of patent expirations starting this year through 2014. Exacerbating the problem is new competition from generic drugs...and...shrinking new drug approvals from the FDA.

Full story here - Pharmaceutical Company Patents Expiring

Patenting Issues to Blame?

Angiotech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announces execution of settlement and license termination agreement with Rex Medical, LP. Further reading exposes failure to protect discoveries with patents, loss of patent protection and liability for patent claims may be to blame.

Full story here - Rex Med and Lax Patent 

Stem Cells vs. Patents

Could pharma patents be holding back stem cell research? Scientists at John Hopkins seem to think so.

Full story here - Bioethicists on Patents

Jellyfish Patent?

A Japanese company has applied for a patent that improves immunity in fish against certain diseases. Surprisingly, this comes from a fish predator...jellyfish.

Full story here - Collagen Patent

Patent helps Patients Breathe Easier

"This particular patent is key to our company's entry into an emerging new field of patient positioning, namely Safe Anatomic Positioning™, or the ability to raise, lower, and adjust selected parts of the body while the patient is on an operating table or in another hospital unit — without requiring nurses to manually lift patients and use towels or linens to prop them up," said Robert Weedling, founder and chairman of AirPal Patient Transfer Systems.

Full story here - Patent for Bariatric Patients

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Patenting Medical and Dental Innovations

Posted on January 31, 2011 by John Rizvi

A few months back I spoke at the Florida International Medical Exposition on patenting medical and dental innovations. I'd forgotten about the event until a recent gentleman called into our office and said he saw my medical patent video on YouTube.

Here is the video of my speech. 

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Biggest Medical Device Trends of the Next 10 Years - Part Three

Posted on January 20, 2011 by John Rizvi

This last article wraps up our discussion of medical device trends.

In part one of this article, we talked about obesity and heart disease…two growing trends in America that will require new and innovative medical devices. You can read this article here.

In part two of this article, you learned about the growing threat of diabetes and how antibiotics can't keeping up with the evolution of bacteria…and what opportunities these two trends present to inventors. More on that here – link.

Today, we will look at one of the scariest and multi-faceted diseases today and the how to ease the blight of our aging population.

Medical Device Patents and Cancer

Cancer is responsible for roughly 562,875 deaths per year, making it the second leading cause of death in the U.S.

What's worse, the World Health Organization (WHO) predicts cancer rates could increase 50% by 2020. The reasons? Too much smoking, poor diets and infection.  

 

medical device patents and cancer

 

Top 10 Cancers According to the CDC

 

 The WHO suggests three ways to curb cancer related deaths.

"Action now can prevent one third of cancers, cure another third, and provide good, palliative care to the remaining third who need it, "said Dr. Paul Kleihues, Director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and co-editor of the World Cancer Report."

For inventors of medical devices, the third piece of advice "good, palliative care" could be a goldmine.

Obviously, there could be advances in chemotherapy. And any other sort of drug that treats cancer would be welcomed with open arms. There are varied forms of radiation therapy used. And cryosurgery…or using extreme cold to treat tumors sounds like an area ripe for improvements.

But those are after the fact.

There are opportunities for inventors to improve early detection methods. Specifically screenings. For example, advances in screenings for cervical and breast cancers have increased the odds for prevention and successful cure.

And the list goes on.

Medical Device Patents and Elder Care

Since 1960 the average American lifespan has increased by 8.6 years (to 78.4 years up from 69.8). With this growing elder population comes a greater tax on the nation's nursing homes or at home care options.

The latest census data (from 2007) shows 7.4% of Americans aged 75 and older lived in nursing homes in 2006, compared with 8.1% in 2000 and 10.2% in 1990. While the data are trending down, I'd bet that the global economic meltdown in 2008 has dramatically reversed this trend.

medical devices for elderlyTo make matter worse, most people who enter nursing homes can't even afford to be there. According to a 2007 USA Today article:

"The average nursing home patient runs out of money within six months and must go on Medicaid, Markwood says. That, she adds, "will not only bankrupt individuals but also the Medicaid system."

All these statistics add up to a sobering reality. The number of people in nursing homes is only going to grow and it will cost more money to keep them there.

So, where are the opportunities for inventors? I see two areas.

First, new patents for medical devices for people who opt for in-home care. At the core of these inventions will have to be making life easier for the caregivers. Think walk in tubs instead of tubs you have to step over. Or handrails for bathroom facilities.

Second, new patents for medical devices for nursing homes. These will have to focus on reducing operating costs for the homes. Maybe less expensive lift devices.

These medical trends are not going anywhere and could be an on-going goldmine for any smart inventor.

CDC - Leading Causes of Death

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Biggest Medical Device Trends of the Next 10 Years - Part Two

Posted on January 17, 2011 by John Rizvi

In part one of this article, we talked about obesity and heart disease…two growing trends in America that will require new and innovative medical devices. You can read this article here Medical Device Trends Part One.

Today, we will look two more large-scale health issues that will require new technology, innovation and patents.

Medical Device Patents and Diabetes

Coming in as the seventh deadly killer in the U.S., Diabetes claims roughly 71,382 lives per year. 17.9 million Americans live with diabetes. And another 2.5% of the population does not know they have the disease.

In fact, since 1988 there has been an across the board increase of instances of diabetes regardless of age, sex or ethnicity.

Diabetes Trend

Diabetes is up in Every Category (Click for larger view)

Diabetes leads to greater incidences of heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure, blindness, kidney disease, neuropathy (disease of the nervous system) and even amputations.

And diabetes is a $175 billion per year (and growing) industry.

Surely, creative new patents and medical devices will need to be invented to fight this dreaded disease. What are some of the opportunities for inventors?

There are two types of diabetes. People are either born with type-1 diabetes, or they develop type-2 diabetes. Both versions result in the pancreas producing little or no insulin (a hormone needed to allow sugar to enter cells to produce energy).

Traditionally, diabetics are treated with insulin injections to supplement the lower amounts in the bloodstream. Perhaps there is some invention-in-waiting that is less painful/intrusive than injections? Or maybe you could invent an "insulin pill" that slowly releases insulin over the day? An insulin patch?

Medical Device Patents and Antibiotics

Nearly 100,000 people a year die from antibiotic resistant infections in the United States alone. And doctors are fearing it's only going to become more common.

The reason? Antibiotics are losing their potency.

Here’s why, human beings are a vastly complex creature. We have multiple systems for pumping blood, breathing air and sending electrical systems back and forth. Bacteria are so primitive they don’t even have a nucleus.

Our complexity betrays us. The simple antibiotics we’ve used for the last half century have prompted bacteria to evolve. To develop biological countermeasures that are rendering antibiotics harmless. This wouldn’t be a problem if we were still discovering new antibiotics. But the vast majority of antibiotics were developed over twenty years ago.

What can inventors do?

Inventing new antibiotics is NOT the answer.

I think the more lucrative area for inventors is preventing bacterial infection in the first place (if you’ve seen the explosion in antibacterial products over the last twenty years, then you know what I’m talking about).

More and more people will be scared by news accounts of these new “super-bugs” and will look for different ways to protect themselves.

 

 

That’s it for part two of this article. In part three we will look at the growing threat of cancer, and where the most help is needed…and…why you might want to consider how to help seniors live out their golden years.

 

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Biggest Medical Device Trends of the Next 10 Years - Part 1

Posted on January 7, 2011 by John Rizvi

Fifteen years practicing patent law, and I’ve seen hundreds of medical device ideas and patents pass through my office.

The nice thing about seeing all of these innovations in the early stages of development is watching how they grow and make a huge impact in the industry. How they ride trends and break ground on new ones.

Seeing as how this is a New Year and a New Decade, I thought I’d take a crack at guessing what the next biggest trends in medical device technology will be over the next few years.

I started by spending a few hours researching the hard numbers on some of the biggest health problems affecting American’s today. Then I took a stab at what I think is to come. Hopefully this will shed a little light to where new inventions will have the biggest impact (and where inventors will find the biggest opportunities).

Keep in mind these are just my best guesses. I may hit the nail on the head or my crystal ball may turn out to be a little fuzzy. Let’s begin with one of the biggest epidemics of the past fifty years.

Medical Device Patents and Obesity

According to CBS News, Americans spend about $35 billion a year on weight loss products.

And that number is sure to grow. The following chart shows the rate of increase of overweight and obese Americans since 1960. If you look closely you'll see that obesity has risen from about 12% of the population in 1960 to over 30% today!

obesity chart

Meanwhile, overweight individuals have hovered at about 30%.

What this means is that more and more people will be looking for creative solutions to lose weight.

So, where are the opportunities for inventors?

Obviously, products that help people lose weight. There are thousands of patents for different exercise machines and the market is littered with trademarked diet schemes and marketing approaches.

Also, I believe there will be more products that promise to keep the weight off in the first place. For example, at my local grocery store they sell a version of an avocado called a "slim-cado". It has about half the fat of a regular avocado. I'm not sure how they did this, but it sounds like a candidate for a patentable procedure.

And of course there are the drastic procedures like gastric-bypass which uses specialty medical device patented tools that could be improved.

And the market for medical device patents doesn't stop here. The growing obesity epidemic will create an even greater need for patents in other areas of medicine.

Medical Device Patents and Heart Disease

Heart disease accounts for roughly 616,067 per year, giving it the dubious distinction of being the leading cause of death in the U.S. The surprising thing about this number is that it is just a fraction of how many lives were predicted to be lost to heart disease.

heart disease chart

Why is this?

Maybe it’s greater awareness of the hazards of smoking. Dietary changes. Or more exercise.

I think it’s because of greater funding for treatments and cures. A quick web search will return thousands of charities and donations that host venues to raise money for heart disease.

With that in mind, I believe research and development into medical devices to treat heart disease should be big business for years to come. And then of course there are the patents on the inventions and improvements to surgery devices (think stents for coronary artery blockage).

And don’t forget about post-surgery needs. The average hospital stay after heart surgery is 5-7 days. During this time there are all sorts of tubes, wires and diagnostic equipment involved, all of which can be improved (which I’m sure some smart inventor is working on right now).

In part two of this article we’ll see where the next wave of new medical devices will come from by exploring one of the fastest growing health problems in America…and…the commonly over-abused drug that is quickly losing effectiveness (and is in dire need or replacement).

Sources for this article:
 

CBS News: Diet Industry is Big Business
CDC: Prevalance of Obesity
CDC: Leading Causes of Death Stats

 

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The Biggest Medical Patent Opportunities for the next 100 years?

Posted on December 13, 2010 by John Rizvi

A few years back a friend of mine had surgery on his knee to repair a torn ACL (the main ligament in the knee). They put him under. Two hours later when he woke up there were three tiny incisions – no more than half an inch long.

Today, you can't even see the scars.

Twenty years ago surgeons would run a scalpel from the top of your thigh halfway down your shin. And this scar would be visible from across the room.

The evolution of medical devices over the last twenty years is astonishing. But the biggest medical patent opportunities for the next 100 years won't be developments in better tools for surgeons. They'll be tools that begin to replace surgeons altogether.

The Flood of Medical Patents for Robots

Half of all prostate cancer operations in the U.S. are performed by the da Vinci surgical robot. It stands nearly 5 feet tall and has four mechanical "arms" with cameras and interchangeable tools to cut, pinch and snip cancer into oblivion. 

patented prostate robot

Patented Prostate Removal Robot

Over 1,000 of these robots are in operation around the world, at a price tag of one million bucks each (that's over a billion dollars worth of robots for prostate cancer alone!)

The robot is controlled by a surgeon who sits in a nearby room in what looks like a video game control cockpit. In this cockpit the surgeon watches several screens and controls the mechanical arms with perfect precision.

Because this approach to prostate surgery spares delicate nerves, this is a cancer cure that doesn't leave men impotent and incontinent. 

patent tools for davinci

Tools for the DaVinci Robot

This is a far cry from prostate surgery years ago when surgeons couldn't even see the prostate and had to rely on feel alone to remove the cancerous gland.

A Growing Trend for Medical Devices

Robots are not just confined to operating on prostate cancer. Hearts, throats, joints, spines and brains are being mended with the help of these new addition of medical devices. And it doesn't look to stop anytime soon.

  • Cardiac surgeons are using robots to perform bypass surgery without using rib spreaders
  • Robots make it possible to extract a cancerous thyroid gland through the patients armpit, instead of through the throat which leaves a nasty scar
  • Some throat surgeries used to require large incisions, pulled teeth and broken jaws...now robots enter and exit through the mouth

Who knows...in a few years my friends tiny incisions to replace his ACL may seem barbaric. A Florida company, Mako Surgical, holds a patent on a robotic arm to assist in surgery on arthritic knees. 

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Top 5 Medical Patents from TIME's 50 Best Inventions of the Year

Posted on December 4, 2010 by John Rizvi

The November 22 issue of TIME magazine contained an article any future patent holder would love. The 50 Best Inventions of the Year showcased everything from flying cars to mosquito killing lasers. Here are the best medical patents from the Time Top 50.

Medical Patent #5: Used Cars for Babies

Premature babies have a new ally...junkyards. The NeoNurture incubator utilized old car parts to make functioning incubators for newborns. Headlights for heat, a dashboard fan blows air, and it can even be powered by a motorcycle battery. Finally, something useful for a Yugo.

Medical Patent #4: Life

Putting shame to the billions of years it took life to emerge on planet Earth, J. Craig Venter has managed to create life in just 15 years. Using simple off-the-shelf chemicals, Venter managed to reconstruct the genome of a bacterium that divides and replicates just like any other bug. Gloom and doom science fiction writers, sharpen your pencils.

Medical Patent #3: Great News for Smokers

Mixing blood vessels, collagen, stem cells, nutrients and a little science, researchers have created the lifelike tissue that exchanges oxygen and carbon dioxide just like normal lung tissue. Starting with a skeletal rat-lung, the lab grown lungs are powerful to assume 95% of a normal lung's inhaling and exhaling functions. Smokers around the world are encouraged not to hold their breath waiting on human implants.

Medical Patent #2: Replacement for the Wheelchair?

The makers of eLegs exoskeleton have designed an exoskeleton that may help paraplegics to walk again. The exoskeleton is composed of robotic prosthetic legs that use artificial intelligence to mimic a natural human gait. The wearer controls the machine using two crutches. Could this be the first step in a real Iron Man suit?

 Medical Patent #1: Made to Order Organs

Imagine if you could print yourself a brand new heart as easily as you could a weekly status report. That's exactly what San Diego based companies Invetech and Organovo plan will happen with the 3-D Bioprinter. Based off of decades old dot-matrix printer technology, the printer has two printheads – one sprays out a gel that forms the shape of the desired organ...the other fills it in with living cells. Imagine a new liver custom made for you in a week. Alcoholics rejoice!

Do you have an idea that may be in next year's issue of The 50 Best Inventions of the year? You do? Then contact our office toll-free at 1-866-Idea-Attorneys.

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