Patents by Inventor Barbara A. Fecht

Barbara A. Fecht 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: 6860855
    Abstract: A tissue biopsy device uses ultrasonic imaging to guide the biopsy needle. An ultrasonic imaging device comprises three acoustically coupled chambers with an ultrasound transducer in a first chamber, at least a portion of an ultrasound detector in the second chamber and the portion of patient anatomy to be imaged placed in the third chamber, which is intermediate the first and second chambers. The three chambers are filled with an acoustically transmissive liquid. One or more of the end walls dividing the first and third chambers and second and third chambers may be movable to form compression plates that are used to retain the patient anatomy in a fixed position during the imaging and biopsy process. When a structure, such as a lesion, has been located, the imaging may be used to determine the precise location of the lesion in three dimensions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2005
    Assignee: Advanced Imaging Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Jerod O. Shelby, Barbara A. Fecht, Denis A. O'Connor
  • Publication number: 20030097066
    Abstract: A tissue biopsy device uses ultrasonic imaging to guide the biopsy needle. An ultrasonic imaging device comprises three acoustically coupled chambers with an ultrasound transducer in a first chamber, at least a portion of an ultrasound detector in the second chamber and the portion of patient anatomy to be imaged placed in the third chamber, which is intermediate the first and second chambers. The three chambers are filled with an acoustically transmissive liquid. One or more of the end walls dividing the first and third chambers and second and third chambers may be movable to form compression plates that are used to retain the patient anatomy in a fixed position during the imaging and biopsy process. When a structure, such as a lesion, has been located, the imaging may be used to determine the precise location of the lesion in three dimensions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 19, 2001
    Publication date: May 22, 2003
    Applicant: Advanced Diagnostics, Inc.
    Inventors: Jerod O. Shelby, Barbara A. Fecht, Denis A. O'Connor
  • Patent number: 6544186
    Abstract: An imaging system and method provides for the automatic leveling of a hologram detector system. A detector system must be precisely oriented in a proper predetermined orientation. The present invention senses the orientation of a plate to which the detector system is mounted and adjusts driver motors to maintain the detector system at a desired predetermined orientation. In an exemplary embodiment, orientation sensors form a feedback loop to a servo controller to control the position of the motors and thus maintain the detector system at the predetermined orientation. In another aspect of the invention, the patient table may be repositioned with respect to the imaging system. The patient is positioned on a table and imaging performed. If an object of interest is detected, the patient table may be independently repositioned in three orthogonal directions such that the object of interest coincides with an axis of rotation of the patient table.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2003
    Assignee: Advanced Imaging Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Jerod O. Shelby, Barbara A. Fecht, Todd F. Garlick, George F. Garlick, Victor I. Neeley
  • Patent number: 6432053
    Abstract: There is disclosed a method for non-invasively determining dimensions of a lesion within soft tissue, comprising: (a) ultrasonically imaging soft tissue in an apparatus having an acoustic transducer, an acoustic focussing system, a holographic imaging detector, and a means for visualizing the holographic image; (b) obtaining a holographic planar image of a lesion in a first plane having a thickness z and having a dimension across a wide area of the lesion of x and a length across the lesion of y wherein y is at an approximately 90 degree angle to x; (c) determining if the image of the lesion is contained in different planar images; (d) measuring the x and y dimensions of the lesion in the plane having the largest sum of x plus y dimensions; and (e) determining the 3-dimensional size with a means for z-axis measurement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2000
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2002
    Assignee: Advanced Diagnostics, Inc.
    Inventors: Barbara A. Fecht, Ronald L. Shelby, Jerod O. Shelby