Patents by Inventor Graham F. Milne

Graham F. Milne 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: 20210010946
    Abstract: An inspection system for a drug container is provided to identify foreign matter, such as particles or fibers, within the drug container prior to filling with a drug. The system includes a camera device aligned with an axis of the drug container and captures a series of images of an interior surface of a sidewall of the drug container while the robot causes relative movement between the drug container and the camera device along a linear path. Atypical lighting, which improves contrast between particles and the background in images is employed to aid detection. A control circuit then processes the series of images to identify foreign matter within the drug container.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 12, 2019
    Publication date: January 14, 2021
    Inventors: Thomas C. Pearson, Neelima Chavali, Dmitry Fradkin, Graham F. Milne, Erwin Freund
  • Patent number: 10832433
    Abstract: The apparati, methods, and computer program products disclosed herein can be used to nondestructively detect undissolved particles, such as glass flakes and/or protein aggregates, in a fluid in a vessel, such as, but not limited to, a fluid that contains a drug.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2020
    Assignee: AMGEN INC.
    Inventors: Graham F. Milne, Erwin Freund, Ryan L. Smith
  • Publication number: 20200142172
    Abstract: A system is described to facilitate the characterization of particles within a fluid contained in a vessel using an illumination system that directs source light through each vessel. One or more optical elements may be implemented to refract the source light and to illuminate the entire volume of the vessel. As the refracted source light passes through the vessel and interacts with particles suspended in the fluid, scattered light is produced and directed to an imager, while the refracted source light is diverted away from the imager to prevent the source light from drowning out the scattered light. The system can therefore advantageously utilize an imager with a large depth of field to accurately image the entire volume of fluid at the same time, facilitating the determination of the number and size of particles suspended in the fluid.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 10, 2019
    Publication date: May 7, 2020
    Inventors: Dmitry Fradkin, Graham F. Milne, Thomas Clark Pearson
  • Patent number: 10539773
    Abstract: A system is described to facilitate the characterization of particles within a fluid contained in a vessel using an illumination system that directs source light through each vessel. One or more optical elements may be implemented to refract the source light and to illuminate the entire volume of the vessel. As the refracted source light passes through the vessel and interacts with particles suspended in the fluid, scattered light is produced and directed to an imager, while the refracted source light is diverted away from the imager to prevent the source light from drowning out the scattered light. The system can therefore advantageously utilize an imager with a large depth of field to accurately image the entire volume of fluid at the same time, facilitating the determination of the number and size of particles suspended in the fluid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2020
    Assignee: AMGEN INC.
    Inventors: Dmitry Fradkin, Graham F. Milne, Thomas Clark Pearson
  • Publication number: 20190011688
    Abstract: A system is described to facilitate the characterization of particles within a fluid contained in a vessel using an illumination system that directs source light through each vessel. One or more optical elements may be implemented to refract the source light and to illuminate the entire volume of the vessel. As the refracted source light passes through the vessel and interacts with particles suspended in the fluid, scattered light is produced and directed to an imager, while the refracted source light is diverted away from the imager to prevent the source light from drowning out the scattered light. The system can therefore advantageously utilize an imager with a large depth of field to accurately image the entire volume of fluid at the same time, facilitating the determination of the number and size of particles suspended in the fluid.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 27, 2018
    Publication date: January 10, 2019
    Inventors: Dmitry Fradkin, Graham F. Milne, Thomas Clark Pearson
  • Patent number: 10088660
    Abstract: A system is described to facilitate the characterization of particles within a fluid contained in a vessel using an illumination system that directs source light through each vessel. One or more optical elements may be implemented to refract the source light and to illuminate the entire volume of the vessel. As the refracted source light passes through the vessel and interacts with particles suspended in the fluid, scattered light is produced and directed to an imager, while the refracted source light is diverted away from the imager to prevent the source light from drowning out the scattered light. The system can therefore advantageously utilize an imager with a large depth of field to accurately image the entire volume of fluid at the same time, facilitating the determination of the number and size of particles suspended in the fluid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2018
    Assignee: AMGEN INC.
    Inventors: Dmitry Fradkin, Graham F. Milne, Thomas Clark Pearson
  • Publication number: 20180231760
    Abstract: A system is described to facilitate the characterization of particles within a fluid contained in a vessel using an illumination system that directs source light through each vessel. One or more optical elements may be implemented to refract the source light and to illuminate the entire volume of the vessel. As the refracted source light passes through the vessel and interacts with particles suspended in the fluid, scattered light is produced and directed to an imager, while the refracted source light is diverted away from the imager to prevent the source light from drowning out the scattered light. The system can therefore advantageously utilize an imager with a large depth of field to accurately image the entire volume of fluid at the same time, facilitating the determination of the number and size of particles suspended in the fluid.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 10, 2017
    Publication date: August 16, 2018
    Inventors: Dmitry Fradkin, Graham F. Milne, Thomas Clark Pearson
  • Publication number: 20180150965
    Abstract: The apparati, methods, and computer program products disclosed herein can be used to nondestructively detect undissolved particles, such as glass flakes and/or protein aggregates, in a fluid in a vessel, such as, but not limited to, a fluid that contains a drug.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 26, 2018
    Publication date: May 31, 2018
    Inventors: Graham F. Milne, Erwin Freund, Ryan L. Smith
  • Patent number: 9922429
    Abstract: The apparati, methods, and computer program products disclosed herein can be used to nondestructively detect undissolved particles, such as glass flakes and/or protein aggregates, in a fluid in a vessel, such as, but not limited to, a fluid that contains a drug.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2016
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2018
    Assignee: AMGEN INC.
    Inventors: Graham F. Milne, Erwin Freund, Ryan L. Smith
  • Patent number: 9892523
    Abstract: The apparati, methods, and computer program products disclosed herein can be used to nondestructively detect undissolved particles, such as glass flakes and/or protein aggregates, in a fluid in a vessel, such as, but not limited to, a fluid that contains a drug.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2018
    Assignee: AMGEN INC.
    Inventors: Graham F. Milne, Erwin Freund, Ryan L. Smith
  • Patent number: 9881367
    Abstract: An automated visual inspection (AVI) system is described to measure the depth of plungers positioned within vessels. The AVI system implements various types of image processing as well as other techniques to identify, for a vessel, a reference point and the uppermost edge of the plunger. Because different inconsistencies and/or artifacts may be introduced within the vessel image, different processing techniques may be executed on the region containing the reference point versus the plunger region. In doing so, the AVI system provides a robust means to accurately measure plunger depth that is highly resilient to the aforementioned artifacts and consistently measures plunger depth for a wide variety and types of vessels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2018
    Assignee: AMGEN INC.
    Inventors: Graham F. Milne, Thomas Clark Pearson, Erwin Freund
  • Patent number: 9842408
    Abstract: The apparati, methods, and computer program products disclosed herein can be used to nondestructively detect undissolved particles, such as glass flakes and/or protein aggregates, in a fluid in a vessel, such as, but not limited to, a fluid that contains a drug.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2017
    Assignee: AMGEN INC.
    Inventors: Graham F. Milne, Erwin Freund, Ryan L. Smith
  • Publication number: 20160379377
    Abstract: The apparati, methods, and computer program products disclosed herein can be used to nondestructively detect undissolved particles, such as glass flakes and/or protein aggregates, in a fluid in a vessel, such as, but not limited to, a fluid that contains a drug.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 27, 2016
    Publication date: December 29, 2016
    Inventors: Graham F. Milne, Erwin Freund, Ryan L. Smith
  • Publication number: 20160379376
    Abstract: The apparati, methods, and computer program products disclosed herein can be used to nondestructively detect undissolved particles, such as glass flakes and/or protein aggregates, in a fluid in a vessel, such as, but not limited to, a fluid that contains a drug.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 24, 2016
    Publication date: December 29, 2016
    Inventors: Graham F. Milne, Erwin Freund, Ryan L. Smith
  • Publication number: 20160379378
    Abstract: The apparati, methods, and computer program products disclosed herein can be used to nondestructively detect undissolved particles, such as glass flakes and/or protein aggregates, in a fluid in a vessel, such as, but not limited to, a fluid that contains a drug.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 27, 2016
    Publication date: December 29, 2016
    Inventors: Graham F. Milne, Erwin Freund, Ryan L. Smith
  • Patent number: 9418416
    Abstract: The apparati, methods, and computer program products disclosed herein can be used to nondestructively detect undissolved particles, such as glass flakes and/or protein aggregates, in a fluid in a vessel, such as, but not limited to, a fluid that contains a drug.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2012
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2016
    Assignee: AMGEN INC.
    Inventors: Graham F. Milne, Erwin Freund, Ryan L. Smith
  • Publication number: 20140177932
    Abstract: The apparati, methods, and computer program products disclosed herein can be used to nondestructively detect undissolved particles, such as glass flakes and/or protein aggregates, in a fluid in a vessel, such as, but not limited to, a fluid that contains a drug.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 29, 2012
    Publication date: June 26, 2014
    Applicant: Amgen Inc.
    Inventors: Graham F. Milne, Erwin Freund, Ryan L. Smith