Patents by Inventor Takashi Azuma

Takashi Azuma 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).

  • Publication number: 20140193099
    Abstract: Provided is an image diagnostic device with which it is possible to correct location misalignment of an image capture subject, and to improve the reliability of the result of the correction, in time series image data.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 24, 2012
    Publication date: July 10, 2014
    Applicant: HITACHI MEDICAL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hideki Yoshikawa, Takashi Azuma
  • Patent number: 8760974
    Abstract: Artifacts due to lateral wave that occurs in a substrate of a Capacitive Micro-machined Ultrasonic Transducer is reduced. The substrate thickness of the ultrasonic transducer is set in an optimum range to efficiently radiate the energy of lateral wave in the sensitive band 91 of the ultrasonic transducer to the outside so that the lateral wave is attenuated thereby reducing the artifacts in ultrasonic imaging.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2010
    Date of Patent: June 24, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi Medical Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroki Tanaka, Takashi Azuma
  • Publication number: 20140167761
    Abstract: A magnetic resonance measuring equipment capable of detecting a nuclear magnetic resonance signal with a higher sensitivity and a higher resolution in comparison with related magnetic resonance measuring equipment. The magnetic resonance measuring equipment modulates a nuclear magnetic resonance signal by applying a vibration (sonic wave) of a known frequency, which is higher than the frequency of the nuclear magnetic resonance signal, to an examination object, and detects the modulated signal by performing lock-in detection, which makes it possible that the magnetic resonance measuring equipment detects the nuclear magnetic resonance signal with a high sensitivity. In addition, after irradiating a local area of the object with an ultrasonic wave, and modulating the nuclear magnetic resonance signal derived from the irradiated local area, the magnetic resonance measuring equipment can detect the nuclear magnetic resonance signal with a high resolution.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 25, 2012
    Publication date: June 19, 2014
    Applicant: HITACHI, LTD.
    Inventors: Yusuke Seki, Takashi Azuma
  • Publication number: 20140150688
    Abstract: There is provided a railcar including a under frame, paired side bodyshell parts, and a roof bodyshell part. Strap bar receiving parts hanging downward from the roof bodyshell part are fixed to the roof bodyshell part. An upper horizontal member and a lower horizontal member are provided like bridges between the paired side bodyshell parts. The upper horizontal member and the lower horizontal member are disposed at an interval in a vertical direction and connected by connection pipes. The upper horizontal member is formed by a plurality of reinforcement pipes and the lower horizontal member is formed by a plurality of reinforcement pipes. At least one ends of the plurality of reinforcement pipes are fixed to the strap bar receiving parts.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 17, 2012
    Publication date: June 5, 2014
    Applicants: EAST JAPAN RAILWAY COMPANY, JAPAN TRANSPORT ENGINEERING COMPANY, KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Makoto Taguchi, Jin Kato, Aya Kojima, Keisuke Mizutani, Kenichi Koyama, Tetsuya Asaka, Takashi Ono, Takashi Azuma
  • Patent number: 8647276
    Abstract: In a radiation-pressure elastography technique for transmitting a ultrasound focused beam into a test object body and diagnosing the hardness thereof, it is required to consider high sensitivity and safety. In the present invention, the focused beam is transmitted to two positions as a means for displacing a tissue and exciting a shear wave. In addition, time control is performed in such a manner that a transmit beam serves as a burst-chirp signal, and ultrasound waves are transmitted and received while sweeping a transmit frequency. On this occasion, when the distance between the two focused points and the transmit frequency become integral multiple of the wavelength, two waves interfere with each other, thereby obtaining a large amplitude. Furthermore, when the transmit frequency becomes equal to a resonance frequency peculiar to the tissue, the amplitude also becomes larger. Accordingly, a small intensity of transmit waveform enhances sensitivity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 4, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi Medical Corporation
    Inventors: Marie Tabaru, Takashi Azuma, Kunio Hashiba
  • Publication number: 20140005537
    Abstract: A device and an agent for performing imaging in a deep part with high sensitivity and high resolution are to be provided. A photoacoustic measurement device (photoacoustic imaging device) performs light irradiation on an inspection area of a subject to which a photoacoustic agent generating an acoustic signal by causing phase change from a solid phase or a liquid phase to a gas phase by the light irradiation is administered, while the irradiated energy amount is increased, and detects the acoustic signal generated in the inspection area due to the light irradiation to form an imaged image of the inspection area based on the detected acoustic signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 6, 2012
    Publication date: January 2, 2014
    Applicant: HITACHI, LTD.
    Inventors: Rei Asami, Kennichi Kawabata, Shinta Takano, Takashi Azuma
  • Publication number: 20130319282
    Abstract: In the interior equipment installation structure for a railcar according to the present invention, a first installation member is mounted to a roof body shell along the car longitudinal direction or the car width direction. Second installation members are attached to the first installation member using mechanical fastening tools such as bolts with the positions of the second installation members adjusted in the up-down direction of the car. The second installation members are used for installing lighting appliances such as fluorescent lights, each has a size corresponding to each of the lighting appliances, and are continuously installed. There are portions in which plate members are overlapped with each other between respective adjacent ones of the second installation members, and hand strap receivers are installed in these portions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 9, 2011
    Publication date: December 5, 2013
    Applicant: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Yuichirou Mitani, Takashi Azuma
  • Publication number: 20130317361
    Abstract: An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus with which elastic modulus can be measured when measuring elastic modulus using shear wave generation. The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus includes an ultrasound probe that sends and receives echo signals, a strain-computing unit that receives an echo signal from the body by radiating a first displacement-detecting beam and computes strain information in a Region 1, a measurement position-selecting unit that selects a Region 2, within Region 1, based on the strain information, a displacement-generating unit that radiates a focused beam into the body and displaces the tissue, an elastic modulus-computing unit that receives an echo signal from the body by radiating a second displacement-detecting beam, detects the shear wave displacement that results from the focused beam, and computes the elastic modulus in Region 2, and a display unit that displays the strain image that is based on the strain information in Region 1 and the elastic modulus.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 28, 2011
    Publication date: November 28, 2013
    Applicant: HITACHI MEDICAL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Marie Tabaru, Takashi Azuma, Hideki Yoshikawa, Kunio Hashiba
  • Publication number: 20130289402
    Abstract: When multiple tissues having differing speeds of sound are intermixed in the viewing field of a measured subject such as a living body, the invention measures hardness, such as modulus of elasticity or viscosity, with high precision. As a means for detecting heterogeneity of sound speed in the tissues of a subject, a displacement-generating transmission beam is applied from a displacement generating beam-generating device (13) of a displacement-generating unit (10) on an ultrasound probe (1) to irradiate a focused ultrasonic wave into the living tissue and generate a shear wave. From the displacement-time waveforms of multiple positions of the shear wave detected using the displacement detection transmission beam-generating device (22) and the displacement detection received beam-computing device (23) of a displacement-detecting unit (20), at least two pieces of information, such as the integrated value and the maximum amplitude value, are obtained.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 1, 2011
    Publication date: October 31, 2013
    Applicant: HITACHI MEDICAL CORPORATION
    Inventors: Marie Tabaru, Takashi Azuma, Hideki Yoshikawa, Kunio Hashiba
  • Publication number: 20130289408
    Abstract: Provided is a technology which quantitatively measures blood flow in the vicinity of circulatory organs. An ultrasound image capture device according to the present invention removes an image portion corresponding to an organ shape by taking the difference of a multi-frame ultrasound image, and thereafter computes a measured value of a blood flow velocity vector on the basis of a plurality of images at different timings (as per FIG. 3).
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 28, 2011
    Publication date: October 31, 2013
    Applicant: Hitachi Medical Corporation
    Inventors: Tomohiko Tanaka, Takashi Azuma, Kunio Hashiba
  • Patent number: 8562531
    Abstract: There is provided a ultrasonic motion detecting device that detects a three-dimensional motion of an object. The ultrasonic motion detecting device, comprises first and second ultrasonic transducers 13 having piezoelectric elements arranged in an array, which transmit ultrasonic waves to an object and acquire reflection signals from the object, a motion detection unit 20 that extracts an estimation region which is used for estimating a motion of the object from the reflection signals that are acquired by the first and second ultrasonic transducers, and detects a three-dimensional motion within the estimation region, and an image display unit 19 that displays the three-dimensional motion within the estimation region, wherein ultrasonic wave scanning surfaces due to the first and second ultrasonic transducers cross over each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2004
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2013
    Assignee: Hitachi Medical Corporation
    Inventors: Hideki Yoshikawa, Takashi Azuma, Shin-ichiro Umemura, Ken-ichi Kawabata
  • Publication number: 20130261451
    Abstract: A diagnostic imaging apparatus for imaging information changing with time and displaying it in real time, composed of an ultrasonic probe (2), having piezoelectric elements arranged in an array form that transmit ultrasonic waves to a target object (1) and acquires a reflection signal from the target object; a body movement measuring unit (12) that constitutes a two-dimensional ultrasonic image using the reflection signal acquired by the ultrasonic probe, sets, in the image plane, a plurality of measuring areas used for measuring the body movement of the target object, and measures the body movement and deformation amounts in the measuring areas; and an image accumulating (subtracting) unit for accumulating or subtracting images using body movement measured by the body movement measurement unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 28, 2013
    Publication date: October 3, 2013
    Applicant: Hitachi Medical Corporation
    Inventors: Hideki YOSHIKAWA, Takashi AZUMA, Kenichi KAWABATA, Kazuaki SASAKI, Shinichiro UMEMURA
  • Patent number: 8535229
    Abstract: An ultrasonographic technique capable of forming a transmission beam enabling multi-beam transmission/reception of identical transmission sensitivity. An ultrasonographic device for imaging inside of an examinee includes a transmitter for transmitting an ultrasonic pulse signal from an ultrasonic element array to the examinee, and a receiver for receiving the ultrasonic pulse reflected from the examinee. The transmitter transmits an ultrasonic pulse signal having a plurality of peaks of substantially equal transmission intensity in the azimuth direction and a trace in the depth direction of each peak as a substantially straight line, from a transmission opening of the ultrasonic element array to the examinee.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 17, 2013
    Assignee: Hitachi Medical Corporation
    Inventors: Shin-ichiro Umemura, Takashi Azuma, Yuichi Miwa
  • Patent number: 8506484
    Abstract: An ultrasonic imaging device which narrows the width of annular areas to be established, without increasing the number of channels. The controller establishes the annular areas 421 to 42p the number of which is larger than the number of signal lines, along line intersections between wave surfaces 51 to 54 of reflective waves and a multi-dimensional surface of the probe 1. The controller selects multiple annular areas (0, 0), (0, 1), and (0, 2) with focal depths differing, for example, by an integral multiple of the ultrasonic wavelength ?, out of the multiple annular areas being established, and connects the multiple transducer elements positioned within the selected multiple annular areas with an identical signal line. Accordingly, the received signals from the selected multiple annular areas arrive at multiple time points shifted by the time corresponding to the wavelength, and the signals do not cancel one another out.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2013
    Assignee: Hitachi Medical Corporation
    Inventors: Mariko Yamamoto, Kunio Hashiba, Takashi Azuma
  • Patent number: 8506483
    Abstract: It possible to provide an ultrasonogram having a preferable spatial resolution and signal/noise ratio. A signal dynamic range is measured so that selection between a linear interpolation or sinc function interpolation is adaptively performed for the signal or weighted averaging of the both is performed. It is possible to set in advance a depth position for switching between the linear interpolation and the sinc function interpolation in a storage unit (21) so that the two interpolation methods are switched from one to the other at the boundary of the depth position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2013
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Medical Corporation
    Inventor: Takashi Azuma
  • Publication number: 20130157915
    Abstract: The invention provides a grease composition for huh unit bearing, containing (a) an aromatic diurea thickener, (b) a base oil, (c) a metal salt of oxidized wax, (d) diphenyl hydrogen phosphate, and (e) at least one rust preventive selected from the group consisting of sulfonate rust preventives and carboxylic acid rust preventives. The grease composition of the invention shows excellent anti-fretting properties at low temperature, and at the same time, exhibit excellent rust preventing properties.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 2, 2011
    Publication date: June 20, 2013
    Applicants: NTN CORPORATION, KYODO YUSHI CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takashi Azuma, Yoshihisa Imamoto, Motohiro Ito, Yasushi Shibata
  • Publication number: 20130148894
    Abstract: An objective is to enable calculation of a distribution of a physical property such as a density inside a measurement object, even when the distribution of the physical property value is non-uniform, within a feasible period of time without causing image deterioration due to phenomena such as refraction and multiple-reflections caused by the non-uniformity.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 28, 2011
    Publication date: June 13, 2013
    Inventors: Mariko Yamamoto, Shin-ichiro Umemura, Takashi Azuma, Kunio Hashiba
  • Patent number: 8460191
    Abstract: An diagnostic imaging apparatus for imaging information changing with time and displaying it in real time, composed of an ultrasonic probe (2), having piezoelectric elements arranged in an array form that transmit ultrasonic waves to a target object (1) and acquires a reflection signal from the target object; a body movement measuring unit (12) that constitutes a two-dimensional ultrasonic image using the reflection signal acquired by the ultrasonic probe, sets, in the image plane, a plurality of measuring areas used for measuring the body movement of the target object, and measures the body movement and deformation amounts in the measuring areas; and an image accumulating (subtracting) unit for accumulating or subtracting images using body movement measured by the body movement measurement unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 11, 2013
    Assignee: Hitachi Medical Corporation
    Inventors: Hideki Yoshikawa, Takashi Azuma, Kenichi Kawabata, Kazuaki Sasaki, Shinichiro Umemura
  • Publication number: 20130109968
    Abstract: Disclosed is an ultrasonic imaging device having an improved signal-to-noise ratio. After A/D conversion, by performing filtering between channels or two-dimensional filtering between channels and along the time axis, reduction in spatial resolution is suppressed as much as possible to thereby improve the signal-to-noise ratio.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 15, 2011
    Publication date: May 2, 2013
    Applicant: HITACHI MEDICAL CORPORATION
    Inventor: Takashi Azuma
  • Patent number: 8397574
    Abstract: An ultrasonic transducer (100) includes a substrate (1) having a first electrode therein or on a surface thereof and a diaphragm (5) having a second electrode therein or on a surface thereof, with a cavity (4) therebetween. Further, at least one beam (7) is provided on a surface or inside of the diaphragm (5) or the second electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2013
    Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Medical Corporation
    Inventors: Hiroki Tanaka, Takashi Azuma, Hiroshi Fukuda