Patents by Inventor Alan R. Rath

Alan R. Rath 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: 20130082709
    Abstract: A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) apparatus comprises a plurality of cylindrical electromagnetic coils arranged in a coaxial configuration around a sample region. The coils are used to capture resonance signals from a sample at different times according to a geometric echo effect. The measurements can then be combined to produce an MRI signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 13, 2012
    Publication date: April 4, 2013
    Applicant: AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
    Inventors: Alan R. RATH, Wai Ha WONG, Weston A. ANDERSON
  • Patent number: 7501828
    Abstract: A switchable birdcage coil functioning as a transmitter coil and a separate RF surface coil functioning as the receiver coil are utilize in NMR and MRI apparatus. To prevent the switchable birdcage coil from absorbing energy by coupling to the receiver coil or by absorbing power from the RF field produced by the precessing nuclear spins, one or more of the reactive elements of the birdcage coil are switched from a normal reactive impedance state to a high impedance state. The high impedance state is formed by switchably combining the reactive element with a complementary reactive element thereby forming parallel resonant high impedance circuit that is tuned to resonate at the NMR frequency.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2009
    Assignee: Varian, Inc.
    Inventors: Wai Ha Wong, Alan R. Rath, Steven A. Suddarth
  • Patent number: 6552544
    Abstract: A detunable coil assembly includes a main coil which resonates at a specified resonance frequency and a switchable detuning coil which, when switched on, becomes inductively coupled to the main coil and serves to detune it from its resonance frequency. The detuning coil and the main coil are electrically insulated from each other. The main coil may be of a multiply tuned kind and it may be detuned from more than one of its specified resonance frequencies at the same time by switching on the detuning coil.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2003
    Assignee: Varian, Inc.
    Inventors: Wai Ha Wong, Alan R. Rath
  • Publication number: 20020145427
    Abstract: A detunable coil assembly includes a main coil which resonates at a specified resonance frequency and a switchable detuning coil which, when switched on, becomes inductively coupled to the main coil and serves to detune it from its resonance frequency. The detuning coil and the main coil are electrically insulated from each other. The main coil may be of a multiply tuned kind and it may be detuned from more than one of its specified resonance frequencies at the same time by switching on the detuning coil.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 5, 2001
    Publication date: October 10, 2002
    Inventors: Wai Ha Wong, Alan R. Rath
  • Patent number: 5166621
    Abstract: A saddle coil for multiple tuned response is realized by a segmented sequence of first LC elements each tuned to exhibit a low impedance at .omega..sub.1 and a second set of LC elements, each tuned to exhibit a low impedance at .omega..sub.2, at least some of said first set of LC elements having one of said second LC elements in parallel therewith.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 1990
    Date of Patent: November 24, 1992
    Assignee: Spectroscopy Imaging Systems Corporation
    Inventors: Robert S. Codrington, Alan R. Rath
  • Patent number: 5057778
    Abstract: A double-tuned dual port segmented coil for NMR studies of a volume distributed sample is obtained by coupling corresponding junctions of respective segments of two segmented loop portions with legs comprising L.sub.x C.sub.x L.sub.x series combination. Four segment coil portions so coupled support two isolated input ports across C.sub.x for adjacent such legs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 1990
    Date of Patent: October 15, 1991
    Assignee: Spectroscopy Imaging Systems Corporation
    Inventor: Alan R. Rath
  • Patent number: 5038105
    Abstract: A double-tuned circuit is realized from 1/2.lambda..sub.1 transmission lines for connecting a pair of inductors in series at a first frequency and in parallel for a second frequency where said first and second frequencies are in the ratio of a power of two.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 1990
    Date of Patent: August 6, 1991
    Assignee: Spectroscopy Imaging Systems Corporation
    Inventors: Robert S. Codrington, Alan R. Rath
  • Patent number: 4916418
    Abstract: A multiply tuned bird cage results from the combination of low pass and high pass filter elements to yield a band reject network behaving as a low pass network at a low frequency and a high pass network at a high frequency. A band pass bird cage coil is obtained by adding a parallel LC combination to each leg of a bird cage coil to create additional poles in the impedance curve z(f).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 1989
    Date of Patent: April 10, 1990
    Assignee: Varian Associates, Inc.
    Inventor: Alan R. Rath
  • Patent number: 4916398
    Abstract: The invention demonstrates remote tuning of an NMR probe over a length of transmission line while retaining very high efficiency relative to the equivalent locally turned coil. Fixed capacitances for partial tuning are employed at the load such that a desired range of efficiency is achievable for a selected range of capacitance values at both load and source for the intervening transmission line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 21, 1988
    Date of Patent: April 10, 1990
    Assignee: Spectroscopy Imaging Systems Corp.
    Inventor: Alan R. Rath
  • Patent number: 4721914
    Abstract: An apparatus for unilaterally producing a substantially homogeneous magnetic field. The apparatus includes two circular electromagnet coils, a small coil and a large coil, which are coaxial with one another and which are separated by a distance equal to one-half the difference in the radius of the two coils. By appropriate selection of electrical currents, which are passed through the coil in opposite directions, a region of homogeneous magnetic field is formed. This region is centered on the common axis of the two coils, at a point on the axis which is at a distance from the small coil equal to one-half the radius of the small coil, and which is on the opposite side of the small coil from the large coil. The apparatus has particular application in the field of diagnostic medical NMR and other NMR applications.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 1984
    Date of Patent: January 26, 1988
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy
    Inventors: Eiichi Fukushima, Alan R. Rath, Stephen B. W. Roeder