The Louisiana-based medical device company Prep Tech has signed a license agreement for the U.S. Army’s patent-pending COVID-19 Airway Management Isolation Chamber or CAMIC.

The CAMIC is a see-through physical barrier invented in March by Army health care professionals who wanted new tools to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Composed of PVC parts that create a frame, the CAMIC is ideal for either hospital or in-the-field operations. A clear custom bag with two integrated gloves slides over the CAMIC frame. Holes can be cut into the CAMIC bag for additional patient/equipment manipulation. Medical air is delivered through the contralateral port. Suction is attached and distributed through the perforated/holed frame to remove contaminated air particles. (Courtesy Prep Tech)

When the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020, Prep Tech was developing a similar patient barrier enclosure product, ISOCUBE™, for hospitals and clinics.

The non-exclusive agreement, finalized on June 4, transfers to Prep Tech the Army’s intellectual property rights on the patent-pending CAMIC device.

Prep Tech is also working toward a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with the Army allowing the co-creation of future medical devices.

“Both groups are focused on making these affordable, disposable enclosures available everywhere to help prevent the further spread of coronavirus during at-risk medical procedures,” said Mark Moore, CEO of Prep Tech.

Through the CAMIC license and CRADA agreements, Prep Tech is combining forces with the Army inventors to create radically simple devices that add an extra layer of protection to health care workers and patients.

Army photo of the CAMIC in use.

License agreements typically contain fees, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Army Medical Technology Transfer Office issued this royalty-free license for emergency use so that Prep Tech could quickly focus its resources on supplying the CAMIC to health care workers.

The FDA issued an Emergency Use Authorization for the CAMIC on June 22, and another EUA for Protective Barrier Enclosures such as ISOCUBE™.

The license agreement was facilitated by Quinton King, a senior technology manager at TechLink. The not-for-profit organization is the Department of Defense’s national partnership intermediary for technology transfer.

 

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