Advance Nanotech, Inc., a leader in next generation chemical detection, announced today that it has been issued with a patent award by the United States Patent and Trademark Office for its 3-D miniature pre-concentrator and inlet sample heater application which was originally filed September 20, 2005. Pre-concentrators are used to collect molecules that are present in low concentrations. Accordingly, pre-concentrators increase the sensitivity of our products and, in particular, are useful in aiding the detection of trace compounds such as drugs, explosives, and other toxic agents. This patent represents significant technical advances in the miniaturization of the pre- concentrator.
Advance Nanotech subsidiary, Owlstone is pleased to acknowledge that this is the first patent to be issued from its intellectual property portfolio. Over the past two years, Owlstone has filed 18 additional patent applications specifically related to its chemical detection IP.
This particular patent was co-invented by Billy Boyle, David Ruiz-Alonso, Andrew Koehl, Martyn Rush, Russell Parris and Ashley Wilks. Commenting on the patent, Andrew Koehl said, "We are delighted that the novelty of our invention has been acknowledged in this way. We are further encouraged that every one of our claims was approved by the U.S. Patent Office."
Owlstone has developed products that are based on a patent-pending, proprietary technology. The products incorporate a silicon chip that can rapidly detect a broad range of chemicals in the ambient air. Applications in homeland security, defense, industrial process control, environmental and healthcare for Owlstone's detection systems are wide-ranging and immediate. Owlstone has successfully completed its R&D and design-related work for its first products and is now delivering products that meet real-time chemical detection needs.
Owlstone launched two products during 2007. Most of the R&D investment on the core technology has been completed. Further product development is now focused on reducing the size and increasing the portability of the next two planned product lines. The Lonestar product is a fully integrated chemical sensor. The Lonestar is capable of sampling and identifying chemicals in the ambient air and has been designed for the industrial process control market.