HARTLAND, Wis., April 26 /PRNewswire/ -- At a meeting today highlighting university-business partnerships in Wisconsin, Camtronics Medical Systems, Ltd., a medical imaging company based in Hartland, WI, demonstrated its latest tool for assessing cardiovascular health to John W. Dudas of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and U.S. Representative F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.
The meeting between Sensenbrenner, Dudas and Camtronics president Gene Bergholz was arranged by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), the patenting and licensing organization of the University of Wisconsin - Madison. Camtronics’ new product -- a sophisticated software package that measures the health of a person’s vascular system to provide an early indication of heart disease -- is based on technology created by UW-Madison cardiologist James Stein, which the company licensed from WARF in 2003.
“University technology helps our company stay competitive,” Bergholz says. “I would recommend it to any company that is looking for new ideas and products.”
Sensenbrenner and Dudas are in Hartland to learn how the process of technology transfer -- the commercialization of technology created at universities -- works in Wisconsin and how it impacts the state’s economy. The pair also showcased efforts at national level to improve the patent system and promote technology transfer.
In particular, they described two bills recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives: the CREATE Act and the Patent and Trademark Office Fee Modernization Act of 2003. Sensenbrenner has worked tirelessly in the House of Representatives to help pass CREATE, which simplifies collaborative research arrangements between different universities, and between universities and industry.
To honor Sensenbrenner’s support of technology transfer, WARF’s managing director Carl Gulbrandsen presented him with an award at today’s meeting.
“I’m especially gratified to receive this recognition from WARF after seeing today how Camtronics has worked with the UW-Madison and WARF to bring a product to the market that may eventually save lives,” says Sensenbrenner. “Today’s demonstration by Camtronics truly illustrates the value of university-industry partnerships to our society and the economy.”
“Representative Sensenbrenner is providing visionary leadership to improve the patent system in this country -- we’re fortunate to have him working for us in the Congress,” says Gulbrandsen. “His work on the Science and Judiciary Committees has given him unique insight into the value of scientific discovery, patent protection, technology transfer and their positive impact upon the nation’s economy.”
Director Dudas’ visit with Camtronics is part of a two-day trip to Wisconsin to meet with patent holders, including WARF, and gather their experiences and concerns about working the USPTO. Dudas is slated to visit with a number of other companies in Hartland and Madison, as well as with local patent attorneys and faculty from the UW Madison.
Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
CONTACT: Andrew Cohn of Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation,+1-608-263-2821, cohn@warf.org
Web site: http://www.camtronics.com/
