Patents by Inventor Brian Smithgall

Brian Smithgall has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 8249318
    Abstract: A method for identifying implanted reconstructive prosthetic devices comprising obtaining a digital radiographic image of a prosthetic implant that has been implanted in a person or animal for which the manufacturer and/or model is unknown; allowing a user to enter into a computer metadata relating to the implant for use as metadata feature values; cleaning up the unknown implant image; rotating, flipping and/or scaling the unknown implant image; extracting features from the unknown implant image according to one or more feature extraction algorithms; and comparing the metadata and extracted feature values for the unknown implant image to feature values for other implant images according to a comparison algorithm to create an overall likelihood score for each of the other implant images.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2012
    Assignee: OsteoWare, Inc.
    Inventors: Mike Schmitt, Troy S. Bergquist, Brian Smithgall
  • Publication number: 20100080426
    Abstract: A method for identifying implanted reconstructive prosthetic devices comprising obtaining a digital radiographic image of a prosthetic implant that has been implanted in a person or animal for which the manufacturer and/or model is unknown; allowing a user to enter into a computer metadata relating to the implant for use as metadata feature values; cleaning up the unknown implant image; rotating, flipping and/or scaling the unknown implant image; extracting features from the unknown implant image according to one or more feature extraction algorithms; and comparing the metadata and extracted feature values for the unknown implant image to feature values for other implant images according to a comparison algorithm to create an overall likelihood score for each of the other implant images.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 26, 2008
    Publication date: April 1, 2010
    Applicant: OsteoWare, Inc.
    Inventors: Mike Schmitt, Troy S. Bergquist, Brian Smithgall
  • Patent number: 7366340
    Abstract: A method and system for inspecting a honeycomb structure having a plurality of parallel channels includes aligning the honeycomb structure with an image sensing device such that the channels of the honeycomb structure are tilted with respect to the parallel channels of the honeycomb structure. An image of the honeycomb structure is then acquired. The image is processed in order to determine the perpendicularity of the end surface of the honeycomb structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: Reflect Scientific (DBA) Miralogix
    Inventor: Brian Smithgall
  • Patent number: 7283224
    Abstract: A method and system for inspecting an object having a planar face with surface variations such as catalytic converters. Light sources are placed above the planar face of the object for lighting the face of the object. At least one obscuration is positioned proximate the planar face of the object to limit the lighting of the planar face of the object to thereby provide a low depth field of lighting. The planar face of the object is imaged to provide an image representation of the planar face of the object. The image representation of the planar face of the object is evaluated to characterize edge chip damage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2007
    Assignee: Smithgall & Associates, Inc.
    Inventor: Brian Smithgall
  • Patent number: 4517599
    Abstract: In this invention, the resolution is enhanced by first effectively decreasing the scan angle subtended between adjacent samples significantly below that of the Rayleigh limit to obtain an image blurred by the point spread function (or diffraction pattern) of the aperture. The next step is to process this blurred image to at least partially remove the blur. The unblurring process consists of convolving this finely sampled blurred image with a specially designed convolution mask. This mask effectively outputs an enhanced pixel at each step of the convolution.The mask simultaneously performs the equivalent of the following operations:(1) blur the image again;(2) subtract this reblurred image from the original image to form degradation estimates; and(3) add the estimates of the losses back into the original image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 1983
    Date of Patent: May 14, 1985
    Assignee: Hughes Aircraft Company
    Inventors: Robert Zwirn, Edward J. Dragavon, Brian Smithgall