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An adapter that expedites bone surgery by making hand-held retractors self-retaining.  Background: Orthopedic surgeons require unfettered access to exposed bone. That means keeping the skin, subcutaneous fat, tissues, and muscles out of the way with retractors. Currently, there are two common types of retractors for this purpose—self-retaining retractors, which stay open on their own, and hand-held retractors, which need an assistant to hold them. The current disclosure describes an adapter that couples the hand-held retractors to the self-retaining retractor, enabling the hand-held retractors to be self-retaining. This eliminates the need for an assistant and affords the surgeon better exposure to the bone, thereby increasing the efficiency of surgery while reducing cost. Technology Overview:  The device combines the functions of a hand-held retractor, used on soft tissue near the bone, with those of a self-retaining retractor, used on surface levels like skin and subcutaneous fat. The device consists of two sleeves slipped over the arms of the hand-held retractors. The inner surfaces of the sleeves have inverted V-shaped projections to capture the tips of the self-retaining retractor. When the tips are inserted into the projections on the sleeves, the self-retaining retractor secures the hand-held retractors and keeps them open. The adapter can be used with equipment that is readily available in every orthopedic operating room. It will be made of sterilizable metal or durable plastic to guarantee years of use.   https://suny.technologypublisher.com/files/sites/110-20302.jpg Advantages:

• Increases efficiency of surgery.
• Reduces costs.

­Combined drill guide and suture passer for use in assisting repair following posterior approach total hip arthroplasty. Background:
The posterior approach to the hip for total hip replacement as well as trauma, pediatric orthopedic surgery, and tumors is the most common approach for total hip arthroplasties. However, the performance of this surgery carries risks given the lack of a devoted and standardized instrument to assist in repairing the soft tissues over the hip joint before closure, leaving room for mistakes given that the repair is operator dependent.Technology Overview:  
Upstate Medical University Orthopedic Surgeons have designed a device that features a drill guide and suture passer for posterior approach total hip arthroplasty. The device will facilitate hole drilling, as well as passing and tying sutures over the desired tissues. This will eliminate the need to visually decide where to place the drill to make the holes, as well as manually passing the suture passer through the holes to repair the tissues of the surgery for a faster, more precise, and easier procedure, which could reduce the total time of surgery, minimize risk of posterior hip dislocation and may decrease patient recovery time. https://suny.technologypublisher.com/files/sites/adobestock_272951884_(1).jpeg Advantages:  •    Sterilizable metallic surgical instrument for repetitive use.
•    Less variability of results due to user experience level.
•    Expedites closure process, minimizing post-operative risks.Intellectual Property Summary:
Patent Pending US 18/236,641Stage of Development:
TRL 3 - Experimental proof of concept Licensing Status:
This technology is available for licensing.
 

Novel tools that promote the delivery of therapeutics to treat inner retinal diseases such as diabetic retinopathy, retinal vein occlusion, and retinitis pigmentosa.  Background:
Non-surgical access to tissues for direct biological manipulation, e.g. gene transfer, stem cell transplantation, and drug delivery, can be difficult because many tissues and organs are surrounded with, and protected by, a nearly impenetrable barrier called the basement membrane (BM). In the eye, the inner limiting membrane (ILM) is a special BM that prevents movement into the retina from the vitreous. Current methods to circumvent the ILM involve its physical or enzymatic removal and have limited efficacy. As a result, successful cell- and gene- based therapies have targeted a subretinal approach, which has proven effective for the outer retina, but is of extremely limited use for the inner retina. Technology Overview:  
This technology describes the use of Ntn4-based molecules to disrupt the laminin polymer needed to form the ILM, allowing for access to these otherwise inaccessible tissues, and for therapies based on that access. This approach is also applicable to a wide variety of other tissues that contain a basement membrane that block the delivery of therapeutic agents. Of particular interest are organs with hard-to-breach BMs, including the kidney glomerulus, cornea and lens capsule, and the dermal/epidermal junction of the skin. https://suny.technologypublisher.com/files/sites/adobestock_4964568011.jpegAdvantages:  
•    Provides non-surgical access to inner retinal tissues.
•    Promotes gene-based and cell-based therapeutics in inner retinal diseases.
•    Applicable to a wide variety of other tissues.  Applications:  
Manipulate the molecular structure of the ILM to promote integration of neural stem cells, viral transfection, or small molecule delivery for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy, retinal vein occlusion, and retinitis pigmentosa and other inner retinal diseases. Intellectual Property Summary: Provisional patent application filed: 63/709,982Stage of Development:
TRL 3 – Experimental proof of concept Licensing Status:
This technology is available for licensing.Licensing Potential:
This technology would be of interest to entities involved in gene therapy, stem cell therapy, and targeted drug delivery. Potential licensees include biopharmaceutical companies, ophthalmology-focused biotech firms, regenerative medicine developers, and platform technology companies seeking to enhance delivery of biologics or cell-based therapies across tissue barriers

Provides new pathways for biomarkers and drug discovery for cancer patients.  Background:
The gene Abelson interactor protein-1 (ABI1) encodes a member of the Abelson-interactor family of adaptor proteins. These proteins facilitate signal transduction as components of several multiprotein complexes, and regulate actin polymerization and cytoskeletal remodeling through interactions with Abelson tyrosine kinases. The androgen receptor (AR) protein functions as a steroid-hormone activated transcription factor. ABI1 and AR are widely expressed in human tissues. Many cancers show sex-specific tumorigenesis, tumor progression, and sensitivity to hormonal drugs. The ABI1-AR axis might play critical roles in these tissue and drug sensitivities and toxicities. For example, ABI1 regulates a specific subset of genes associated with prostate tumor progression. These genes are biomarkers and potential targets of tumor progression.
Technology Overview:  
This technology defines ABI1-AR reciprocal regulation involving two non-exclusive molecular mechanisms of ABI1-AR and ABI1-DNA interactions. ABI1-DNA binding activity predicts survival of prostate cancer patients. ABI1 binds AR via a multivalent interaction. The ABI1-AR transcriptional program is altered during tumor progression and by anti-androgen treatments, suggesting that ABI1 is a key plasticity regulator in PCa by coupling its actin regulatory and signaling functions to transcriptional regulation. ABI1-AR reciprocal regulation has far reaching implications for tumor plasticity and androgen-sensitive pathogenesis. These interactions are co-regulated during PCa evolution and clinical treatment promoting tumor plasticity and progression. This provides new paths for biomarker and drug design discovery in PCa. https://suny.technologypublisher.com/files/sites/adobestock_282277912.jpegAdvantages:  
•    Provides a novel mechanism for predicting survival rates among cancer patients.
•    May enable drug discovery for a wide variety of cancers. Applications:  
The primary applications for this technology are the development of biomarkers for assessing cancer patient survival rates, and drug discovery.  Intellectual Property Summary: US Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 63/463,457, filed May 2, 2023. Stage of Development:
TRL 3 - Experimental proof of concept Licensing Status:
This technology is available for licensing.Licensing Potential:
This technology would be of interest to anyone involved in the development of biomarkers and/or therapeutics for cancer, including:
•    Pharmaceutical companies.
•    Hospitals.
•    Medical research laboratories.
•    Universities.