[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 67 (Thursday, April 7, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-8346]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: April 7, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Technical Information Service
Prospective Grant of Co-Exclusive Patent Licenses
This is notice in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 209(c)(1) and 37 CFR
404.7(a)(1)(i) that the National Technical Information Service (NTIS),
U.S. Department of Commerce, is contemplating the issuance of grant co-
exclusive licenses in the United States to practice the invention
embodied in U.S. Patent No. 4,616,316 (Serial No. 6-458,312), titled
``Medication Compliance Monitoring Device Having Conductive Traces upon
a Frangible Backing of a Medication Compartment,'' to Medical
MicroSystems, Inc., having a place of business in Clarkson Valley,
Missouri, and Medical Technology Systems, Inc., having a place of
business in Clearwater, Florida. The patent rights in this invention
have been assigned to the United States of America.
The prospective co-exclusive licenses will be royalty-bearing and
will comply with the terms and conditions of 35 U.S.C. 209 and 37 CFR
404.7. The prospective co-exclusive licenses may be granted unless,
within sixty days from the date of this published Notice, NTIS receives
written evidence and argument which establish that the grant of the
licenses would not be consistent with the requirements of 35 U.S.C. 209
and 37 CFR 404.7.
The present invention is a medication compliance monitoring system
consisting of a blister pack having an array of plastic blisters
defining compartments for medication, with a frangible nonconductive
backing sheet having conductive traces behind the compartments which
are respectively ruptured when the medication doses are removed. The
blister pack is detachably connected to an electronic memory circuit
via a multi-terminal male connector tab on the backing sheet, wired to
the conductive traces, and a corresponding female connector with
terminals wired to the electronic memory circuit. The electronic memory
circuit addresses each individual trace periodically at a constant time
interval over a predetermined extended period of time to determine if
it is intact. The electronic memory circuit detects the ruptures and
stores the time data thereof over said extended period of time. During
the patient's follow-up visit a microcomputer is employed to retrieve
the dose-removal-time data from the memory circuit; it processes the
data and provides a display of the compliance information. A socket
adapter is used to alternately configure the electronic memory circuit
for data acquisition and extraction. The socket adapter is in the form
of a multiple-pin jumper plug engageable in a multi-contact socket
connected to the memory circuit. Insertion of the plug configures the
memory circuit for data acquisition. Removal of the plug configures the
memory circuit for data retrieval and processing by the microcomputer.
In a typical embodiment there are 42 blisters whose associated
conductive traces are addressed every 15 minutes over an extended time
period which may be as much as 85 days.
The availability of S.N. 6-458,312 for licensing was published in
the Federal Register Vol. 48, No. 54, p. 11483 (March 18, 1983).
A copy of the instant patent is available for $3.00 (payable by
check or money order) from the Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks,
Box 9, Washington, DC 20231.
Inquiries, comments and other materials relating to the
contemplated license must be submitted to Neil L. Mark, Center for the
Utilization of Federal Technology, NTIS, Box 1423, Springfield, VA
22151. Properly filed competing applications received by the NTIS in
response to this notice will be considered as objections to the grant
of the contemplated license.
Douglas J. Campion,
Acting Director, Office of Federal Patent Licensing.
[FR Doc. 94-8346 Filed 4-7-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-04-M
