Milestone Scientific Inc. today announced that the United States Patent Office has granted a Notice of Allowance for broad patent protection of a new safety engineered needle technology to be issued to Milestone Scientific, Inc.
When commercialized, this new technology will be used with a plethora of infusion devices, including the Companies CompuDent(TM) and CompuMed(TM) computer controlled local anesthetic delivery systems as well as the CompuFlo(TM), an enabling technology for computer controlled infusion, perfusion, suffusion and aspiration of fluids.
The technology sets a new level for safety engineered products. Invented by Dr. Mark N. Hochman, Dir. of R&D for MS, Inc. this technology provides features previously unavailable to medical and dental practitioners; fully automated true single-handed activation with needle anti-deflection and force-reduction capability. This technology results in greater accuracy of needle placement when compared to a traditional syringe system. In addition, practitioners can re-use this safety engineered device repeatedly during a single patient session making it highly functional in a wide variety of medical and dental applications.
In light of the recent Federal Needlestick and Safety Prevention Act, signed into law in November 2000, requiring preventative measures that employers must make available in use of sharps "with engineered sharps injury protection features" this technology becomes highly relevant. Federal and state legislation mandate the use of these devices to reduce the risk to healthcare workers of occupational exposure to HIV, hepatitis C and other diseases. The term "Sharps with Engineered Sharps Injury Protection" is defined as a needle device used for administering medications or other fluids, with a built-in safety feature or mechanism that effectively reduces the risk of an exposure incident.
"This new technology, when commercialized, offers opportunities in areas previously untapped. It will also ensure our current users of Milestone's computer controlled local anesthetic delivery systems will be able to continue their use with a very unique product specifically designed to meet both the current and future needs of our customer base," commented Stuart Wildhorn, Senior Vice President for Milestone. "This unique design, which again sets Milestone apart from other manufacturers, also presents new market opportunities with other currently available infusion devices and drug delivery systems." This new technology, known as the "Tucker Device", now places the Wand(R) handpiece far above any other delivery system available today.
"Having received broad patent protection last year on our CompuFlo(TM) technology and now receiving comprehensive patent protection on a safety engineered device I am most pleased with the widening and continuous on-going development of our technology portfolio," stated Leonard Osser, CEO of Milestone Scientific, Inc.
