Patents Examined by Farouk A Bruce
  • Patent number: 10433914
    Abstract: A system and method that acquire (i) at least a reference image including one of a preoperative image of a surgical site with skeletal and articulating bones and a contralateral image on an opposite side of the patient from the surgical site, and (ii) at least an intraoperative image of the site after an implant has been affixed to the articulating bone. The system preferably generates at least one reference stationary point on at least the skeletal bone in the reference image and at least one intraoperative stationary point on at least the skeletal bone in the intraoperative image. The location of the implant is identified in the intraoperative image, preferably including the position of first and second centers of rotation, which are digitally represented and copied into the reference image to analyze at least one of offset and length differential.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2019
    Assignee: Jointpoint, Inc.
    Inventors: Noah D. Wollowick, Andrew J. Cooper
  • Patent number: 10426354
    Abstract: An object information acquiring apparatus includes: a receiving element configured to receive an acoustic wave generated by emission of light from a light source on an object and output an electric signal; an amplifying unit configured to amplify the electric signal; a scanning unit configured to move relative positions of the receiving element and the object; a controlling unit configured to determine a gain of the amplifying unit according to time when the receiving element receives the acoustic wave; and a processing unit configured to acquire characteristics information on the object, using the electric signal. The controlling unit determines the gain of the amplifying unit according to a positional relation between the receiving element and the object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2019
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Koichi Suzuki
  • Patent number: 10278726
    Abstract: A navigation aid for introducing an elongate medical penetration element into a patient. An X-ray image, containing a target region for the penetration element in a desired target position in a patient, is superimposed in alignment with video sequence images, containing at least in part the penetration element, to form a combination image sequence. The penetration element is captured in a start position and a desired penetration course of the penetration element at least to the target region of the penetration element in a desired target position, is visually displayed in the combination image sequence. A penetration element, such as a medical implant and/or instrument, in particular a K-wire (Kirschner wire), may carry a number of markers, such as additional bodies, coatings, elevations, and/or depressions, said markers altering a light reflection, are situated on and/or at and/or in the penetration element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2019
    Assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
    Inventors: Karl Barth, Rainer Graumann, Gerhard Kleinszig, Wei Wei
  • Patent number: 10231703
    Abstract: There are disclosed embodiments of devices and methods for ultrasound imaging, for example of the inside of a body part such as a blood vessel. In particular embodiments, a catheter has a tip chamber, within which is an ultrasound transducer mounted on a pivot mechanism, a motor for turning the transducer, and an implement for pivoting the transducer. Examples of such an implement are a second motor operating a shaft or a filament, and the pivot mechanism may be biased to return to a base position when the implement is not pivoting the transducer. In other embodiments, a mirror reflecting ultrasound signals from the transducer may be rotated and/or pivoted, using similar mechanisms.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 22, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2019
    Assignee: Muffin Incorporated
    Inventors: Neal E. Fearnot, Peter S. McKinnis, Sarah Robbins, Yun Zhou
  • Patent number: 10231707
    Abstract: Synthetic-aperture ultrasound tomography systems and methods using scanning arrays and algorithms configured to simultaneously acquire ultrasound transmission and reflection data, and process the data using ultrasound waveform tomography with a wave-energy-based preconditioning method for improved ultrasound tomography imaging.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2019
    Assignee: Triad National Security, LLC
    Inventors: Lianjie Huang, Zhigang Zhang
  • Patent number: 10194807
    Abstract: A body surface thermometer and a wearable temperature measuring device are disclosed. The body surface thermometer includes an infrared temperature sensor and a shielding protective hood disposed outside the infrared temperature sensor, and the shielding protective hood is an infrared ray shielding protective hood. With the body surface thermometer, the measuring precision of surface temperature of a target object can be promoted, thereby raising the freedom degree of test.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2019
    Assignee: BOE TECHNOLOGY GROUP CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Masakazu Okamura
  • Patent number: 10172590
    Abstract: An ultrasonic transducer device 100 includes a substrate 130, an ultrasonic transducer element array 110 that is provided on the substrate 130 and in which a plurality of ultrasonic transducer elements 111 are arranged, and an identification ultrasonic transducer element array 120 that is provided on the substrate 130 and in which a plurality of identification ultrasonic transducer elements 121 are arranged. Identification information of the ultrasonic transducer device 100 is set by some of the plurality of identification ultrasonic transducer elements 121 being set to a receivable state and the rest being set to a non-receivable state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 8, 2019
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Tomoaki Nakamura, Jiro Tsuruno
  • Patent number: 10154827
    Abstract: A probe for ultrasonic diagnostic equipment includes a cable, a cable outer periphery holder, and a depressed cone shape component. The cable outer periphery holder includes a deformable convex cone shape portion and a supporting surface that holds an outer peripheral of the cable. The depressed cone shape component has a depressed cone shape portion and fits the convex cone shape portion. The cable outer periphery holder has a water proof structure configured to prevent invasion of liquid from a gap formed between the outer periphery of the cable and the supporting surface. The water proof structure is configured to have the convex cone shape portion and the depressed cone shape component to fit so as to deform the convex cone shape portion. The deformation forms a reduced diameter portion to eliminate the gap, the reduced diameter portion having a diameter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 18, 2018
    Assignee: NIHON DEMPA KOGYO CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Isao Saeki
  • Patent number: 10085723
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an ultrasound image acquisition device (46) for use together with a console device (16, 18) to form an ultrasound imaging system (10) and a corresponding method. The ultrasound image acquisition device (46) particularly comprises a recognition device for recognizing an operating mode of the ultrasound image acquisition device, wherein the recognition device is configured to recognize the operating mode depending on a type of the console device (16, 18) and/or an applicable communication standard of the interface (50). By this, a dual purpose image acquisition probe (14) may be provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2018
    Assignee: KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS N.V.
    Inventor: McKee Poland
  • Patent number: 10080546
    Abstract: Provided is a three-dimensional (3D) ultrasonic probe that may diagnose all regions of an object to be diagnosed without being limited by a rotation angle by allowing a rotation axis of a driving unit to be directly connected to an ultrasonic transducer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2018
    Assignee: SAMSUNG MEDISON CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Jun-woo Park, Gil-ju Jin
  • Patent number: 10076265
    Abstract: Systems and methods for manufacturing and using magnetic resonance (“MR”) visible labels or markers to encode information unique to the subject or object being imaged by a magnetic resonance imaging (“MRI”) system are provided. The use of such MR-visible labels or markers enables unique information associated with the subject or object being imaged to be encoded into the images of the subject or object. This information can be used to anonymize protected health information (“PHI”); to provide detailed information about a surgical simulation device, quality assurance phantom, or the like; to provide spatial orientation and registration information; or so on.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 18, 2018
    Assignee: Synaptive Medical (Barbados) Inc.
    Inventors: Kelly Noel Dyer, Jeff Alan Stainsby, Fergal Kerins
  • Patent number: 10034656
    Abstract: Ultrasound tomography imaging methods for imaging a tissue medium with one or more ultrasound transducer arrays comprising a plurality of transducers, wherein said transducers comprise source transducers, receiving transducers. The methods include assigning a phase value or time delay to source transducers, exciting the transducers and calculating a search direction based on data relating to the excited transducers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2018
    Assignee: Los Alamos National Security, LLC
    Inventors: Lianjie Huang, Zhigang Zhang
  • Patent number: 10028728
    Abstract: Synthetic-aperture ultrasound tomography systems and methods using scanning arrays and algorithms configured to simultaneously acquire ultrasound transmission and reflection data, and process the data for improved ultrasound tomography imaging, wherein the tomography imaging comprises total-variation regularization, or a modified total variation regularization, particularly with edge-guided or spatially variant regularization.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2018
    Assignee: Los Alamos National Security, LLC
    Inventors: Lianjie Huang, Youzuo Lin