Patents by Inventor Ray Wheeler

Ray Wheeler 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: 12364982
    Abstract: A system for identifying and targeting individual cells within a cell population for selective extraction of cellular content. The system includes a digital microfluidic device having at least one hydrophilic site for receiving cells, an imaging system including a stage for receiving the digital microfluidic device and an imaging module for identifying at least one targeted cell among the cells at the at least one hydrophilic site and a pulsed laser source for lysing the targeted cell to produce a lysate. A control system controls the pulsed laser source, the imaging system and the digital microfluidic device and is programmed for coordinating steps of i) moving droplets on the digital microfluidic device, ii) selecting the targeted cell to be lysed located at the hydrophilic site, iii) illuminating the selected targeted cell by the pulsed laser source to lyse the selected targeted cell to produce lysate, and iv) collecting the lysate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2025
    Assignee: THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
    Inventors: Aaron Ray Wheeler, Michael Dean Chamberlain, Julian Lucas Lamanna, Michael David Murdoch Dryden
  • Publication number: 20250201004
    Abstract: There is provided a system and method for detection of sperm using virtual-staining. The method including: receiving an unstained inference image, the inference image including a microscopic image capturing sperm cells; generating a virtual-stained image of sperm from the inference image using a trained generator machine learning model, the generator machine learning model taking the inference image as input, the generator machine learning model trained using a set of training images including microscopic images of sperm cells and a set of ground-truth images showing staining that identifies the sperm cells in the training images, the generator machine learning model trained by propagating determined losses between generated virtual-stained images and corresponding ground-truth images; and outputting the generated virtual-stained image of sperm.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 13, 2024
    Publication date: June 19, 2025
    Inventors: Harrison EDWARDS, Mohamed ELSAYED, Aaron Ray WHEELER
  • Patent number: 11883823
    Abstract: Disclosed herein are two related techniques for digital microfluidic (DMF) processing of liquids that rely on electrostatic actuation of fluid through a strip of solid, porous media. In the first technique, droplets in a DMF device containing particles of different sizes are driven through a solid porous medium, allowing for filtering, concentration, and recovery of the particles into droplets on the basis of size. In the second technique, an aliquot of liquid media is loaded directly onto a solid porous medium, where it is wicked into a DMF device, such that the filtrate can be collected into droplets. Both techniques may be useful for generating plasma from whole blood on a DMF device, an operation that will have far-reaching implications for diagnostic applications of digital microfluidics.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
    Inventors: Christopher Alvin Dixon, Julian Lucas Lamanna, Aaron Ray Wheeler
  • Patent number: 11292002
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a surfactant additive, ethylenediamine tetrakis(ethoxylate-block-propoxylate) tetrol with 16 ethylene oxide repeat units and 18 propylene oxide repeat units (known by its trade name as Tetronic 90R4) used as a droplet-additive, or to coat DMF driving electrode surfaces which dramatically improves the capability to work with high-protein-content liquids (e.g., whole blood) on digital microfluidic chips. This surfactant prevents protein adsorption and fouling of DMF electrode surfaces to an extent that was heretofore impossible. Specifically, this surfactant allows for the manipulation of droplets of undiluted whole blood for >1 hour per electrode (>1 50 times better than what is possible for any known additive). This improvement in handling high protein content media will revolutionize blood-based diagnostics on digital microfluidic platforms.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
    Inventors: Ryan Fobel, Alphonsus Hon-Chung Ng, Aaron Ray Wheeler, Man Ho Stephen Ho
  • Patent number: 10976225
    Abstract: Disclosed herein is a method and system for concentrating analyte from large sample solutions using a combination of magnetic microparticles on a digital microfluidic device using virtual channels. Virtual channels are produced by applying voltages to a series of driving electrodes of the DMF that connect a reservoir of solution situated just outside of the DMF device to a fluid exit location. The magnetic microparticles are first exposed to a liquid sample containing the analyte whereupon analytes are bound by analyte specific receptors on the microparticles. By flowing these solutions of magnetic particles through virtual channels in DMF device, large volumes can be processed, regardless of the total capacity of the DMF. Engaging a magnet underneath the DMF device while a suspension of magnetic microparticles is flowed through the virtual channel causes the microparticles to become immobilized and the supernatant solution is removed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2021
    Assignee: THE GOVERNING COUNCIL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
    Inventors: Darius George Rackus, Aaron Ray Wheeler
  • Publication number: 20200016594
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a system and method for identifying and targeting individual cells within a cell population for selective extraction of cellular content and a digital microfluidic device having at least one hydrophilic site for receiving cells, an imaging system including a stage for receiving the digital microfluidic device and an imaging module for identifying at least one targeted cell among the cells at the at least one hydrophilic site. The system includes a pulsed laser source for laser lysing the targeted cell thereby releasing the cell content to produce a lysate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 29, 2017
    Publication date: January 16, 2020
    Inventors: Aaron Ray WHEELER, Michael Dean CHAMBERLAIN, Julian Lucas LAMANNA, Michael David Murdoch DRYDEN, Elena KOLOMIETZ, David CHITAYAT
  • Publication number: 20190224678
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a system and method for identifying and targeting individual cells within a cell population for selective extraction of cellular content and a digital microfluidic device having at least one hydrophilic site for receiving cells, an imaging system including a stage for receiving the digital microfluidic device and an imaging module for identifying at least one targeted cell among the cells at the at least one hydrophilic site. The system includes a pulsed laser source for laser lysing the targeted cell thereby releasing the cell content to produce a lysate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2019
    Publication date: July 25, 2019
    Inventors: Aaron Ray WHEELER, Michael Dean CHAMBERLAIN, Julian Lucas LAMANNA, Michael David Murdoch DRYDEN
  • Patent number: 8307259
    Abstract: This application relates to hardware based memory scrubbing. One disclosed embodiment may comprise a system that includes an engine, implemented in hardware, configured to initiate a request for data residing in associated memory. An error system is configured to detect errors in data that has been read from associated memory in response to the request for the data, the error system maintaining a log of entries corresponding to errors detected by the error system. An identifier is associated with each of the entries in the log that result from the request initiated by the engine to differentiate from other entries in the log.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 6, 2012
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Andrew Ray Wheeler, James R. Peterson
  • Publication number: 20090125788
    Abstract: This application relates to hardware based memory scrubbing. One disclosed embodiment may comprise a system that includes an engine, implemented in hardware, configured to initiate a request for data residing in associated memory. An error system is configured to detect errors in data that has been read from associated memory in response to the request for the data, the error system maintaining a log of entries corresponding to errors detected by the error system. An identifier is associated with each of the entries in the log that result from the request initiated by the engine to differentiate from other entries in the log.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 5, 2009
    Publication date: May 14, 2009
    Inventors: Andrew Ray Wheeler, James R. Peterson
  • Patent number: 7519802
    Abstract: Systems and methods for configuring a computer system are disclosed. One embodiment of a system may comprise memory that stores configuration data for a plurality of components of a computer system. A configuration system operates to access the configuration data from the memory and to program at least one of the plurality of components based on corresponding configuration data from the memory while inhibiting operation of at least another portion of the computer system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2009
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Andrew Ray Wheeler, James Robert Peterson
  • Patent number: 7500056
    Abstract: One disclosed embodiment may comprise a computer system that includes at least one processor having at least one cache. An interface includes an associated cache, the interface preloading the associated cache with instruction data acquired from non-volatile memory as part of a reset sequence so that the instruction data in the associated cache is available to the at least one cache of the at least one processor to facilitate reset by the computer system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2009
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Andrew Ray Wheeler, James Robert Peterson
  • Patent number: 7496823
    Abstract: This application relates to hardware based memory scrubbing. One disclosed embodiment may comprise a system that includes an engine, implemented in hardware, configured to initiate a request for data residing in associated memory. An error system is configured to detect errors in data that has been read from associated memory in response to the request for the data, the error system maintaining a log of entries corresponding to errors detected by the error system. An identifier is associated with each of the entries in the log that result from the request initiated by the engine to differentiate from other entries in the log.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 24, 2009
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Andrew Ray Wheeler, James R. Peterson
  • Publication number: 20040133360
    Abstract: In one embodiment of the invention, methods are provided for selecting probes upstream from alternative polyadenylation sites of a target sequence cluster.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 16, 2003
    Publication date: July 8, 2004
    Applicant: Affymetrix, INC.
    Inventors: Ray Wheeler, Simon Cawley, David Kulp, Alan Williams, Brant Wong
  • Publication number: 20030119007
    Abstract: In one embodiment of the invention, methods are provided for selecting probes upstream from alternative polyadenylation sites of a target sequence cluster.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 21, 2001
    Publication date: June 26, 2003
    Applicant: AFFYMETRIX, INC.
    Inventors: Ray Wheeler, Simon Cawley, David Kulp, Alan Williams, Brant Wong
  • Patent number: 4660267
    Abstract: An improved surgical device and method for manufacturing the device are provided. The device is a high rotating speed arthroscopic probe shaver with bearing means that give superior longitudinal and radial support. Further, the outer tube of the probe shaver is swaged to fit very closely over the inner tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 1985
    Date of Patent: April 28, 1987
    Assignee: Richards Medical Company
    Inventor: C. Ray Wheeler
  • Patent number: 4603694
    Abstract: An improved surgical device and method for manufacturing the device are provided. The device is a high rotating speed arthroscopic probe shaver with bearing means that give superior longitudinal and radial support. Further, the outer tube of the probe shave is swaged to fit very closely over the inner tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 1983
    Date of Patent: August 5, 1986
    Assignee: Richards Medical Company
    Inventor: C. Ray Wheeler
  • Patent number: 4102118
    Abstract: Wire rope assemblies, made from multi-part wire rope fabric, having one or more swaged fittings or terminals, to be used as pulling, lifting and support members.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 1977
    Date of Patent: July 25, 1978
    Assignee: Wire Rope Corporation of America, Inc.
    Inventor: Claud Ray Wheeler
  • Patent number: 4011602
    Abstract: A device for attaching to substantially solid living bone tissue, comprising a body member having an outer surface shaped to fit approximately into an empty space in the tissue and having pores into which the tissue can grow to strengthen the bond between the device and the tissue, and adjustable means for expanding the body member against the tissue to an extent such as to provide a compressive stress capable of maintaining a snug and stable fit and of enhancing the growth of the tissue into the pores in the body member. The expanding means is adjustable to provide a stress between the tissue and the body member in the range of about 150 to 750 psi, typically 150 to 350 psi.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 1975
    Date of Patent: March 15, 1977
    Assignee: Battelle Memorial Institute
    Inventors: Edmund F. Rybicki, Kenneth Ray Wheeler, Lewis E. Hulbert, Manuel Tom Karagianes, Craig R. Hassler