NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – SRI International and Spyglass Technologies today announced an exclusive licensing deal to commercialize SRI's underwater mass spectrometry technology.
The agreement calls for St. Petersburg, Fla.-based Spyglass to apply SRI's in situ membrane introduction mass spec (MIMS) technology to "a broad range of commercial, research, and government applications." Additionally, Spyglass will bundle the MIMS device with other underwater sensors, and the partners will continue collaborating on applications of the technology for other markets.
Originally developed by scientists at the University of South Florida's Center for Ocean Technology, the MIMS technology and SRI's subsequent device have been used to conduct advanced underwater chemical surveys in oil and gas exploration and production, ocean resource monitoring and protection, and water treatment and management, SRI said.
The technology has been used in studies of marine ecosystems, as well as those that characterize natural hydrocarbon seeps, and monitor the impact of discharges from man-made assets, Menlo Park, Calif.-based SRI added.
"SRI has advanced the MIMS system to be cost-effective for industrial applications, reduce operational risk, improve the quality of data, and place innovative capabilities in the hands of researchers," Timothy Short, manager of the Marine and Space Sensing Group at SRI, said in a statement. "Collaborating with Spyglass, a company that has assembled a state-of-the-art portfolio of sensors and software, extends our efforts to convert research and development into applications with the potential for broad impact in water intensive industries."
Financial and other terms of the deal were not disclosed.