The scientists will be recognized for their inventions that may ultimately lead to new antibiotics, cancer drugs and medical devices to better treat and diagnose disease.
“In the past few years, we’ve been seeing a consistent increase in the number of high quality inventions coming from our faculty,” said James Linder, M.D., president of UNeMed and UNMC associate vice chancellor for research. “This reflects the growing strength of UNMC’s research enterprise. These inventions help strengthen the economic base of Nebraska, which benefits all citizens.”
UNeMed will present a Lifetime Achievement Award to Robert F. LeVeen, M.D., a UNMC graduate and former faculty member who now serves as a staff interventional radiologist at the Shands Hospital at the University of Florida in Gainsville. Dr. LeVeen served at UNMC from 1975 to 1999 in the Department of Radiology during which time he invented the LeVeen Probe, a device that uses radio frequency ablation to destroy cancerous tumors without the need for surgery.
Marketed by Boston Scientific, the device is one of the three most frequently used tools in the country for destruction of solid tumors. Royalties from sales have earned millions of dollars. The invention also launched an important treatment modality, interventional radiology, which has changed one of the approaches to cancer treatment. Treatment of cancer patients is now served by four disciplines: surgical oncology, medical oncology, radiation oncology and interventional oncology.
“It’s become a very important treatment discipline,” Dr. LeVeen said. “Before that, interventional radiology specialists were using embolization or chemoembolization (a way of blocking blood vessels that feed tumors, with or without chemotherapy), to slow tumor growth. The treatment is effective in controlling the tumor but rarely cure. With radiofrequency ablation, if the tumor is small enough, some people can be cured.”
The LeVeen Probe is used to kill small solid tumors anywhere in the body, such as in the liver, kidney, lung, breast and bone. The probe, available in different sizes ranging from 2.5 to 5 centimeters in diameter. A needle is inserted through the skin with imaging guidance, into the tumor, then deployed into an umbrella-shaped electrode array to “cook” the tumor. With use of a small generator, the probe in essence burns the tumor until it dies.
Dr. LeVeen conceived the idea during a medical meeting. He listened to a colleague’s presentation about using a needle to burn tumor. The problem was single needle electrodes produce very small areas of therapeutic heating. “I understood the problem could be solved by having an array of needles thus the array would produce a large lesion suitable for treatment of tumors. It was like an instant revelation. I understood the solution right away.”
Like most inventions, it took years before the device reached the market.
Dr. LeVeen said medical inventions are all about helping people. “The probe’s cured people. Patients have said many nice things to me. The satisfaction of knowing you’ve cured someone of cancer is tremendous and those patients are extremely grateful,” he said.
Anthony Adelson, M.D., UNMC associate professor and section head of interventional radiology, said he and his colleagues have been using the LeVeen probe for the last four years.
“The LeVeen probe (radiofrequency ablation – RFA) has revolutionized the treatment of cancer patients,” Dr. Adelson said. “It provides more options for patients who are non-surgical candidates. In a small number of patients, RFA can cure patients. More typically, RFA prolongs patient survival and improves quality of life. In some cases, RFA can convert a non-surgical patient into a surgical candidate, which is desirable as surgery is the best chance for cure."
UNeMed, which was established in 1991, is focused on developing and fostering relationships with industry to transfer UNMC intellectual property from the academic laboratory to the marketplace. It seeks industrial licensing opportunities to enhance the development of its technologies and foster scientific breakthroughs at UNMC.
A few examples of UNMC inventions and discoveries include:
a unique form of creatine now sold in nutrition stores around the country;
a nanotechnology drug delivery system that delivers medications more effectively;
a miniaturized robot, the size of a pen, that allows surgeons to perform surgery remotely; and a new technology that appears to be more efficient and a lower cost way to purify therapeutic proteins for potential use in research and industry.
Recent invention activity at UNMC
UNeMed had 68 new inventions disclosed last year (up from 34 the year before).
UNeMed signed 12 licenses last year (up from 7 the year before)
UNeMed filed 36 patent applications last year (up from 14 the year before)
UNeMed received $845,000 from licensing activity last year (up from $517,000 the year before)
UNeMed executed a Sponsored Research Agreement worth $500,000
Last year, UNeMed distributed $99,000 to inventors and $157,000 to departments for additional research
UNeMed maintains the university patent portfolio which contains a total of 524 patents and patent applications:
185 issued U.S. patents
131 issued foreign patents
19 provisional patent applications pending
57 US patent applications pending
132 foreign patent applications pending
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