The invention that was shared with the world: Experts came together quickly in early 2020 to create a 3D-printed nasopharyngeal swab. Today, more than 100 million swabs have been produced across the globe using this USF-patented design, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is honoring the USF Health team Feb. 16, 2023.

The University of South Florida (USF) has been awarded the Patents for Humanity award by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for its patent of the 3D-printed nasopharyngeal (NP) swab, created in the early part of the pandemic as a solution to the disrupted commercial production of standard flocked NP swabs critical in diagnostic testing for COVID-19.

USF is among an exclusive group of winners receiving this year’s Patents for Humanity awards, being named alongside the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the NIH, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Gilead Sciences Inc., and Caron Products. All will be honored by the USPTO at an awards ceremony on February 16, 2023.

USF is earning this recognition for its innovative solution to the commercial NP swab shortage. Due to the urgent need worldwide, the 3D-printed NP swab team decided to forgo monetization of their invention and provided the design files and clinical data at no cost to hospitals, clinics and licensed medical device companies around the world as long as the swabs were produced for their own use.

Over the span of one week in March 2020, teams from USF Health, Northwell Health, Tampa General Hospital, and Formlabs worked together to develop a 3D printed swab prototype using Formlabs’ 3D printers and biocompatible (not harmful), autoclavable materials (able to withstand elevated temperature and pressure of an autoclave). The prototypes were then benchmarked against standard flocked swabs for viral sample retention in the laboratory and tested for patient safety and comfort by USF Health Morsani College of Medicine Department of Internal Medicine researchers. After passing these tests, the teams initiated a multisite clinical trial at dozens of hospital sites across the United States, including Tampa General Hospital, Northwell Health in New Hyde Park, New York, and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, comparing performance of the 3D-printed nasopharyngeal swabs with flocked swabs.

From that point on, the USF/Northwell design was shared with hospitals, health systems, the military, and clinics around the globe. To date, the USF-patented design for the 3D-printed nasopharyngeal swab has been shared with institutions in more than 60 countries that have produced more than 100 million swabs.

“I am so proud of how our USF Health team stepped forward to combine their expertise and innovation with the teams from Tampa General Hospital, Formlabs and Northwell Health to help save lives around the world,” said Charles J. Lockwood, MD, MHCM, executive vice president for USF Health and dean of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, and executive vice president and chief academic officer at Tampa General Hospital. “This recognition by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office validates both the tremendous power of academic medicine, especially during a crisis, and the values and commitment these teams have for contributing to the greater good.”

“Our goal from the start was to help as many people as possible, as fast and safely as possible,” said Summer Decker, PhD, professor in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, and director for 3D Clinical Applications in USF Health’s Department of Radiology, who led the 3D printed NP swab team. “In order to do that, we assembled a team of experts in our fields and worked together toward a real-world solution. We then made our files public so that any hospital, clinic or health system could print them for their own facilities and get them to the frontline of COVID-19 testing in patients. Only when you know what you are truly facing, in this case COVID-19, can you actually fight it. This swab was a critical, missing component of the global medical community’s ability to do just that. We are very humbled by this recognition by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for our efforts and very grateful for this incredible opportunity to help not just USF Health and Tampa General Hospital, but also other hospitals and medical centers throughout the world.”

“COVID-19 demanded innovation and collaboration, not only from those on the front lines but across industries,” said Todd Goldstein, PhD, director of 3D Design and Innovation at Northwell Health. “It’s an honor to receive this recognition from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and we hope that our 3D printed nasal swab design helped alleviate burden during the height of the pandemic and showed what cooperation, even in times of crisis, can achieve.”

“We were proud to unite with USF Health, Formlabs and Northwell Health to work quickly and collaboratively to save lives during the height of COVID-19 when swabs were in short supply and in such high demand,” said John Couris, president and CEO of Tampa General Hospital. “This recognition is a true testament to not only the power of academic medicine, but the hard work, sacrifice, innovative spirit and perseverance of our clinical teams and their ability to act quickly and think strategically. We are thankful for the partnerships we developed with other health leaders to find innovative and cost-effective solutions to protect the health of our region and beyond.”

“With quick thinking and action from USF Health, the global shortage of traditional nasopharyngeal swabs was minimized with an entirely 3D printable design that could be easily printed in health care facilities around the world,” said Gaurav Manchanda, director of Medical Market Development at Formlabs. “We were honored to help in this effort and pleased to see the reliability, scalability, and accessibility of our 3D printing solutions put into action. By combining the centralized quality, regulatory, and medical manufacturing expertise at Formlabs with a decentralized production network of global medical customers, local health institutions were able to print and use millions of swabs needed during the shortage. Formlabs is proud to be recognized alongside USF Health, Northwell Health, and Tampa General Hospital in the USPTO Patents for Humanity COVID-19 category.”

The team that created the USF-patented 3D printed nasal swab, from left, Jonathan Ford, Kami Kim, John Sinnott, Summer Decker, Todd Goldstein, and Michael Teng. Not pictured is Todd Hazelton.

— Video and photos by Allison Long, USF Health Communications

In watching his father struggle with kidney stones, William Pearce was inspired to work closely with urologists, which sparked his idea for a new device that greatly reduces the need for recurrent catheterization. Now, about four years later, he is the inventor of a urethral catheter and has a patent securing his idea.

Pearce is a fourth-year medical student in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and is one of few medical students who will graduate already owning a patent. His idea was designed, nurtured, modified and perfected while he was in medical school, as part of the Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Business in Medicine section of the College’s Scholarly Concentrations Program (SCP). As an academic elective program, the SCP allows students to focus on areas of interest beyond the medical school core curriculum to enhance their overall training. More than 85 percent of USF medical students take part in one of the program’s 10 tracks.

William Pearce.

“The main goal for our Scholarly Concentrations Program is to give students an infrastructure for building unique and creative ideas that are integrated with what they are learning from the medical curriculum,” said Susan Pross, PhD, director of the SCP. “William’s project is a prime example of the success students can have with this program.”

Pearce’s patent is part of an active and successful patent program at USF through its Technology Transfer/Patents and Licensing Office. USF is ranked 10^th nationally and 13^th among universities worldwide for U.S. patents granted in 2014 by the National Academy of Inventors and the Intellectual Property Owners Association.

 Listen to William Pearce speak to the great support he had filing his patent.

***

Pearce said the idea for the catheter didn’t happen instantly, but was a process over a lot of time.

“Looking back, it’s not something I could lay a road map for or define a key moment,” Pearce said. “It was a series of steps, that each alone were improbable.”

In following the care his father received for kidney stones, Pearce discovered that a patient could have as many as five attempts by health care providers for inserting a Foley catheter. The recurring insertion attempts results in trauma to the patient, and presents a higher risk for infection.

 Listen to William Pearce explain the dangers of  recurrent catheterization.

“There’s got to be a better way,” Pearce recalled thinking.

.

Pearce partnered with a urologist in the Jacksonville area and, following an in-depth literature search, they decided the best approach was to integrate and elaborate on two existing designs. The combined concept resembled the advanced device used by urologists but incorporated a guide that allowed for easier insertion by frontline health care professionals – the people inserting the catheter the first time.

***

Pearce filed his application December 2013; and then the waiting began. It wasn’t until mid-2015 when an email alerted Pearce that his patent had been accepted, making is catheter official. But the reality is, his work isn’t done – his next step is to seek approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) so the catheter can be tested in clinical settings.

William Pearce with his patent #8,956,340.

His advice to other students looking to bring their ideas to reality and locking in with a patent: start early and seek advice from experts.

 Listen to William Pearce’s tips for others wanting to file a patent.

“The Scholarly Concentrations Program gave me a head start, to be able to get an award to study possibilities and to do the research to see what patents already existed,” he said. “And the experts at the USF Technology Transfer/Patents and Licensing Office were key to helping me fine tune my application and get it filed. And today, I have my first patent.”

Multimedia by Sandra C. Roa, USF Health Communications

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcaOx28CjKg

NT-020, a proprietary supplement including blueberries and green tea, improved cognitive processing speed in clinical trial participants without impaired memory

Tampa, FL (Feb. 6, 2014) – Declines in the underlying brain skills needed to think, remember and learn are normal in aging. In fact, this cognitive decline is a fact of life for most older Americans.

Therapies to improve the cognitive health of older adults are critically important for lessening declines in mental performance as people age. While physical activity and cognitive training are among the efforts aimed at preventing or delaying cognitive decline, dietary modifications and supplements have recently generated considerable interest.

Now a University of South Florida (USF) study reports that a formula of nutrients high in antioxidants and other natural components helped boost the speed at which the brains of older adults processed information.

The USF-developed nutritional supplement, containing extracts from blueberries and green tea combined with vitamin D3 and amino acids, including carnosine, was tested by the USF researchers in a clinical trial enrolling 105 healthy adults, ages 65 to 85.

University of South Florida researchers Paula Bickford, PhD, and Brent Small, PhD, teamed up to investigate the effects of a USF-developed, antioxidant-rich nutritional supplement on the cognitive performance of older adults.

The two-month study evaluated the effects of the formula, called NT-020, on the cognitive performance of these older adults, who had no diagnosed memory disorders.

Those randomized to the group of 52 volunteers receiving NT-020 demonstrated improvements in cognitive processing speed, while the 53 volunteers randomized to receive a placebo did not. Reduced cognitive processing speed, which can slow thinking and learning, has been associated with advancing age, the researchers said.

The study, conducted at the USF Health Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute, appears in the current issue of Rejuvenation Research (Vol. 17 No. 1, 2014).  Participants from both groups took a battery of memory tests before and after the interventions.

“After two months, test results showed modest improvements in two measures of cognitive processing speed for those taking NT-020 compared to those taking placebo,” said Brent Small, PhD, a professor in USF’s School of Aging Studies. “Processing speed is most often affected early on in the course of cognitive aging. Successful performance in processing tasks often underlies more complex cognitive outcomes, such as memory and verbal ability.”

Blueberries, a major ingredient in the NT-020 formula, are rich in polyphenols, a type of antioxidant containing a polyphenolic, or natural phenol substructure.

“The basis for the use of polyphenol-rich nutritional supplements as a moderator of age-related cognitive decline is the age-related increase in oxidative stress and inflammation,” said study co-principal investigator Paula C. Bickford, PhD, a professor in the Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair, USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, and senior research career scientist at the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital in Tampa. “Non-vitamin polyphenols are the most abundant modulators of oxidative stress and inflammation in our diet. NT-020 is 95 percent polyphenols.”

One of the main ingredients of the supplement, called NT-20, is extracted from blueberries.

In several preclinical trials, researchers gave aging laboratory rats NT-020 to see if it boosted memory and other cognitive performance by promoting the health of neurons in the aging brain. Those studies demonstrated that NT-020 promoted the growth of stem cells in the brain, produced an overall rejuvenating effect, benefitted animals with simulated stroke, and led to better cognitive performance.

The researchers plan future clinical trials with longer intervention periods so that the optimal time for taking the formula may be better understood.  The researchers speculated that if the study had included participants cognitively less healthy, or those with memory impairments, they may have observed “more robust findings.”

“In the future, having markers of oxidative stress and inflammation, as well as brain-based measures of functioning, may allow us to identify the manner by which this compound, as well as others, may influence functioning,” they concluded.

The NT-020 formula was patented by the University of South Florida, in partnership with the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital, and licensed to Natura Therapeutics, Inc.  The supplement is commercially available as NutraStem®.

The study was supported by a grant from the University of South Florida Neuroscience Collaborative to Dr. Small and Dr. Bickford.

Dr. Bickford is a co-founder of Natura Therapeutics, Inc.

– USF Health –

USF Health’s mission is to envision and implement the future of health. It is the partnership of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, the College of Public Health, the College of Pharmacy, the School of Biomedical Sciences and the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences; and the USF Physician’s Group. The University of South Florida is a Top 50 research university in total research expenditures among both public and private institutions nationwide, according to the National Science Foundation. For more information, visit www.health.usf.edu

Video Editor:  Klaus Herdocia, USF Health Communications

Media contact:
Anne DeLotto Baier, USF Health Communications
abaier@health.usf.edu or (813) 974-3303

Media release by Florida Science Communications, Inc. 

The USF Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair was awarded a patent for a spine disc prosthetic device with fusion capability, helping patients with degenerative discs or scoliosis to have a shorter and less painful recovery.

The significance of the device – a pouch filled with beads that is implanted into the spine and functions as a vertebral disc – is that it can be implanted in a less invasive manner and that it allows the spine to more easily fuse to the pouch than it will to other devices currently used.

Co-inventors for the device and the method for using it are: Thomas Freeman, MD, professor of Neurosurgery and medical director of the USF Center for Aging and Brain Repair in the Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair, and Wesley Johnson, PhD, a biomechanics engineer who recently retired from the USF Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair.

Thomas Freeman, MD,  (left)  and Wesley Johnson, PhD

“The device is unique in the industry because it accommodates conversion from a motion preservation device to a spine fusion device,” Dr. Johnson said.

“It was a device inspired by the late Dr. David Cahill.”

Dr. Cahill, who passed away in 2003, was professor, chairman and founder of the Department of Neurological Surgery at USF. He was an international renowned neurosurgeon and noted for his teaching and his innovation in spinal instrumentation.

“I was hired by Dr. Cahill in the spring of 2003,” Dr. Johnson said. “During my interviews he and I shared our common frustration with the current state of the art.  I reported for my first day and he died the next day in the airplane crash.  I felt a certain sense of satisfaction when the patent was issued.”

Degenerative discs can cause significant pain.

Typically, the options for patients would include removing the problem disc and replacing it with a stiff strut or cage, which could mean additional plates, rods, and screws to stabilize the disc until it heals and the bone fuses across the disc space. But in as many as 20 percent of these procedures, fusion does not occur. In addition, screws and rods can shift, causing serious neurological complications. When fusion does occur, there is a greater likelihood that an adjacent disc then fails.

Motion preservation devices allow more range of motion of the spine than a fusion, Dr. Freeman added.  However, if a standard motion preservation device has to be converted to a fusion for any reason at a later date, this requires a major operation.  The benefit of this new patented device is that it allows for the conversion from a motion preservation device to a fusion device with a simple, quick, minimally invasive procedure that can be performed as an outpatient.

Click here for more information on the patent and device.

Story by Sarah A. Worth, USF Health Office of Communications