Spectros White LED Patent Scope Affirmed In U.S. Patent Office Reexamination

PORTOLA VALLEY, Calif., Dec. 21, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- A core Spectros white LED patent was validated during reexamination by the United States Patent Office, and will reissue next year.

In a reexamination of U.S. Patent No. 6,711,426, the Patent Office has affirmed that Spectros' use of White LEDs in medical spectroscopy is unique and protectable, and that certain other applications in biomedical and industrial spectroscopy devices also fall under this Spectros patent.

"This is a broad affirmation of our dominant I.P. in the white LED and broadband spectroscopy area," noted CEO David Benaron. "This will serve as the basis for our expansion into lab-on-chip devices, color sensors, spectrometers, fluorimeters, and white LED pulse and tissue oximeters."

Spectros holds one of the early White LED patents in the U.S., and the first for use in medical and industrial spectroscopy. Spectros founders began performing color analysis, oximetry, and tissue spectroscopy in the 1980s. In the 1990s they developed a series of high-efficiency, low-thermal transfer broadband illuminators, which have been incorporated into the Spectros T-Stat® and Continuum® Tissue Oximeters, the only broadband tissue oximeters on the market in the U.S. and Europe. T-Stat® competes in the marketplace with INVOS® oximeters marketed by Covidien. Multiple continuations of the Spectros white LED patent family are under prosecution in the U.S., Europe, and Japan.

Spectros and its affiliates have over 80 patents issued, licensed, or filed worldwide for molecular sensing, detection, and imaging, forming one of the largest biophotonics intellectual property collections. These solid-state illuminators can be incorporated into spectroscopy equipment, lab-on-chip devices, color sensors, spectrometers, fluorimeters, pulse and tissue oximeters, and the like.

Spectros aggressively defends its technologies and products against infringement, including litigation filed against Thermo Fisher Scientific for alleged infringement in 2009.

About Spectros

Spectros markets and licenses advanced molecular sensing and imaging devices that shed light on ischemia and cancer. The company's champion product, the T-Stat VLS Tissue Oximeter, is the first medical device FDA-approved as sensitive to ischemia, an insufficient supply of oxygen to tissue.  T-Stat is the only commercially-available tissue oximeter that utilizes state-of-the-art multispectral visible light spectroscopy (VLS) technology.  The non-invasive T-Stat VLS system is used clinically to provide a continuous and real-time absolute value, utilizing 260 wavelengths, over the competing NIRS oximeter product lines that only use 2-4.

Spectros also develops molecular diagnostic tools for breast and prostate cancer, currently in phase I/II clinical trials supported by the National Cancer Institute.  Spectros is a venture-supported private concern and markets its products in the U.S. and internationally.

(Note:  Forward-looking statements are intended as a guide only, and do not constitute an offer for investment nor a guarantee of future events or returns.  Certain Spectros applications described above have not been reviewed and approved by the FDA, and are therefore labeled for investigational use only.  T-Stat and Continuum are trademarks of the Spectros Corporation. INVOS is a trademark of Somanetics and Covidien).

For further information, visit www.spectros.com.

SOURCE Spectros