ALPHARETTA, Ga., Sept. 24, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SANUWAVE Health, Inc. (OTCQB:SNWV), announced today the issuance of U.S. Patent Number 9,119,888 by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office entitled "Methods for Cleaning and Sterilization of Implant Tissue Ex Vivo with Shock Waves" that has a maximum term extending to September 2030.
For repair of damaged tissue as skin, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, bones, etc. the modern medicine uses harvested tissues from human donors and cadavers or animals. The harvested tissue needs to be cleaned and sterilized to not introduce any pathogens into the implantation target and to not trigger any infection and immune rejection. The cleaning of harvested tissues is done with ethanol, ether, acetone and hydrogen peroxide and for sterilization the method of preference is irradiation. This new patent issued to SANUWAVE includes nineteen claims related to the use of shock waves to clean and sterilize harvested human or animal tissues for human implantation to reduce or avoid the use of chemicals or irradiation. Furthermore, this patent describes the use of shock waves in cleaning and sterilization methods that can be done manually or automatically for both soft and hard tissue harvested for implantation.
"According to American Association of Tissue Banks, tissues for transplantation are recovered from over 30,000 volunteer donors annually, where tissue from a single donor can be used for as many as 100 patients or more. The recovered tissues are processed and distributed to hospitals, surgery centers, and dental offices for treatment of patients. The use of shock waves to clean and sterilize harvested human or animal tissues for human implantation can help with providing skin for burn victims, bone chips for tissue replacement for cancer, trauma, infection, joint replacement, bone non-unions or dental patients, heart valves for young children with heart defects, cornea transplants for people with vision loss, tendons for muscle reattachments and ligaments for joint repairs," commented Kevin A. Richardson II, Chairman of the board of directors of SANUWAVE.
"With the issuance of this patent a new avenue is opened for using our shock wave technology in cleaning and sterilization arena. The shock wave methods described into this patent provide non-chemical or non-irradiation modalities for tissue banks to supply safe and viable transplants for the increased demand of medical markets," concluded Kevin A. Richardson II.
SANUWAVE Health, Inc., and its wholly owned subsidiary SANUWAVE, Inc., now have 41 patents (issued or pending) in the field of shock waves used in medical and non-medical applications.
About SANUWAVE Health, Inc.
SANUWAVE Health, Inc. (www.sanuwave.com) is a shock wave technology company initially focused on the development and commercialization of patented noninvasive, biological response activating devices for the repair and regeneration of skin, musculoskeletal tissue and vascular structures. SANUWAVE's portfolio of regenerative medicine products and product candidates activate biologic signaling and angiogenic responses, producing new vascularization and microcirculatory improvement, which helps restore the body's normal healing processes and regeneration. SANUWAVE applies its patented PACE technology in wound healing, orthopedic/spine, plastic/cosmetic and cardiac conditions. Its lead product candidate for the global wound care market, dermaPACE®, is CE Marked throughout Europe and has device license approval for the treatment of the skin and subcutaneous soft tissue in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In the U.S., dermaPACE is currently under the FDA's Premarket Approval (PMA) review process for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers. SANUWAVE researches, designs, manufactures, markets and services its products worldwide, and believes it has demonstrated that its technology is safe and effective in stimulating healing in chronic conditions of the foot (plantar fasciitis) and the elbow (lateral epicondylitis) through its U.S. Class III PMA approved OssaTron® device, as well as stimulating bone and chronic tendonitis regeneration in the musculoskeletal environment through the utilization of its OssaTron, Evotron® and orthoPACE® devices in Europe, Asia and Asia/Pacific. In addition, there are license/partnership opportunities for SANUWAVE's shock wave technology for non-medical uses, including energy, water, food and industrial markets.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, such as statements relating to financial results and plans for future business development activities, and are thus prospective. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding intent, belief or current expectations of the Company, its directors or its officers. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's ability to control. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Among the key risks, assumptions and factors that may affect operating results, performance and financial condition are risks associated with the regulatory approval and marketing of the Company's product candidates and products, unproven pre-clinical and clinical development activities, regulatory oversight, the Company's ability to manage its capital resource issues, competition, and the other factors discussed in detail in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement.
For additional information about the Company, visit www.sanuwave.com.