RCT Awarded Third Patent for Breakthrough Tissue Harmonic Imaging Ultrasound Technology.

TUCSON, Ariz. -- U.S. Patent No. 7,104,956 was issued Sept. 12 to Research Corporation Technologies, joining two other U.S. patents the company has obtained for a landmark ultrasound technology that has become an important part of medicine today. The patent broadly covers the fundamental components

Work with tissue harmonics in the early 1990s by P. Ted Christopher, Ph.D., at the University of Rochester's Center for Biomedical Ultrasound in New York, led to the development of second- and higher-order harmonic responses of tissue to an ultrasound beam that produces a sharper image than that of the fundamental frequency. Called tissue harmonic imaging (THI), this technology is a major advance in ultrasound that reduces artifacts and enables physicians to make better diagnoses.

The new patent complements U.S. Patent No. 7,004,905, which also has broad claims to protect Christopher's seminal discovery, and U.S. Patent No. 6,206,833, which covers other aspects of the technology. Together, these patents provide a broad foundation covering the field of tissue harmonic imaging. RCT has two additional U.S. patent applications pending.

RCT, which manages the THI technology for the University of Rochester, is offering nonexclusive licenses under these two recently issued patents as well as other intellectual property in the estate. In 2002, RCT granted Acuson, a Siemens company, and its affiliates a nonexclusive license to the technology. Acuson is part of the Siemens Medical Solutions Ultrasound Division (www.siemensmedical.com) in Mountain View, Calif.

The Rochester Center for Biomedical Ultrasound (www.ece.rochester.edu/users/rcbu) unites the university's medical and engineering communities. Center researchers investigate use of very high-frequency sound waves in medical diagnosis and treatment, and other medical imaging applications.

Research Corporation Technologies (www.rctech.com) is a technology investment and management company that provides early-stage funding and development for promising biomedical companies and technologies. RCT focuses on technology investments with origins from universities and research institutions worldwide.