Patents by Inventor Erick Oberstar

Erick Oberstar 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: 11399791
    Abstract: A system and method is provided for imaging a contrast agent. The system includes a power injector that delivers a contrast agent as a series of boluses using a known period, flow rate, or duration and with a rate of at least one or more separate boluses per cardiac cycle. An x-ray imaging system acquires a reference dataset of the subject before the contrast agent is delivered and acquires an imaging dataset as the series of boluses are delivered to the subject, wherein multiple images are acquired of the subject per bolus. A computer system receives the reference dataset and the imaging dataset from the x-ray imaging system and reconstructs the reference dataset and the imaging dataset using a reconstruction process that removes the subject from the images to generate time-resolved volumetric images of the contrast agent moving within a volume of the subject without the subject.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2022
    Assignee: WISCONSIN ALUMNI RESEARCH FOUNDATION
    Inventors: Michael Speidel, Erick Oberstar, Martin Wagner, Mariya Pravdivtseva
  • Publication number: 20210307712
    Abstract: A system and method is provided for imaging a contrast agent. The system includes a power injector that delivers a contrast agent as a series of boluses using a known period, flow rate, or duration and with a rate of at least one or more separate boluses per cardiac cycle. An x-ray imaging system acquires a reference dataset of the subject before the contrast agent is delivered and acquires an imaging dataset as the series of boluses are delivered to the subject, wherein multiple images are acquired of the subject per bolus. A computer system receives the reference dataset and the imaging dataset from the x-ray imaging system and reconstructs the reference dataset and the imaging dataset using a reconstruction process that removes the subject from the images to generate time-resolved volumetric images of the contrast agent moving within a volume of the subject without the subject.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 1, 2020
    Publication date: October 7, 2021
    Applicant: Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
    Inventors: Michael Speidel, Erick Oberstar, Martin Wagner, Maria Pravdivtseva
  • Patent number: 8823810
    Abstract: A night vision device and method for filtering a series of image frames that depict a moving subject, which thereby improves the signal-to-noise ratio of each image frame, is provided. A composite image is formed for each image frame by combining pixel values in a current image frame with pixel values in composite images corresponding to image frames acquired before the current image frame. Additionally, pixels values in image frames acquired subsequent to the acquisition of the current image frame are included when forming the composite image. A bi-directional recursive filter is used to weight the contributions from the previous composite images and subsequent image frames with a decay constant. Motion of the imaging system is optionally compensated for by establishing a moving reference frame and shifting the image frames to account for this motion; thus, registering the image frames before filtering the current image frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2013
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2014
    Assignee: Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
    Inventors: Charles Mistretta, Justin Mertes-Mistretta, Erick Oberstar, Ethan Brodsky
  • Publication number: 20130300883
    Abstract: A night vision device and method for filtering a series of image frames that depict a moving subject, which thereby improves the signal-to-noise ratio of each image frame, is provided. A composite image is formed for each image frame by combining pixel values in a current image frame with pixel values in composite images corresponding to image frames acquired before the current image frame. Additionally, pixels values in image frames acquired subsequent to the acquisition of the current image frame are included when forming the composite image. A bi-directional recursive filter is used to weight the contributions from the previous composite images and subsequent image frames with a decay constant. Motion of the imaging system is optionally compensated for by establishing a moving reference frame and shifting the image frames to account for this motion; thus, registering the image frames before filtering the current image frame.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 10, 2013
    Publication date: November 14, 2013
    Inventors: Charles Mistretta, Justin Mertes-Mistretta, Erick Oberstar, Ethan Brodsky
  • Patent number: 8497914
    Abstract: A night vision device and method for filtering a series of image frames that depict a moving subject, which thereby improves the signal-to-noise ratio of each image frame, is provided. A composite image is formed for each image frame by combining pixel values in a current image frame with pixel values in composite images corresponding to image frames acquired before the current image frame. Additionally, pixels values in image frames acquired subsequent to the acquisition of the current image frame are included when forming the composite image. A bi-directional recursive filter is used to weight the contributions from the previous composite images and subsequent image frames with a decay constant. Motion of the imaging system is optionally compensated for by establishing a moving reference frame and shifting the image frames to account for this motion; thus, registering the image frames before filtering the current image frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2013
    Assignee: Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
    Inventors: Charles Mistretta, Justin Mertes-Mistretta, Erick Oberstar, Ethan Brodsky
  • Publication number: 20110069175
    Abstract: A night vision device and method for filtering a series of image frames that depict a moving subject, which thereby improves the signal-to-noise ratio of each image frame, is provided. A composite image is formed for each image frame by combining pixel values in a current image frame with pixel values in composite images corresponding to image frames acquired before the current image frame. Additionally, pixels values in image frames acquired subsequent to the acquisition of the current image frame are included when forming the composite image. A bi-directional recursive filter is used to weight the contributions from the previous composite images and subsequent image frames with a decay constant. Motion of the imaging system is optionally compensated for by establishing a moving reference frame and shifting the image frames to account for this motion; thus, registering the image frames before filtering the current image frame.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 10, 2009
    Publication date: March 24, 2011
    Inventors: Charles Mistretta, Justin Mertes-Mistretta, Erick Oberstar, Ethan Brodsky