Patents by Inventor Martha M. Fitzgerald

Martha M. Fitzgerald has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20170145202
    Abstract: An alginate-polyacrylamide IPN hydrogel formulation for 3D printing using a dual syringe system where the components that initiate polymerization of each network remain separated until printing. The dual syringe system may use a single motor and mixing head to combine both parts of the hydrogel formulation for controlled polymerization of the material. The elastic and time-dependent viscoelastic properties (stress relaxation) are tuned to match mammalian tissues by changing the crosslink density and monomer concentration. The fracture energy of the material may be increased by soaking in a calcium chloride solution. The resulting IPN polymer material may find application in soft tissue medical simulation devices, particularly because the mechanical properties may be tuned to mimic the elastic and viscoelastic properties of muscle tissue and may be 3D printed in the shape of anatomical parts.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 17, 2016
    Publication date: May 25, 2017
    Inventors: Jessica L. Sparks, Martha M. Fitzgerald, Jason Berberich