Maaskamp, Ryan has secured a major milestone in the Pharmaceuticals, Medical Devices and Healthcare industry with a newly patented medical device. This innovation focuses on the patent titled ‘Oblong shaped medicinal dispenser’. The patent describes an outstanding invention designed to safely and efficiently smear medicinal cream in a person’s colon, earning it Swanson Reed’s Patent of the Month for February 2026.

Overcoming Dispensing Challenges

Abstract: A medicinal applicator that is defined by a base, a medicinal cream receiving port in the base, and a shaft extending along a shaft axis from the base and terminating at an applicator tip is useful in smearing medicinal cream in a person’s colon. There is at least one exit aperture located along a portion of the shaft through which the cream can exit. The medicinal applicator has an unobstructed pathway is in communication with the receiving port and the exit aperture in addition to a stop plate that extends radially from the base delineating the base from the shaft. The shaft’s outer shape is defined by an oblong cross section that is uniform along the entire length of the shaft.

U.S. R&D Tax Credit Eligibility

The development of this oblong shaped medicinal dispenser aligns seamlessly with the requirements of the United States R&D Tax Credit Four-Part Test:

• Permitted Purpose: The objective was to create a new and improved medical product with enhanced safety features (a radial stop plate) and improved application efficacy (a uniform oblong cross-section).
• Technological in Nature: The development relies on the hard sciences, specifically mechanical engineering, materials science, and fluid dynamics.
• Elimination of Uncertainty: The engineering team had to overcome technical uncertainties regarding the optimal cross-sectional shape for patient anatomy, the internal fluid pathway design to prevent cream blockages, and the structural integrity of the base and stop plate.
• Process of Experimentation: The inventors engaged in an iterative process of testing, CAD modeling, physical prototyping, and evaluating various aperture placements and shaft dimensions to achieve the final, functional design.

3 Practical Applications Meeting R&D Tax Credit Rules

1. Fluid Dynamics and Viscosity Testing: Conducting experimental trials to test how various viscosities and formulations of medicinal creams flow through the receiving port and the exit aperture. Designing and testing the “unobstructed pathway” under different pressure differentials to ensure it functions without clogging qualifies as a process of experimentation to eliminate design uncertainty.
2. Ergonomic Prototyping and Biocompatibility: Evaluating different medical-grade polymers and the specific dimensions of the “oblong cross section” through physical prototyping. The iterative testing required to minimize patient discomfort while maintaining the applicator’s structural integrity during use relies heavily on engineering principles.
3. Safety Mechanism Stress Testing: Developing and rigorously testing the radial “stop plate” under various simulated insertion pressures. Ensuring that the plate extends far enough to effectively prevent over-insertion during self-administration or clinical use represents the development of an improved safety feature through systematic trial and error.