Patents by Inventor Timothy A. Tiernan

Timothy A. Tiernan 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: 20070222433
    Abstract: The present invention generally provides improved devices, systems, and methods for measuring materials with NMR and/or MRI. Exemplary embodiments provide a sensor array for NMR mapping of the material. For example tissue can be measured with the sensor array mounted on a probe body having a distal portion which can be inserted through a minimally invasive aperture. While many tissues can be measured and/or diagnosed, one exemplary embodiment includes a probe adapted for insertion into a lumen of a blood vessel. The sensor array can provide improved spatial resolution of tissue and/or tissue structures positioned near the sensor array to diagnose potentially life threatening diseases, for example a fibrous cap covering a vulnerable plaque. In specific embodiments, the sensors are attached to an expandable member, for example a balloon, which can be inflated to urge the probe sensors radially outward to position the sensors near the tissue structures.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 21, 2006
    Publication date: September 27, 2007
    Applicant: Radiation Monitoring Devices, Inc.
    Inventors: Timothy Tiernan, John Ford
  • Patent number: 5313407
    Abstract: A machine analyzer is connected to an active vibration cancellation system in order to identify the operating status of the moving machinery while using a minimum of additional parts and taking advantage of signal processing already occurring in the active vibration cancellation system. A preferred embodiment employs a neural network pattern classifier in connection with detecting operating states such as cylinder misfires in an internal combustion engine.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 3, 1992
    Date of Patent: May 17, 1994
    Assignee: Ford Motor Company
    Inventors: Timothy A. Tiernan, Earl R. Geddes, Mark L. Mollon