Inventing Modern Medicine, Black History Month Series: Patricia Bath

The use of lasers in medicine has revolutionized treatment in many fields, including eye and vision care. Ophthalmologist and inventor Patricia Bath developed a surgical tool called the Laserphaco Probe, which employs a laser to vaporize cataracts. The device uses a small, 1-millimeter insertion into the patient’s eye, allowing surgeons to treat the blemishes faster, more accurately, and less invasively. Bath held five U.S. patents related to her methods to remove cataract lenses. 

 

While working in New York City following her graduation from medical school in 1968, Bath conducted a study showing that blindness among her African American patients was nearly double the rate among whites. Citing lack of ophthalmic care as a central cause, Bath established the now widely-studied discipline of Community Ophthalmology. In 1976, she co-founded the American Institute for the Prevention of Blindness. She became a global advocate for healthy vision and achieved many firsts throughout her career. 

 

Read more about Patricia Bath and her trailblazing career: http://bit.ly/3atXI7Z  

#BlackHistoryMonth #InventingModernAmerica

 

 

U.S. Patent no. 4,744,360

Title: Apparatus for ablating and removing cataract lenses

Patened: May 17, 1988

U.S. Patent no. 5,843,071

Title: Method and apparatus for ablating and removing cataract lenses

Patented: December 1, 1998

U.S. Patent no. 5,919,186

Title: Laser apparatus for surgery of cataractous lenses

Patented: July 6, 1999 

U.S. Patent no. 6,083,192

Title: Pulsed ultrasound method for fragmenting/emulsifying and removing cataractous lenses

Patented: July 4, 2000

 

U.S. Patnet no. 6,544,254

Title: Combination ultrasound and laser method and apparatus for removing cataract lenses

Patented: April 8, 2003

PTAB’s “Fast-Track” pilot still available for pending ex parte appeals

On July 2, 2020, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) launched the first-ever “Fast-Track Appeals Pilot Program” to offer patent appellants a way to secure expedited resolution of an ex parte appeal. Upon launch, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) set a six-month goal for deciding an appeal in the Pilot Program, which is roughly twice as fast as the average appeal time for cases not under fast-track review.

Since the Pilot Program’s July launch through January 31, 2021, the PTAB has granted 111 petitions. Moreover, the PTAB has issued decisions for 78 of the 111 petitions, resolving an appeal on average in about two months from the date the petition for fast-track review was granted and beating its initial six-month goal.

The Pilot Program is set to conclude on July 2, 2021 with an option to renew. To participate, an appellant must submit a petition, complete a brief form available on the PTAB’s webpage, and pay a modest fee. The program is available for all pending ex parte appeals.

For additional information on the Fast-Track Appeals Pilot Program, see the USPTO’s Federal Register Notice and the PTAB’s webpage on the USPTO website.

National Engineers Week -- Richard Gurley Drew

During the unpredictability of the Great Depression, Richard Gurley Drew of 3M responded with increased innovation. Building on his already popular Scotch® masking tape, Drew invented transparent Scotch® cellophane tape. As people grew increasingly worried about what their financial futures might look like, Drew’s tape (U.S. Patent Nos. 1,760,820 and 2,331,894) became popular for repairing ripped and broken items, thereby alleviating the need to buy new ones. Books, window shades, toys, clothing, and even paper currency were mended using his inventions. 

 

To this day, many future innovators still make their first forays into engineering with creations made from his tape. Learn more about Drew: http://bit.ly/3c7j9cy #NationalEngineersWeek

 

 

U.S. Patent no. 1,760,820

Title: Adhesive Tape

Patented: May 27, 1930

 

U.S. Patent no.  2,331,894

Title: Adhesive Tape and Method of Making Same

Patented: October 19, 1943

National Engineers Week -- Edith Clarke

All inventions begin with a spark of inspiration. Electrical #engineer Edith Clarke invented a graphic calculator that aided her work, as well as that of other engineers. Clarke’s calculator greatly simplified calculations to determine electrical characteristics of long electrical transmission lines, improving the distribution system. 

 

Learn more about Clarke: http://bit.ly/3qMVaHN NationalEngineersWeek

 

 

U.S. Patent no. 1,552,113

Title: [Graphical] Calculator

Patented: September 1, 1925

Inventing Modern Medicine, Black History Month Series: Charles Drew

Medical science of the early 20th century revolutionized the healing arts, but the unprecedented violence of the world wars still strained doctors’ and nurses’ ability to save lives. Charles R. Drew’s work in blood plasma preservation not only saved lives during World War II, but set precedents for blood collection, processing, and storage still used today. 

 

Drew began his research in blood transfusions as an undergraduate and continued through his postgraduate work at Columbia University and subsequent medical training. In 1940, shortly after the outbreak of World War II, Drew administered Blood for Britain, a storage and preservation program for blood plasma distribution in the United Kingdom. This project was the prototype for bloodmobiles and the modern blood collection process. 

 

In 1941, Drew was appointed the director of the first American Red Cross blood bank. However, Drew resigned from his post one year later in protest against the segregationist process of storing blood donated by African-Americans separately from blood donated by whites. 

 

Drew held U.S. Patent No. 2,389,355. Learn more about Charles Drew: http://bit.ly/3qvmn1w #BlackHistoryMonth #InventingModernAmerica

 

 

 U.S. Patent No. 2,389,355

Title: Surgical Needle

Patented: November 20, 1945

inventing Modern Medicine, Black History Month Series: Bessie Blount

At the age of seven, Bessie Blount was reprimanded for writing with her left hand. In response, she taught herself to write with her teeth and feet. As an adult in the health care field, this ingenuity and determination would lead her to inventive solutions that made life better for thousands of amputees. 

 

Blount began her career studying nursing and physical therapy. Many of her patients were veterans of World War II who had lost arms in the conflict, and Blount was able to teach them how to write using the same techniques she learned as a child. Wishing to do more to help veterans remain autonomous in their daily lives, Blount developed a design to allow double-amputees to feed themselves, receiving U.S. patent number 2,550,554 in 1951. The person using the device would first bite down on a tube, activating a motor that would dispense a portion of food through a spoon shaped mouthpiece, at which point the motor would shut off, allowing for time to chew, swallow, rest, and repeat. 

 

Although Blount’s invention was received with enthusiasm from the medical community and from abroad, she was not as successful in the commercial market of the United States. She eventually signed the rights to the patent over to the French government for use in their military hospitals. Explaining her decision to give up on seeking monetary reimbursement for her patent, Blount stated, “It’s what we as a race have contributed to humanity—that as a black female we can do more than nurse their babies and clean their toilets.” 

 

Blount later worked as a forensic handwriting analyst, having picked up these skills by noticing trends in the handwriting of her patients. Learn more about Blount and her innovations: http://bit.ly/2Nibgun #BlackHistoryMonth #InventingModernAmerica

Wine & IP

On Thursday, February 25 at 3 p.m. ET, join us for the first installment of our “Wine & IP” series to explore the intersection of #wine and #IntellectualProperty. USPTO’s Valencia Martin Wallace will join Julia Coney of

Black Wine Professionals

and the

Association of African American Vintners

to discuss efforts to create a fair and equitable future for all innovators and entrepreneurs.

Learn more and register for this free, virtual event: http://bit.ly/3dExGRf #WineIP

Webinar host by UH Small Business Center -- Introduction to the Patent Examination Process, Feb. 23

To register: https://www.sbdc.uh.edu/assnfe/ev.asp?ID=12010