Patents by Inventor Norman M. Ratcliffe

Norman M. Ratcliffe 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).

  • Detection of Helicobacter pylori
    Patent number: 6509169
    Abstract: A method for detecting Helicobacter pylori in a subject's gastroenteral tract involves measuring a change in resistance of an electronic or electrochemical sensor, notably a polypyrrole film, on exposure to gas from the subject's lungs and/or stomach. Depending on the magnitude of the change (if any) a positive or negative result is indicated visually by electronics means. Two sensors are used, one of which receives a sample of gas which has passed through an amonia-absorbing means to provide a corrected baseline value for the ammonia. The invention also provides apparatus suitable for carrying out the method.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2001
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2003
    Assignee: University of West England, Bristol
    Inventors: Norman M. Ratcliffe, Clive Teare, Christopher Dunn, David C. Cowell, Caroline Penault, Paul Chambers, Murdo M. Black
  • Detection of Helicobacter Pylori
    Publication number: 20020090667
    Abstract: A method for detecting Helicobacter pylori in a subject's gastroenteral tract involves measuring a change in resistance of an electronic or electrochemical sensor, notably a polypyrrole film, on exposure to gas from the subject's lungs and/or stomach. Depending on the magnitude of the change (if any) a positive or negative result is indicated visually by electronics means. Two sensors are used, one of which receives a sample of gas which has passed through an ammonia-absorbing means to provide a corrected baseline value for the ammonia. The invention also provides apparatus suitable for carrying out the method.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 12, 2001
    Publication date: July 11, 2002
    Applicant: Hypoguard Limited
    Inventors: Norman M. Ratcliffe, Clive Teare, Christopher Dunn, David C. Cowell, Caroline Penault, Paul Chambers, Murdo M. Black
  • Preparation of conductive films
    Patent number: 5089294
    Abstract: An electrically-conductive polypyrrole film is formed, on a non-conducting substrate, by contacting the substrate with pyrrole and an oxidising agent in a solvent, or with the colloidal polypyrrole that is the reaction product thereof, and removing the substrate while the film is at least substantially transparent, e.g. 50 to 250 nm thick. A gas sensor comprises a chemiresistor prepared by this process.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 1990
    Date of Patent: February 18, 1992
    Assignee: British Aerospace Public Limited Company
    Inventor: Norman M. Ratcliffe
  • Langmuir blodgett films
    Patent number: 4876150
    Abstract: Langmuir-Blodgett(LB) films of ABAB structure in which the compounds A and B are different and contain complementary groups which result in non-centrosymmetry of the layer plane. Three types of structures are described: (1) in which A and B have similar backbones with complementary chromophore groups, (2) in which A and B have similar backbones with complementary functional groups, and (3) in which A and B have related functional groups but complementary backbones.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 1987
    Date of Patent: October 24, 1989
    Assignee: The Secretary of State for Defence in Her Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
    Inventors: Gilbert W. Smith, Mervyn F. Daniel, John W. Barton, Norman M. Ratcliffe