SANUWAVE Health has received a patent issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office entitled “Method and Devices for Cleaning and Sterilization with Shock Waves.” The claims of the patent (patent number 8,343,420) relate to a new method that sterilizes blood by applying external shock waves to destroy blood pathogens contained in bags, pipes and tubes. The patent has a term extending to July 2031.
“This marks the first of many patents that we intend to add to our intellectual property portfolio to broaden the use of our technology beyond wound care and regenerative medicine,” commented Joseph Chiarelli, Chief Executive Officer of SANUWAVE. “Our strategy is to explore alternative ways to maximize the value of SANUWAVE’s shock wave technology by expanding its use for many applications. This new patent protects a novel capability of our proprietary technology and has the potential to be a significant asset for our Company.”
“Blood sterilization represents a large, unmet medical need. The original method presented in this patent is based on the use of our technology to eliminate bacteria and viruses potentially present in blood that may be contaminated. Further work will focus on the validation that our shock wave technology disrupts the outer membrane of bacteria and viruses, which results in their death. We believe using this method to eliminate pathogens in blood could address the worldwide shortage of human blood by making more ‘safe’ blood available for hospitals,” concluded Mr. Chiarelli.
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