Prospective Grant of Co-Exclusive Patent Licenses

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]

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