Patent Law Association honors CNY inventors

CNY Business Journal (1996+), May 07, 2004 by Dickinson, Casey J

SYRACUSE - The Central New York Patent Law Association (CNYPLA) honored Central New York's "creative class" April 30 at its annual awards dinner. A team of inventors from Welch Allyn took top prize as Inventors of the Year for its work in creating the PanOptic ophthalmoscope.

The Welch Allyn team's members were Ervin Goldfain of Syracuse; Chris R. Roberts of Skaneateles; Allan I. Krauter of Skaneateles; Steven Slawson of Camillus; and William H. Lagerway of Auburn. State Senator John DeFrancisco honored the team and its work with a Senate reso lution passed last month.

The PanOptic ophthalmoscope gives doctors an expanded view of a patient's retina by allowing a 25-degree field of view. A standard ophthalmoscope allows for only a five-degree field of vision. In addition to its increased field of view, the PanOptic ophthalmoscope has 26-percent greater magnification, allowing a physician to see more of a patient's eye when conducting an exam. The PanOptic ophthalmoscope also allows physicians to examine a non-dilated pupil.

More than 70 members of the CNYPLA gathered at the Country Club of Syracuse to honor the inventors. Cornelius B. "Neil" Murphy, Jr., president of the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, delivered the keynote address.

A team of CNYPLA judges chose the Welch Allyn team from a field of five finalists, says George McGuire, president - of CNYPLA and an attorney at Bond, Schoeneck, and King, PLLC. Each finalist had secured a U.S. patent for a recent innovation and had a connection to Central New York.

The judges based-their decision on several factors including competitive advantage, benefit to society, improvements to past technology, efficiency, cost, and manufacturing efficiency. In addition to member attorneys submitting clients' patents, CNYPLA contacted several area companies to see if there were patents that were particularly important, McGuire explains.

The Welch Allyn team's PanOptic ophthalmoscope employs four separate patents. Patent No. 6,065,837 covers the basic architecture, No. 6,409,341 and No. 6,527,390 the viewing devices, and U.S. patent No. 6,637,882 covers the optical prescriptions used in the device. Welch Allyn has a long history of producing ophthalmoscopes; the company sold its first model in 1915. Welch Allyn founders Dr. Francis A. Welch and William Noah Allyn developed, manufactured, and marketed the product that spawned the Skaneateles Falls-based manufacturer.

Welch Allyn places a high value on technology patents, says Richard Newman, the company's vice president for advanced solutions.

"Patents are what differentiates us from our competitors," he explains, "the patent keeps our competitors from skipping all the research and development we had to do to create a product."

The PanOptic's patented features allow physicians to conduct eye exams faster, more accurately, and without drugs, says Newman.

Welch Allyn researchers worked for seven years to develop the PanOptic. The company's research department is typically looking 10 years into the future of medicine.

Approximately 40 percent of U.S. medical schools are now using the PanOptic to train future physicians, says Newman.

Other finalists for Inventor of the Year included William E. DeBlaay for his work in furniture design at L & J.G. Stickley, Inc. Designs can be the subject of patents as well as the inventions covered under a utility patent. The association gave honorable mentions to seven other patents from the region including Andrew Zalesski for patent No. 5,912,542 for Binghamton's Universal Instruments Corp. Zalesski's patent is for an improvement to motordrive circuits.

The Central New York region, from Elmira to Syracuse, annually produces more than 1,000 patents, says McGuire.