Patents Examined by Sean D Mattson
  • Patent number: 10219779
    Abstract: An apparatus for generating a 3D left ventricle image includes: an ultrasonic sensor transmitting ultrasonic waves to the heart and receiving echoes thereof, an image processor acquiring a plurality of 2D left ventricle images based on the echoes of the ultrasonic waves and extracting sets of left ventricle boundary coordinates from the plurality of 2D images, respectively and a controller calculating a position of the left ventricle in 3D space through transformation of the sets of left ventricle boundary coordinates extracted by the image processor and generating a 3D left ventricle image based on the position of the left ventricle in 3D space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 5, 2019
    Assignee: Institute for Basic Science
    Inventors: Chi Young Ahn, Ki Wan Jeon, Sang Woon Yun
  • Patent number: 10143445
    Abstract: In this ultrasound diagnostic device and ultrasound diagnostic image data processing method, an element data determination unit compares a pre-set threshold value with the average value of the amplitude values in the element direction of the element data calculated by an average value calculation unit in the element direction, and an RF data calculation unit performs a process in which the element data of which the absolute value of the amplitude value is the maximum is adopted as the RF data without phasing addition when the average value (Aa) is greater than the threshold value. Meanwhile, when the average value (Ab) is equal to or lower than the threshold value, the RF data calculation unit performs a process in which the average values of all the amplitude values in the element direction of the element data are adopted as the RF data without phasing addition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 24, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 4, 2018
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventor: Hiroaki Yamamoto
  • Patent number: 10098592
    Abstract: A blood flow image diagnosing device of the present invention includes a laser light irradiation system for applying laser light to an observation region of a biotissue having blood cells; a light receiving section having a plurality of pixels and adapted to detect reflection light from the observation region of the biotissue; an image capturing section for successively capturing a plurality of images on the basis of a signal from the light receiving section; an image storage section for storing the plurality of images; a computation section for computing the speed of blood flow within the biotissue from time course changes of output signals of the pixels throughout the stored images; and a display section for displaying a two-dimensional distribution which is the result of the computation as a blood flow map. The computation section includes a pigment concentration correction section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2018
    Assignee: SOFTCARE CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hitoshi Fujii, Kenji Okamoto, Noriyoshi Takahashi
  • Patent number: 10004479
    Abstract: The invention relates to a temperature distribution determining apparatus (21) for determining a temperature distribution within an object, to which energy is applied, by using an energy application element (2). A first temperature distribution is measured in a first region within a first temperature range and a model describing a model temperature distribution in the first region and in a second region depending on modifiable model parameters is provided. A second temperature distribution is estimated in the second region within a second temperature range, while the energy is applied to the object, by modifying the model parameters such that a deviation of the model temperature distribution from the first temperature distribution in the first region is minimized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2018
    Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
    Inventors: Ajay Anand, Shriram Sethuraman, Balasundar Iyyavu Raju, Junbo Li
  • Patent number: 9983176
    Abstract: A matrix array transducer probe has a two dimensional array of transducer elements coupled to adjustable delays for each element. A controllable switch matrix combines a plurality of differently delayed element signals to form a patch signal and produces a plurality of patch signals in this manner. The switch matrix determines the patch configuration in consideration of the number of channels of a system beamformer which completes the beamformation, and the element delays are set in consideration of the configuration of the elements to be used in each patch. Patch signal formation may be done in two stages, including a stage which includes a hard-wired signal combiner. The matrix array probe can be operated with differently sized system beamformers or the same transducer stack used in different probes configured for specific beamformer configurations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 18, 2013
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2018
    Assignee: KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS N.V.
    Inventor: Bernard Joseph Savord
  • Patent number: 9931040
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for detecting the flow of blood or other fluids in biological tissue by illuminating the biological tissue with two or more beams of coherent light and detecting responsively emitted light. A difference in wavelength, coherence length, beam divergence, or some other property of the beams of illumination causes the beams to preferentially scatter from, be absorbed by, or otherwise interact with respective elements of the biological tissue. Flow properties in one or more regions of the biological tissue (e.g., a region with which both beams of light preferentially interact, a region with which only one of the beams preferentially interacts) could be determined based on detected responsively emitted light from the biological tissue. Variations in speckle patterns over time and/or space, Doppler shifts, or some other properties of the detected light could be used to determine the flow properties.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2015
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2018
    Assignee: Verily Life Sciences LLC
    Inventors: Andrew Homyk, Jason Donald Thompson
  • Patent number: 9869740
    Abstract: A method including determining a cerebral ischemia region of a patient based on a magnetic resonance diffusion weighted imaging of the patient; determining a DWI gray scale distribution parameter in a region with low ADC values in the magnetic resonance diffusion weighted imaging; and judging whether the DWI in the region with low ADC values in the magnetic resonance diffusion weighted imaging and the ADC values in the region with low ADC values in the magnetic resonance diffusion weighted imaging are mismatched according to the DWI gray scale distribution parameter in the region with low ADC values in the magnetic resonance diffusion weighted imaging is disclosed. The method provides a more scientific and objective basis for making a decision on whether the acute cerebral ischemia patient should be treated with thrombolysis, thereby improving a cure rate of the cerebral ischemia patient.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2018
    Assignee: Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology
    Inventors: Qingmao Hu, Huimin Zheng
  • Patent number: 9808223
    Abstract: An ultrasound probe includes: a first arm that swings along with rotation of a motor and includes a protrusion; a second arm that rotates along with rotation of a second gear engaged with a first gear attached to a first rotational shaft; a third arm attached to the second arm such that the third arm is rotatable with respect to the second arm; and an ultrasound device connected with the third arm. The protrusion of the first arm is connected with the third arm such that the protrusion is slidable on the third arm along the longitudinal direction of the third arm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2017
    Assignee: KONICA MINOLTA, INC.
    Inventor: Kiyoshi Fujii
  • Patent number: 9766316
    Abstract: The estimation accuracy of a magnetic susceptibility value of tissue is improved by computing an edge image which represents the edge of the tissue on a magnetic susceptibility distribution and to reduce background noise without lowering the magnetic susceptibility value of the tissue. The present invention computes an absolute value image and a phase image from a complex image obtained by MRI, from the phase image, computes a low frequency region magnetic susceptibility image in which background noise is greater than a desired value, computes an edge information magnetic susceptibility image and computes a high frequency region magnetic susceptibility image, computes an edge mask from the edge information magnetic susceptibility image, smooths a magic angle region from the edge mask and the low frequency region magnetic susceptibility image and finally smooths a high frequency region using the high frequency region magnetic susceptibility image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
    Inventors: Ryota Sato, Toru Shirai, Yo Taniguchi, Yoshihisa Soutome, Yoshitaka Bito