1st Detect, Astrotech Subsidiary, Expands U.S. Patent Portfolio for Chemical Analyzers
November 04 2015 - 9:05AM
Business Wire
Enhances intellectual property portfolio and
protects competitive advantages
1st Detect Corporation, a subsidiary of Astrotech Corporation
(NASDAQ: ASTC), was awarded two patents by the United States Patent
and Trademark Office (USPTO) securing the company’s core ion trap
chemical analyzer technology used for chemical detection and
analysis. This increases 1st Detect’s total patent count to 11 U.S.
and nine international issued and 11 U.S. and 17 international
pending.
“1st Detect’s unique technology creates significant advantages
for us in the marketplace, and owning the intellectual property
secures our position,” said David Rafferty, the inventor of the
novel technology and President and CTO of 1st Detect.
“Traditionally, chemical analyzers are large, complex instruments
that require scientists to process gases in laboratories and often
wait in line to do so. Our affordable process analyzers identify a
wider range of chemicals, provide laboratory quality analysis and
generate ‘All the Data, All the Time.’ With this patented
technology they can be as small as a shoebox and as light as 12
pounds, making them transportable and ideal in the field as well as
on the factory floor.”
“Astrotech fosters creativity and innovation that yields
disruptive technology in all of our subsidiaries,” said Thomas B.
Pickens III, Chairman and CEO of Astrotech Corporation. “These
patents protect 1st Detect’s core technology, which we believe will
be a great asset as we bring our iONTRAC Process Chemical Analyzer
to market. We are proud of our team and will continue to dedicate
funds to research and development, as we believe it will deliver
return on our investment in the long term.”
The technology underlying the patents enables 1st Detect to
target markets that need highly accurate chemical detection and
monitoring as well as “All the Data, All the Time.” This includes
applications for airport security, food & beverage,
semiconductor, pharmaceutical, healthcare, research and
environmental and the military.
Recent Patents Granted
- U.S. Patent No. 8,946,624, entitled,
‘Mass Spectrometer Having an External Detector' represents a key
technological advantage for 1st Detect to further miniaturize
portable small chemical analyzers without sacrificing the high
quality resolution or fast response analysis time, which is a key
advantage over competitors’ gas chromatography–mass spectrometer
(GC-MS) slow, bulky and expensive solutions.
- U.S. Patent No. 8,975,573, entitled,
‘Systems and Methods for Calibrating Mass Spectrometers' represents
a key technological advantage for 1st Detect in offering the high
quality chemical analysis and fast response time of a chemical
analyzer to non-experts, which is a key advantage over traditional
laboratory-based chemical analyzers.
About 1st Detect Corporation
1st Detect, a subsidiary of Astrotech Corporation (NASDAQ:
ASTC), develops, manufactures, and sells powerful, sensitive, and
accurate chemical analyzers that streamline processes for
industrial use in the food and beverage, semiconductor,
pharmaceutical, healthcare, research, and environmental markets, as
well as for government applications used in explosive and chemical
warfare detection for the Department of Homeland Security and the
military. The company’s core mass spectrometry technology was first
developed under an agreement with NASA for use on the International
Space Station. The unit is capable of detecting a wide variety of
chemicals including residues and vapors from explosives, chemical
warfare agents, toxic chemicals, food & beverage contaminants,
and pollutants. These capabilities, combined in an
economically priced, transportable, and ruggedized solution, make
it an ideal tool for a variety of applications. For more
information on 1st Detect Corporation, please visit
www.1stDetect.com.
About Astrotech Corporation
Astrotech Corporation (NASDAQ: ASTC) identifies and
commercializes emerging, disruptive technologies through its
closely held subsidiaries. Management employs creativity in
execution as well as sources investment opportunities from various
government laboratories, agencies, universities, and corporations,
as well as through its own internal research. Sourced from Oak
Ridge Laboratory’s chemical analyzer research, 1st Detect develops,
manufactures, and sells chemical analyzers that streamline
processes for industrial use in the airport security, food and
beverage, semiconductor, pharmaceutical, research, and
environmental markets, and the military. Sourced from decades of
image research from the laboratories of IBM and Kodak combined with
classified satellite technology from government laboratories,
Astral Images sells film to digital image enhancement, defect
removal and color correction software, and post processing services
providing economically feasible conversion of television and
feature 35mm and 16mm films to the new 4K ultra-high definition
(UHD), high-dynamic range (HDR) format necessary for the new
generation of digital distribution. Sourced from NASA’s extensive
microgravity research, Astrogenetix is applying a fast-track
on-orbit discovery platform using the International Space Station
to develop vaccines and other therapeutics. Demonstrating its
entrepreneurial strategy, Astrotech management sold its
state-of-the-art satellite servicing operations to Lockheed Martin
in August 2014. Astrotech has operations throughout Texas and is
headquartered in Austin. For information please visit
www.astrotechcorp.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements that are
made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking
statements are subject to risks, trends, and uncertainties that
could cause actual results to be materially different from the
forward-looking statement. These factors include, but are not
limited to, continued government support and funding for key space
programs, product performance and market acceptance of products and
services, as well as other risk factors and business considerations
described in the Company’s Securities and Exchange Commission
filings including the annual report on Form 10-K. Any
forward-looking statements in this document should be evaluated in
light of these important risk factors. The Company assumes no
obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
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Astrotech CorporationCompany ContactJoshua Elbaum,
+1-512-485-9530VP, MarketingorInvestor Relations
ContactLHACathy Mattison and Kirsten Chapman,
415-433-3777ir@astrotechcorp.com
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