Dr. Richard Melker holds 69 issued US Patents, with others pending, as well as hundreds of foreign patents.    A University of Florida Professor Emeritus of Anesthesiology, Melker has invented everything from disappearing sunscreen to a new type of oxygen saturation sensor.  His first invention was an emergency airway, which is used primarily by the military and by EMT’s.   

TRANSCRIPT:

Intro: 0:01

Inventors and their inventions. Welcome to Radio Cade the podcast from the Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention in Gainesville, Florida, the museum is named after James Robert Cade, who invented Gatorade in 1965. My name is Richard Miles. We'll introduce you to inventors and the things that motivate them, we'll learn about their personal stories, how their inventions work and how their ideas get from the laboratory to the marketplace.

Richard Miles: 0:38

Serial inventors, I'm not talking about people who invented Cornflakes and Wheaties , but people who have lots and lots of ideas and patents, and today I'm pleased to welcome one such person, Richard Melker, a University of Florida, professor emeritus of anesthesiology who holds 69 issued U.S. patents with many others pending as well as hundreds of foreign patents. Welcome to Radio Cade, Dr. Melker. -Thank you so much for having me. Ok if I call you Richard? -Please, two Richards in the room here, what could go wrong? So Richard, you hold patents for everything from disappearing sunscreen to a new kind of oxygen saturation sensor. So, first thing I got to ask you are patents like kids, do you even have a favorite or do you just have to love all of them equally?

Dr. Richard Melker: 1:20

Patents are like kids. I have to love all of them equally. But, the reality is is that the patents that have resulted in medical devices are the most satisfying to me. Obviously, when you find out that you've invented something that a company starts to manufacture and people use it and it affects people's lives, particularly when it's saved somebodies life, that's the most satisfying thing of all. And over the years, I've gotten letters from people in the fields where I've invented technology thanking me, and there's nothing better than having that.

Richard Miles: 1:55

That's an interesting point, and I think maybe of interest to people who aren't as familiar with this world is that there may be a popular misconception that an inventor, when they get a patent, they already know exactly what that thing is going to be used for and how it's going to be applied. But very often the case is you're patenting a new process or a new technology or a new insight. And the end use of that may not be clear for quite some time. Is that more or less accurate?

Dr. Richard Melker: 2:18

I would think that somewhat accurate, in my case, usually when I conceive of a product and when you're inventing something, it's called the conception. When I conceive of it, I've already found out that there's something lacking in the medical field that there's a need for. So in my case, I think that I tell people that I get frustrated when I can't do something or help somebody. And therefore I conceive of something. And then we eventually develop the product and it's commercialized.

Richard Miles: 2:49

You usually have a fairly good idea in mind and what the end use is going to be when you're actually filing the patent?

Dr. Richard Melker: 2:54

In my case, I think that's true, of course, with many of my products once they're on the market