Patents by Inventor Curtis Nathan Weins

Curtis Nathan Weins 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).

  • Dynamic Bshimming for improved fat saturation in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
    Patent number: 11061092
    Abstract: A fat saturation method for a magnetic resonance imaging system having a main magnet providing a magnetic field B0 The method includes: driving a shim coil assembly with a first set of shimming currents to sufficiently alter a B0 field inhomogeneity of the magnetic field B0 within a region that includes a first imaging volume of interest such that water saturation inside the region is reduced from before the first set of shimming currents are applied; applying a fat saturation pulse to the region; identifying the first imaging volume of interest from the region; driving the shim coil assembly with a second set of shimming currents to alter the B0 field inhomogeneity of the magnetic field B0 within the first imaging volume of interest such that the B0 field inhomogeneity within the first imaging volume of interest is reduced; and obtaining magnetic resonance signals from the first imaging volume of interest.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 7, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2021
    Assignee: Synaptive Medical Inc.
    Inventors: Philip J. Beatty, Chad Tyler Harris, Curtis Nathan Weins
  • DYNAMIC B0 SHIMMING FOR IMPROVED FAT SATURATION IN MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING (MRI)
    Publication number: 20210208223
    Abstract: A fat saturation method for a magnetic resonance imaging system having a main magnet providing a magnetic field B0 The method includes: driving a shim coil assembly with a first set of shimming currents to sufficiently alter a B0 field inhomogeneity of the magnetic field B0 within a region that includes a first imaging volume of interest such that water saturation inside the region is reduced from before the first set of shimming currents are applied; applying a fat saturation pulse to the region; identifying the first imaging volume of interest from the region; driving the shim coil assembly with a second set of shimming currents to alter the B0 field inhomogeneity of the magnetic field B0 within the first imaging volume of interest such that the B0 field inhomogeneity within the first imaging volume of interest is reduced; and obtaining magnetic resonance signals from the first imaging volume of interest.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 7, 2020
    Publication date: July 8, 2021
    Inventors: Philip J. Beatty, Chad Tyler Harris, Curtis Nathan Weins