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    Patent 5139684 Blood electrification, filed Nov 16 1990, granted Aug 18
      1992
    Electrically conductive method and systems for treatment of blood and
      other body fluids and/or synthetic fluids with electric forces
    Inventors: Dr. Steven Kaali, Peter Schwolsky
      
      
Abstract: A 
new process and system for treatment of blood
      and/or other body fluids and/or synthetic fluids from a donor to a recipient
      or storage receptacle or in a recycling system using novel electrically
      conductive treatment vessels for treating blood and/or other body fluids
      and/or synthetic fluids with electric field forces of appropriate electric
      field strength 
to provide electric current
      flow through the blood or other body fluids at a magnitude that is biologically
      compatible but is 
sufficient to render the bacteria, virus, and/or fungus
      ineffective to infect normally healthy cells while maintaining the biological
      usefulness of the blood or other fluids.
      
      For this purpose the low voltage electric potentials applied to the treatment
      vessel should be of the order of from about 0.2 to 12 volts and should produce
      
current flow densities in the
      blood or other fluids of from one microampere per square millimeter of electrode
      area exposed to the fluid being treated to about two milliamperes per square
      millimeter. Treatment time within this range of parameters may range for
      a period of time from about 
one minute to about 12 minutes.
      
      
 
      
      
       U.S. References Cited:
      
      U.S. References Cited: 15 patents: #'s 5049252, 3994799, 4473449,
      5133932, 2490730, 3692648, 3753886, 3878564, 3965008, 4616640, 4770167,
      4932421, 5058065, 5133932, 592735, 672231
      
      
Foreign References Cited: 1 patent: # SU 995848
      
      
Other References Cited:
      
      Journal of the Clinical Investigation published by the American Society
      for Clinical Investigations, Inc, vol. 65, Feb 1980, pp 38: Photodynamic
      Inactivation of Herpes Simplex Viruses - Lowell E Schnipper
      
      Journal of Clinical Microbiology, vol 17, No 2, Feb 1983: Photodynamic Inactivation
      of Pseudorabier Virus with Methylene Blue Dye, Light and Electricity - Janine
      A Badyisk
      
    Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology & Medicine, vol 1,
    1979, pp 204-209: Inactivation of Herpes Simplex Virus with Methylene Blue,
    Light and Electricity - Mitchell R Swartz
    
    About Patent Validity
    
    Patent 5139684 on blood electrification describes two systems for passing
    an electrical 
current through blood.
    It claims to kill every bacteria, virus, parasite, and fungus it was tested
    on. The usual concern about this is whether a patent can be obtained on just
    about anything and whether the inventors are required to prove the patent
    actually does what they claim to someone in the patent office. This patent
    was obtained by Steven Kaali and Peter M. Schwolsky as a result of a study
    performed at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. Even so,
    the concern is still there.
    
    A customer of ours has a friend who has the experience to resolve this concern.
    Philip M obtained an Electrical Engineering degree with the goal in mind of
    becoming a patent lawyer. After he graduated from the University of Utah he
    obtained a job with the U.S. patent office. It wasn't long before he attracted
    the attention a law firm that specializes in patent law. They offered him
    a job and also offered to pay his way through law school. Right now he is
    drawing a salary while still going to school.
    
    Philip was emailed and asked his opinion on this patent. This was his response:
    
    I took a look at the patent in question. You were wondering if the inventors
    have to prove the patent actually does what they claim to someone in the patent
    office. Well, yes and no.
    
    A patent is a monopoly right that is granted to the first person to make the
    invention or "reduce it to practice." This reduction to practice
    may be a constructive reduction to practice, however, which means that it
    has been filed in a US patent application in sufficient detail to enable one
    of "ordinary skill in the art" with which the patent deals to make
    and use the invention.
    
    A patent examiner in the Patent Office examines the patent application to
    make sure that it conforms to the various requirements set forth in 35 U.S.C.
    101, 102, 103, 112, and other relevant sections. Essentially, this includes:
    verifying that the invention described in the patent application is within
    statutorily defined areas of invention (101) and is novel and unique from
    anything that has already been done before, or unique (102); it entails verifying
    that the invention is not "obvious" to "one of ordinary skill
    in the art" in which the invention would be classified (103); and verifying
    that the invention has been described in the application in sufficient detail
    such that one skilled in the art of the invention is "enabled" to
    make and use the invention (112, 1st paragraph).
    
    The patent laws also require the inventor to set forth his or her invention
    in claims by "particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming"
    the invention (112, 2nd paragraph). So, if you want to know what the inventor
    is protecting with his monopoly right, you look to the claims, which define
    the intellectual property line or boundary of the invention.
    
    With all patents, there is a presumption of validity in the courts because
    the patents have undergone the examination process in the Patent Office by
    an examiner who is trained in that particular "art" or field of
    invention. That being said, there are patents that slip through the system
    from time to time. For example, cold fusion received several patents, I believe,
    all of which were later invalidated. There are no requirements that the invention
    is commercially viable or useful to the public as a whole-- only that they
    meet with the standards set forth in Title 35 U.S.C.
    
    While some patents are a little strange, the majority are good, viable inventions
    for which people want to protect a right to make and use the invention. Maintaining
    a patent requires a significant investment and most people do not do it frivolously.
    The patent that you asked me about was a continuation of another application,
    which means that the inventor paid for at least two applications in order
    to get the patent granted. He was probably pretty serious about it.