Researchers from the Biomedical Innovation Center of the Medical Sciences Campus (RCM) of the Puerto Rico University (UPR) announced on Wednesday the obtaining of a second patent for a device designed to provide protection to wounds, injuries or burns in patients who require surgery in non -sterile environments, an innovation that their inventors described as unique in their class.
“For our knowledge, there is nothing that looks like or is similar as a concept or application,” said the doctor Anwar AbdulCoinventor of Innovation and Auxiliary Professor of the Department of Surgery of the RCM.
It is the “dynamic surgical fenestration”, designed to provide a surgical work space that limits air pollution. The invention consists of a “transparent mechanical fenestration” device (window) that can be opened and closed as necessary. The device allows you to pull the strings to open and close the window or activate the mechanism through radio frequency identification technology.
Among the benefits of the device, they stressed that it can be placed in a standard surgical blanket or directly on the injury of a patientIt limits the contamination of a non -sterile environmental environment, stabilizes the thermal environment over the surgical area, reduces the need to use a standard operating room for minor procedures and reduces the cost of surgical treatment.
The president of the UPR, Zayira Jordán Condehe mentioned that this innovation “can make the difference between life and death, allowing doctors to access wounds safely.”
“Like this invention, which arises from the need that there may be at a specific time, in a critical situation where there are no sanitary conditions leading to what would be regular, I think Puerto Rico has a special sitial and a special call to contribute in this regard, because we experienced about eight years ago one of the largest emergencies that the American nation has seen, with hurricanes Irma and Mariaand I think we have a special call to produce in that sector, ”said Jordán Conde.
In that line, Dr. Abdul explained that the application of the invention could be used in armed conflict scenarios, but also in emergencies related to natural disasters or medical transport systems.
“The application, in theory, is unlimited. One thinks of big things, but learning from the process, it will be where you least imagine it. And if the product, we manage to maintain the low cost we have, we manage to maintain the effectiveness of production and we can do it in a way than it is accessible, even more easier for that to be opened. And, in Puerto Rico, the application would be the street, in good Spanish,” he added.
In addition to the two patents that this product has obtained, the doctor Abe SchwartzCoinventor with Dr. Abdul, stressed that there was a third patent to the Patent Office and Registration Brands of the United States (USPTO) and an international patent application.
The researchers indicated that the next step will include microbiology studies to determine the effectiveness of innovation in different environmental conditions.
Besides, They anticipated that marketing efforts will focus on negotiating licenses for the product with interested manufacturing companies. The secretary of Department of Economic Development and Commerce (DDEC), Sebastián Negrón Reichardhe said, at the press conference, that the agency will collaborate with the RCM to direct this process.
“The University of Puerto Rico has the resources, and it provides them to protect intellectual property, that is not a problem… the second step, which would be to identify how merchants is the invention and what would be the steps to follow to reach that commercialization, I would say that we have deficiencies that we must attend. Our impression is that there are funds to investigate and get to the patent, (but) there are no funds once you have the patent to market”Said the doctor Emma Fernández RepolletDirector and main researcher at the Center for Collaborative Research in IR health inequalities.
Jordán Conde said that this particular issue is one of his priorities as president of the UPR. “One of the things this administration wants to contribute is articulate that intellectual property development ecosystembecause the structure is not fully articulated, we have many efforts separately. We need help in investment that is necessary for commercialization, ”he said.