Technology Transfer Awards Go to PNNL

RICHLAND, Wash., Feb. 15 -- The Federal Laboratory Consortium announced it is honoring Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) with four 2006 Awards for Excellence in Technology Transfer for the laboratory’s development and commercialization of bioactive thin-film coatings for surgical implants, a brachytherapy seed cancer treatment process, Starlight information visualization system software, and SAMMS, a process for removing mercury and other toxic chemicals from the environment.
A water-based thin-film calcium-phosphate technology developed by PNNL will soon enhance bone bonding and reduce the body’s chance for post-surgical infection and implant rejection. The technology was licensed in 2004 to Bacterin, of Belgrade, Mont., and is ready for commercial application. Bacterin is a medical device testing facility for medical implant manufacturers and has FDA approval for applying the thin-film coating to medical devices for orthopedic and medical implants.
The brachytherapy seed cancer treatment process uses cesium-131, a radioactive isotope, to effectively and quickly provide a cancer-killing dose to a tumor. In collaboration with PNNL researchers, IsoRay Medical, Inc., of Richland, Wash., expanded its cancer therapy technology for treating prostate and other cancers. The cesium-131 brachytherapy technology was patented in 2000, and therapy is currently available at more than 17 implant centers.
Starlight was originally developed by PNNL for the US intelligence community and is being used by nearly 40 organizations to integrate many different data types and formats, perform high-speed, high-efficiency analysis and display results graphically.
SAMMS (self-assembled monolayers on mesoporous support) can be tailored to selectively remove metal contaminants without creating hazardous waste or byproducts. A licensing agreement has been established with Steward Advanced Materials of Chattanooga, Tenn., for use in stack emission coal fired power plants, municipal incinerators and other similar plants.
For more information, visit: www.pnl.gov