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January 2022
Welcome to the January 2022 issue of Developments, OTD's tri-annual newsletter.
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Theodore MacKinney, MD, MPH, FACP, Professor, Internal Medicine Dr. MacKinney invented a novel foot model for teaching the proper care of diabetic foot ulcers. The model that Dr. MacKinney developed utilizes a replaceable cartridge for the ulcer that consists of multiple layers of variable hardness and color. This highly realistic cartridge mimics life-like tissue layers, texture, and response to cutting so that medical trainees can practice diabetic foot ulcer debridement. Dr. MacKinney has worked closely with OTD throughout the technology transfer process and he further developed the technology into a useable prototype with the expertise of MCW's Engineering Core Department and Bonnie Freudinger, ME. Now, OTD is negotiating with a reputable clinical task simulator company to grant exclusive rights to the technology. We look forward to this novel teaching model aiding in medical education and ultimately enabling better patient care. |
The technology transfer profession (which OTD staff are members of) has matured in the past 40 years to the point that it has its own international professional organization called AUTM. AUTM plays a vital role in the process of early-stage technology commercialization by supporting education, best practices, and networking of technology transfer professionals around the world. The organization also is an advocate of government-sponsored academic research, strong intellectual property rights, and expanding industry-academic engagement. The results of this work can be seen all around us, every day. (To learn more about AUTM click here).
Q: Do I have to start a company to commercialize my invention?
A: No. While OTD is happy to work with faculty members who are interested in exploring the idea of a startup, it is not required. OTD uses a variety of approaches to commercialize inventions by licensing to large companies, as well as to smaller ones, also startups. We are glad to talk with you if you have any questions.
For more information, contact Kevin Boggs.
U.S. Patent No. 10713963: Managing Lifelong Learner Events on a Blockchain
With Bitcoin surging to new highs to close out 2020, blockchain technologies continue to be a major tech trend with great potential despite few successful current implementations. However, the method of managing lifelong learner events protected by the ‘963 patent, another IBM patent, is representative of the many diverse applications for distributed ledger technologies that ensure low risks of data tampering. Claim 1 covers a method comprising the steps of detecting a learner event; determining a learner’s risk of failing a course; determining parameters based on a risk level; determining the value of parameters from the learner-related event; generating a list of transactions related to the event, and validating the transaction list using distributed peer-to-peer devices running chain codes related to the lifelong learner event management.
The technology covered by the ‘963 patent is expected to enable personalized education approaches by consolidating data from disparate sources to foster student-teacher engagement. Currently, such engagement relies mainly on exam results and homework scores, but IBM’s system could provide additional feedback from student attention states, quiz assessments, and learner interactions with class content. Such a system would be able to authenticate important skills and behaviors acquired during a person’s life and provide that data in a format that is easy to share and verify.
Visit the USPTO website to view the patent.
Recently Issued Patents
(1) US patent 11,154,212 titled “Ex-Vivo Trained Maps of Histological Features Derived from MRI Imaging”. Inventor: Dr. Peter LaViolette, Associate Professor in the Department of Radiology
(2) US patent 11,197,820, titled “Trans-Tympanic Membrane Delivery Platform and Uses Thereof”. Inventors: Dr. Joseph Kerschner, Provost, Executive Vice President, The Julia A. Uihlein, MA, Dean of the School of Medicine, and Professor of Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences and Microbiology and Immunology, and Amit Joshi, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Vice-Chair for Research and Clinical Affairs of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wenzhou Hong, DVM, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology and Communication Sciences, and Gayatri Sharma, Ph.D., a post-doctoral fellow in Biomedical Engineering. Congratulations to all of these inventors.
Recently Acknowledged
OTD's Senior Intellectual Property Manager, Ms. Ann Amidzich, has been recognized by AUTM (see above) with the society's Volunteer Services Award as part of her work with AUTM’s Better World Project (BWP) Committee. Ann and the Committee are being recognized for their work leading to a record number of BWP project submissions. Congratulations Ann!
Recently Executed Licenses
OTD has recently executed exclusive licenses to three startup companies. One was based on technology from the Department of Otolaryngology & Communication Sciences, one from the Department of Pediatrics, and one from the Department of Radiology. We wish all of these new companies the greatest success.
