Patents by Inventor Martin John MacKinnon

Martin John MacKinnon 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).

  • Methods and systems for functional magnetic resonance imaging with a zero echo time pulse-sequence
    Patent number: 11957444
    Abstract: This specification describes systems and methods for using Zero Echo Time (ZTE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences for applications to functional MRI (fMRI). In some examples, a system for functional magnetic resonance imaging includes a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner and a control console implemented on at least one processor. The control console is configured for executing, using the MRI scanner, a zero echo time (ZTE) pulse sequence; acquiring, using the MRI scanner, magnetic resonance data in response to the ZTE pulse sequence; and constructing at least one MRI image using the magnetic resonance data and measuring tissue oxygenation (PtO2)-related T1 changes as a proxy of neural activity changes of a subject using the at least one MRI image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 16, 2024
    Assignee: THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL
    Inventors: Yen-Yu Shih, Martin John MacKinnon, Yuncong Ma, Wei-Tang Chang
  • METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR FUNCTIONAL MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING WITH A ZERO ECHO TIME PULSE-SEQUENCE
    Publication number: 20230042314
    Abstract: This specification describes systems and methods for using Zero Echo Time (ZTE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences for applications to functional MRI (fMRI). In some examples, a system for functional magnetic resonance imaging includes a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner and a control console implemented on at least one processor. The control console is configured for executing, using the MRI scanner, a zero echo time (ZTE) pulse sequence; acquiring, using the MRI scanner, magnetic resonance data in response to the ZTE pulse sequence; and constructing at least one MRI image using the magnetic resonance data and measuring tissue oxygenation (PtO2)-related T1 changes as a proxy of neural activity changes of a subject using the at least one MRI image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 8, 2022
    Publication date: February 9, 2023
    Inventors: Yen-Yu Shih, Martin John MacKinnon, Yuncong Ma, Wei-Tang Chang