Local university among top in the world in developing patents

TAMPA — Inventors at the University of South Florida secured 123 patents in 2020.

The 123 patents places USF eighth among U.S. research universities and 15th among universities worldwide “in generating new, novel and useful inventions granted intellectual property protection from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office,” according to to a press release from the university.

The ranking is was included in the annual Top 100 Worldwide Universities Granted U.S. Utility Patents in 2020.  

This was the ninth year USF made the list.

The patents came from across the academic spectrum including medical sciences, cybersecurity and robotics, according to the statement

“USF researchers have become known for worldwide for their dedication to finding new ways of solving old problems and addressing entrenched global strategies,” David Conrad, the director of the Technology Transfer Office says in the release.

Among the patents are:

• A machine-based infant pain assessment tool which is “an artificial intelligence-enabled system of cameras and sensors that monitors infants’ cries, limb movements, vital signs and facial expression to alert caregivers to the earliest signs of pain;
• Portable wastewater treatment systems that “converts human wastewater into nutrients, energy and clean water;
• A new natural substance for treating drug resistant bacteria and biofilm that fights “drug-resistant bacteria using natural antimicrobial agents as an alternative to synthetic chemicals.”
• An ammonia removal in freshwater and saltwater system that “is a user-friendly, sustainable, affordable product capable of extending the life of contained fish by removing ammonia with a natural, non-toxic product derived from earth minerals commonly found in volcanic deposits.”
• Compositions and methods for treating endometriosis made “for diagnosing, treating and preventing endometriosis at the cellular level with the use of the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine.”