FAIRFIELD, Conn., Feb. 25, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Competitive Technologies, Inc. (OTCQX:CTTC) announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a critical patent for the "Scrambler Therapy"® system invented by Giuseppe Marineo which is featured in CTTC's Calmare® pain therapy medical device. Professor Marineo's newly issued patent, U.S. Patent No. 8,380,317, is entitled "Apparatus and Method for Quick Pain Suppression."
"This patent issuance represents another step forward in our plans to successfully commercialize the Calmare device as a unique and effective treatment for patients suffering from intractable chronic pain resistant to pharmaceutical treatments, traditional TENS, and surgically implanted devices," said CEO Carl O'Connell. "Given the thorough examination conducted by the USPTO, we believe the patent is very strong and positions us well to aggressively market this pain treatment to the U.S. medical community, in close collaboration with Professor Marineo."
According to Professor Marineo, "Electro-analgesia was first introduced in an empirical form, utilizing at first animal sources of electricity (torpedoes), then static, galvanic and alternate sources, to the most modern TENS and implanted devices. The Electro-analgesia theoretical reference basis was created by R. Melzack and P.D. Wall, who in 1965 published the Gate Control theory in Science.*
"During the development of Scrambler Therapy, artificial neurons were developed to transmit to the central nervous system (CNS) information recognizable as "self" and "non-pain" in a non-invasive manner through surface C receptors," Marineo continued. "Compared to the conventional electro-analgesia, the assumed active principle that is currently in use is not to inhibit pain transmission (through A-beta fiber excitation), but to substitute pain information with synthetic 'non-pain' information. This theory and the results produced in clinical use in chronic pain contradict consolidated models such as the Gate Control theory, but are also the reason for its effectiveness where other treatments fail.
"The U.S. patent further validates this innovative theory. Together with progressively planned randomized controlled clinical trials (RCT), Scrambler Therapy is bound to become the new scientific reference model to understand and treat chronic pain," Marineo said. "I am very grateful to the United States for providing me with the opportunity to offer this treatment to all patients who are unresponsive to other therapies."
About Competitive Technologies, Inc.
Competitive Technologies is a global leader in developing and commercializing innovative products and technologies. CTTC is multifaceted, providing distribution, patent and technology transfer, sales and licensing services.
CTTC is the licensed distributor of the non-invasive Calmare® pain therapy medical device, which incorporates the biophysical "Scrambler Therapy"® system developed in Italy by CTTC's client, Professor Giuseppe Marineo to treat neuropathic pain, including cancer pain. (The official "Scrambler Therapy"® scientific and clinical information website is at http://www.scramblertherapy.org/english.htm.) The Calmare® device is currently being manufactured for sale by CTTC's partner, GEOMC Co., Ltd. of Seoul, Korea. For more information on the device, visit www.calmarett.com. Visit CTTC's website: www.competitivetech.net.
Statements made about our future expectations are forward-looking statements and subject to risks and uncertainties as described in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, filed with the SEC on April 16, 2012, and other filings with the SEC, and are subject to change at any time. Our actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement.
*Melzack R, Wall PD. "Pain mechanisms: a new theory," Science, 150(699):971-9, 1965