" Biophan to Be Issued Two New Patents for Solutions Targeting Enhanced Heart Monitoring and Nanoparticle Coatings
Friday April 1, 4:01 pm ET
Patent Opens the Way for Reducing Danger of MRI Imaging for Existing Pacemaker Recipients
ROCHESTER, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 1, 2005-- Biophan Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB:BIPH - News), a developer of next-generation biomedical technology, has announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will issue on April 5 two new patents involving proprietary developments that enable Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of heart activity and advance the manufacture of nanoparticle coatings for medical devices.
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The patents describe innovations involving a number of multi-billion-dollar biomedical marketplaces where Biophan holds a significant lead in advanced intellectual property solutions, including nanotechnology and photonic-based solutions for MRI safety and imaging compatibility.
One of the newly issued patents is part of a suite of Biophan patents that cover a wide array of technology solutions in MRI safety for implanted medical devices. This particular patent focuses on the method for use of a photonic, or fiber optic, lead that avoids MRI interference. It is intended for use in numerous biomedical diagnostic applications that require the sensing of electromagnetic fields at the body surface, and the transmission of information about those fields along the photonic lead. This technique is particularly targeted to enable electrocardiogram (EKG) measurements to be made in the imaging environment of an active MRI device.
EKG leads are known to get hot in MRI machines; some reports indicate burns have resulted from EKG devices that are claimed to be MRI compatible. It is often vital to monitor the electrophysiological status of a patient undergoing MRI, especially in a situation where a patient with a pacemaker needs an MRI diagnosis to stage them for a critical cancer operation.
This newly issued patent, and its other photonic catheter patents, have claims that relate to making an MRI-safe and image-compatible EKG lead, using a fiber optic cable which goes directly to the EKG pad on the chest or leg to sense heart rhythms. The Company has demonstrated that fiber optics are safe for use with MRI, and has also developed and patented solutions for making metal wires safe with MRI.
"This is a good example of our comprehensive approach to covering the waterfront by patenting multiple solutions to an important problem such as this," said Michael Weiner, CEO of Biophan. "These multiple patent thickets ensure a high level of patent protection for Biophan and its technology licensees."
Until pacemakers are made MRI safe by pacemaker manufacturers, dedicated physicians will continue to attempt to find ways to reduce the risks associated with giving a pacemaker patient an MRI scan. One of the risks in giving a pacemaker recipient an MRI is the danger that the electrical currents induced in the lead by the MRI gradient field sweeping across the body will induce fibrillation in the patient. Until manufacturers make future products definitively MRI-safe, something needs to be done for the 3 million people with pacemakers who would be put at risk in an MRI scan.
MRI-safe EKG leads can go a long way to reducing the dangers. That is one of the significant benefits offered by this patent. With truly safe MRI EKG leads, patients can be monitored while in the MRI machine, and defibrillated if needed. This is a particularly worrisome problem if the implantable pacemaker lead has problems, including wear or other defects that impede optimal current flow, such as corrosion or partial breakage.
"It is not reasonable to expect every MRI technician to know all this, but it is reasonable to make sure that a pacemaker patient, even one in one thousand, does not die in an MRI coil during a scan," said Mr. Weiner. "The pacemaker industry now has several solutions. It is time for them to take action. It is their ethical imperative."
The other newly issued patent describes specific details that relate to the creation of a layered electromagnetic shielding assembly from nanoparticulates consisting of relatively common materials such as aluminum, iron, nickel, and cobalt. Various medical applications of this technology are under license to Biophan.
Following the most recent issuances, the Company holds a total of 36 issued patents, 6 allowed patents that have been approved for subsequent issuance, with 72 still undergoing the patent examination process. Biophan and its licensors hold a total of 114 U.S. patents, licenses or applications.
"These latest patent issuances lend further support and strength to Biophan's intellectual property portfolio, which we are building with the intent to establish control of a growing number of biomedical markets," said Mr. Weiner. "For example, one of the newly-issued patents has the potential to enable creation of improved diagnostic methods for heart monitoring through the use of new MRI-based techniques. Biophan's solutions in this area could enable doctors to use MRI imaging in cardiac procedures, bringing MRI's advantages in safety and imaging resolution to this critical area of medical care. However, our intellectual property strategy involves patent protection for the widest possible uses and markets for our technologies."
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Enviado: 8/4/2005 16:34