A Medical Device Daily

GlucoLight (Bethlehem, Pennsylvnia), a development-stage company focused on blood glucose monitoring, reported receiving U.S. Patent No. 7,254,429 for technology that is the core of the company’s first product, the Sentris-100 glucose monitor.

The patent, assigned to the company Aug. 7, was awarded to Matthew Schurman, chief technology officer of GlucoLight and its co-founder, and Walter Shakespeare, the company’s principal scientist. The technology covered by the patent uses an optical coherence tomography-based system to monitor the concentration of glucose in the blood.

Under terms of the patent, the technology is able to read and monitor blood glucose by shining a light on human or animal dermis to continuously monitor that surface, while collecting the reflected light from within the tissue. The reflection spectrum that is monitored is sensitive to glucose concentration, thereby allowing for a non-invasive measure of glucose levels in the blood.

Ray Krauss, CEO of GlucoLight, said, “The award of our first patent is an important milestone for us as we pursue clinical testing of all aspects of our monitor, and make corresponding design and technological adjustments. We will continue to expand our portfolio of intellectual property as we perfect Sentris-100, and the groundbreaking technology it utilizes.”

Sentris-100 is currently in clinical testing, and the company recently completed its first hypoglycemic “clamping study” that measured blood glucose fluctuations in volunteer subjects with Type 1 diabetes. This followed its first ICU clinical study in May 2007 at the Penn State Hershey Medical Center (Hershey, Pennsylvania) and the Providence Heart & Vascular Institute at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center (Portland, Oregon).

Acacia Research reported that Acacia Patent Acquisition, a subsidiary of Acacia Technologies Group (all Newport, California), has acquired rights to a patent relating to devices used in medical surgery.

This patented technology relates to surgical instruments, such as scalpels, that are heated to reduce bleeding when tissue is cut. These devices can be used in orthopedics, endoscopy, arthroscopy, trauma, wound care, cosmetic, and numerous other surgical procedures.

“As Acacia’s licensing success grows, more companies are selecting us as their partner for the licensing of their patented technologies,” said Paul Ryan, CEO and chairman of Acacia.

The Acacia Technologies group develops patented technologies.