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Brouse attys secure a patent for device that may improve dosing accuracy
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: March 31, 2017
Measuring liquid medication using an attached dosing cup can present its challenges, but imagine having to measure just one microliter using a syringe.
For many doctors, lab technicians and researchers dealing with such small increments of medicines or other substances is part of their daily routine and if they don’t get it right lives could be at risk.
Two partners at the business law firm of Brouse McDowell recently assisted design engineers at the Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron (ABIA) in securing a patent for a new ultra-low measuring technology that has the potential to help improve efficiencies in the delivery of patient care as well as in the lab.
The regional firm, which has offices in Akron, Canfield, Cleveland and Lorain County, boasts about 80 attorneys who handle matters ranging from business restructuring, bankruptcy, commercial law, healthcare and labor and employment to real estate, taxation and intellectual property.
Brouse McDowell patent attorneys Michael Craig and Heather Barnes began working with ABIA design engineers Michael Singer and Christine Flick in 2012, securing a provisional patent for the technology in October 2013.
“We submitted the first paperwork to the USPTO (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office) in November 2012,” said Barnes, who chairs the Intellectual Property practice group at Brouse McDowell. “This technology has the potential to increase the translation of a plunger of a syringe a multitude of times when dosing low measurements, which provides high levels of precision with ultra-low measurements.
“This could significantly increase accuracy in dosing.”
The ABIA received project funding from the Ohio Third Frontier Technology Validation Fund and worked to fine-tune the device through its partnership with Ohio-based EG-GILERO Industries.
The patent was granted on Dec. 27, 2016. It’s the first patent the ABIA has received.
“U.S. Patent No. 9527075 will prevent others from making, using, selling, offering for sale or importing the protected device,” said Barnes.
The device can be produced as a pipette in syringe form and is expected to be used by a wide range of medical professionals as well as laboratory technicians.
ABIA design engineers Singer and Flick said while there is a more expensive glass syringe on the market that serves the same function, it costs $70 to $80 for a single syringe which has to be cleaned after each use.
“Ours is an injection-molded disposable syringe which costs significantly less and can be thrown away after each use,” said Singer. “Since it’s disposable there is no need for re-sterilization or cleaning.”
The two said they came up with the idea for the device while working with an eye doctor.
“He did a lot of intraocular injections where the measurements had to be precise,” said Flick. “We saw the need for a cheaper way to dispense micro-volumes.”
“Our device also allows for visual verification and adjustment of very small liquid quantities because of increased measurement resolution derived from the differential pressure driving mechanism, which allows for the tiny diameter of the fluid dispensing chamber,” said Singer.
“For example if a physician needs to inject a patient with morphine and needs to ensure that the medication is delivered over three minutes he/she can visually see the rate of the injection during the time interval.”
Flick said the device also eliminates the need to dilute medication since small volumes can be delivered easier.
“Incorrect dilution contributes to dosing errors,” said Flick.
While there are several working prototypes of the device, it is not yet on the market. The design engineers are working to find a manufacturer and distributor for the product.
“The current prototypes are 10-microliter syringes,” said Singer. “The goal is to implement the technology into a multitude of different volume embodiments.
“We anticipate the syringe being available for research purposes within a year and ready for clinical applications within three years.”