A new patent pending medical device – based on scientific research – proves even simple innovations to existing goods could be extremely lucrative.

Surgical masks haven’t changed too much since 1918. It was the year of the Spanish Flu pandemic, and surgeons adopted cotton gauze masks during surgery to protect themselves from patient illnesses.

The interest in masks as germ barriers was according to the function of Joseph Lister, who developed a successful technique of antiseptic surgery (based on Louis Pasteur’s’ in the time controversial germ theory).

Since then, there has been much innovation in surgical masks. Lighter supplies. Much more comfy straps. Anti-glare strips. And obviously, bacterial filtration. All worthy of new patents.

A new Patent for an Old Medical Invention

Despite all the new additions, 1 main problem remained…unique facial features.

Because surgical masks are a mass-produced item, there’s no possible way for them to perfectly fit each and every face. And surgical masks that do not have a totally air-tight fit do not completely stop the spread of germs.

A brand new medical patent aims to alter that.

I recently came across a press release about a patent from Cantel Medical Corporation for a brand new kind of surgical mask. And it shows how medical study can lead to new patents. One paragraph in specific reveals how this new patent resulted directly from a medical study:

A recent study, published in the September 2010 problem of the American Journal of Infection Manage quantified the capability of medical face masks to minimize the spread of infection. The study, entitled “Quantifying Exposure Risk and Mask Protection,” discovered that a tighter-fitting mask may offer as a lot as 100-fold higher infection manage benefit than regular, loose-fitting masks.

The press release goes on to clarify how ill fitting masks are “rolling out a red carpet for harmful infectious material to bypass the mask” and that correct fitting face masks are cheap insurance against infectious illness.

Takeaways for the Medical Device Inventor

Studies and medical study are great starting points for feasible medical patents for two factors:

1. Facts and figures of what needs to be improved

Usefulness is among the initial criteria the patent examiners use to determine if an concept is patentable. The study mentioned above discovered that “tighter-fitting masks might provide as much as 100-fold higher infection control benefit than regular, loose-fitting masks.”

2. Proof there’s a require.

There isn’t a lot good to a new medical or dental concept, unless there’s a require, or demand for the innovation. Looking into medical studies is 1 way to try and maintain your finger on the pulse of medical demand. Such as a reference to the study in the patent application is occasionally a great idea and can be very persuasive to a Patent Examiner of this require.

Spending some time digging through medical study could give you the next big concept.