Patents by Inventor Karen S. Cochand

Karen S. Cochand 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).

  • Automated system and method for estimating antibiotic effectiveness from drug diffusion tests
    Patent number: 5629169
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for estimating drug effectiveness from a drug diffusion sample are provided. The drug diffusion sample includes a plate having a medium containing a test organism and a plurality of antibiotic disks positioned on the plate in a medium. An inhibition zone surrounds each of the antibiotic disks after a prescribed incubation period. The drug diffusion sample is illuminated, and an image of the drug diffusion sample is acquired with a video camera. The image is analyzed by determining the locations of the antibiotic disks, determining the average brightness and the brightness variance of the image in a region surrounding each of the antibiotic disks, and estimating the radius of the inhibition zone surrounding each of the antibiotic disks from the average brightness and the brightness variance. The radius of the inhibition zone is indicative of drug effectiveness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 1994
    Date of Patent: May 13, 1997
    Assignee: The Analytic Sciences Corporation
    Inventors: David Izraelevitz, Karen S. Cochand
  • Automated system and method for estimating antibiotic effectiveness from drug diffusion tests
    Patent number: 5618729
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for estimating drug effectiveness from a drug diffusion sample are provided. The drug diffusion sample includes a plate having a medium containing a test organism and a plurality of antibiotic disks positioned on the plate in a medium. An inhibition zone surrounds each of the antibiotic disks after a prescribed incubation period. The drug diffusion sample is illuminated, and an image of the drug diffusion sample is acquired with a video camera. The image is analyzed by determining the locations of the antibiotic disks, determining the average brightness and the brightness variance of the image in a region surrounding each of the antibiotic disks, and estimating the radius of the inhibition zone surrounding each of the antibiotic disks from the average brightness and the brightness variance. The radius of the inhibition zone is indicative of drug effectiveness.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 1995
    Date of Patent: April 8, 1997
    Assignee: The Analytic Sciences Corporation
    Inventors: David Izraelevitz, Karen S. Cochand