Pittsburgh, PA (PRWEB) December 22, 2011 -- Celsense, Inc., announced today that it has received a Notice of Allowance for US Patent Application 10/586,015 with claims covering its MRI cell tracking product, Cell Sense.
Cell Sense is a perfluorocarbon tracer agent used to label cells ex vivo, making them detectable in vivo after transplantation using magnetic resonance imaging (“MRI”). Invented by Eric Ahrens at Carnegie Mellon University, Cell Sense can be used to non-invasively image the administration, migration, and persistence of cells transplanted for therapeutic or diagnostic purposes using MRI. The use of Cell Sense was first reported in the journal Nature Biotechnology in 2005.
Cell Sense is currently available for use in preclinical research and human clinical trials. The first clinical use of Cell Sense is in combination with an autologous dendritic cell vaccine used to treat colorectal cancer; the trial was authorized by the US FDA in May of 2011. It is contemplated that patient recruitment will commence in early 2012.
The patent, ‘Cellular labeling for nuclear magnetic resonance techniques,” includes a broad set of claims covering methods and compositions for the use of perfluorocarbon tracer agents to detect transplanted cells in MRI and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Ropes and Gray LLP acted as counsel to Carnegie Mellon University and Celsense, Inc., in the prosecution of the patent.
“We are delighted to add this patent to our growing intellectual property portfolio and to extend our leadership position in cellular and molecular imaging tools,” said Charlie O’Hanlon, President and CEO of Celsense.
About Celsense, Inc.
Celsense, Inc. develops and markets novel products that enable the non-invasive imaging of populations of cells using in vivo using MRI. Customers include leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies and medical research centers worldwide. Celsense’s mission is to be the standard for cellular imaging in human health.
