E-18 files for an international patent for its revolutionary self-sheathing medical safety syringe technology

Aug 27 2009

E-18 Corp. (OTCBB:ETEN) today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary SquareOne Medical, Inc., doing business as Protectus Medical Devices ("Protectus Medical Devices"), completed an international patent filing for its revolutionary self-sheathing medical safety syringe technology, opening substantial opportunities abroad.

This filing was made through the international Patent Cooperation Treaty and allows the Company to enjoy patent-pending status in 140 countries, plus Taiwan, for 18 months. This window of protection allows Protectus Medical Devices to make formal patent applications in any or all of these countries.

“The scope of this patent protection is truly extraordinary and represents a milestone achievement for Protectus Medical Devices and its loyal shareholders,” said Dr. John Salstrom, President and CEO of Protectus Medical Devices. “To give everyone a sense of the opportunities this brings, we have increased our market opportunities from the 8 billion syringes sold in the United States annually, to the 30 billion syringes sold worldwide. Rest assured, we will be taking full advantage of our patent pending status by filing formal patent applications in some of the fastest growing medical device countries throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and South America, which is in addition to our 20+ years of patent protection status in the United States.”

This international patent-pending status is based on a previous US patent filed in August 2008 for the Helix Actuator Spring, which incorporates a unique non-uniform, flattened helix design that allows the spring to fully contract and expose the entire needle, while simultaneously supplying sufficient force for the self-sheathing action to be fully effective at any stage of spring contraction.

“Our unique Helix Actuator Spring is not found in any other medical safety syringe in the world,” continued Dr. Salstrom. “Its revolutionary design allows full needle exposure and device efficacy in most if not all clinical settings. Due to its fully automatic, self-sheathing action the Protectus Medical Safety Syringe has the potential to save hundreds of lives and billions of dollars a year in the United States alone. The prospect of expanding into international markets will be an even greater opportunity for our technology, which has been significantly strengthened with this milestone announcement of our international patent-pending status.”