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Estonian Patent Office decided that the invention «Instrument for obtaining cytological, bacteriological and smear samples from uterus» (P200600019) met all the requirements of § 8 of the Patent Law and is now granted the Estonian Patent.

The inventors are Professor of reproductive biology Andres Valdmann and lecturer Merle Valdmann.  The invention belongs to the field of veterinary medicine, veterinary gynaecology and can be used for taking samples from endometrium in order to find inflammatory processes, including subclinical endometritis.

The invention relates to a sampling instrument for obtaining cytological, bacteriological and smear samples from uterus of animals whose cervix is difficult to penetrate. The instrument enables to obtain uncontaminated samples, which is important in obtaining high diagnostic accuracy. The instrument comprises a stiff guiding tube, a rod equipped with sampling brush, a guiding cap equipped with a cone shape opening to fit with the ball of the sampling brush, which enables to prevent contamination during insertion and/or withdrawal of the instrument. Besides the research done at the EMU, the instrument has been used at the Norwegian Veterinary College and University of Århus in Denmark.

Estonian University of Life Sciences has also applied for a patent in Europe and the USA. Estonian Science Foundation and the Ministry of Agriculture have supported this invention.