Patents by Inventor Reginald Birngruber

Reginald Birngruber 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: 11076994
    Abstract: The invention relates to an apparatus for changing the refractive power of the cornea (1), in particular for correcting hyperopia or presbyopia, exhibiting injection means (13, 15) having at least one hollow needle (15) for injecting at least one optically transparent filling material having a predetermined refractive index into an intrastromal corneal pocket (7), characterized by a controllable injection drive (17) that is coupled at least indirectly to the injection means (13, 15) and is designed for changing an amount, to be injected, of the at least one filling material; a device for optical coherence tomography (OCT) (19) that is designed for monitoring the area of the corneal pocket (7) by means of measurement of depth profiles of the cornea (1) on a repeatedly cycled-through scan pattern; and a computing unit (21) that is designed and/or configured to determine from the measurement data of the OCT device (19) at least the radius of curvature of the front (3) of the cornea (1) keeping pace temporally wi
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2021
    Assignee: The General Hospital Corporation
    Inventors: Alfred Vogel, Norbert Linz, Sebastian Freidank, Reginald Birngruber
  • Patent number: 10736731
    Abstract: A method for treating hyperopia or presbyopia in a patient, the method comprising making a cut deep in the patient's cornea to create a two-dimensional slit adjacent to and generally parallel to an anterior surface of the cornea and injecting a liquid or semi-solid transparent filler material into the deep cut in an amount sufficient to flatten the posterior surface of the cornea to increase the refractive power of the cornea by a predetermined correction of up to about 5 diopters due to the physical flattening of the posterior surface of the cornea, wherein the transparent filler material comprises a refractive index of about 1.3 to about 1.6, and forms a corneal implant with a lenticular shape within the cornea.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 11, 2020
    Assignee: The General Hospital Corporation
    Inventors: Richard Rox Anderson, Reginald Birngruber
  • Patent number: 10682052
    Abstract: The invention relates to an interferometric method, in which the light scattered by an object is imaged onto an electronic camera, wherein a sample light component is assigned to scattering sites on a sectional face in the interior of the object. This sample light component can be separated from the contributions of the other sample light components by processing of the camera image and leads to a sectional image. A particular advantage of the invention lies in the fact that multiple parallel sectional faces can be exposed sequentially at predetermined intervals from each other in the interior of the object. Such a sequence of sectional images can be used to calculate a solid model of the object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 16, 2020
    Assignees: Medizinisches Laserzentrum Luebeck GmbH, Thorlabs GmbH
    Inventors: Peter Koch, Gesa Franke, Hendrik Spahr, Helge Sudkamp, Gereon Hüttmann, Dierck Hillmann, Reginald Birngruber
  • Publication number: 20190209380
    Abstract: The invention relates to an apparatus for changing the refractive power of the cornea (1), in particular for correcting hyperopia or presbyopia, exhibiting injection means (13, 15) having at least one hollow needle (15) for injecting at least one optically transparent filling material having a predetermined refractive index into an intrastromal corneal pocket (7), characterized by a controllable injection drive (17) that is coupled at least indirectly to the injection means (13, 15) and is designed for changing an amount, to be injected, of the at least one filling material; a device for optical coherence tomography (OCT) (19) that is designed for monitoring the area of the corneal pocket (7) by means of measurement of depth profiles of the cornea (1) on a repeatedly cycled-through scan pattern; and a computing unit (21) that is designed and/or configured to determine from the measurement data of the OCT device (19) at least the radius of curvature of the front (3) of the cornea (1) keeping pace temporally wi
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 31, 2017
    Publication date: July 11, 2019
    Inventors: Alfred Vogel, Norbert Linz, Sebastian Freidank, Reginald Birngruber
  • Publication number: 20180235461
    Abstract: The invention relates to an interferometric method, in which the light scattered by an object is imaged onto an electronic camera, wherein a sample light component is assigned to scattering sites on a sectional face in the interior of the object. This sample light component can he separated from the contributions of the other sample light components by processing of the camera image and leads to a sectional image. A particular advantage of the invention lies in the fact that multiple parallel sectional faces can be exposed sequentially at predetermined intervals from each other in the interior of the object. Such a sequence of sectional images can be used to calculate a solid model of the object. The invention is applicable in particular to the live retina and allows a three-dimensional retina scan within a few seconds with a cost-effective and, if necessary, hand-held device. Application options are in the fields of ophthalmology and in biometry.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 9, 2016
    Publication date: August 23, 2018
    Applicants: Thorlabs GmbH, Medizinisches Laserzentrum Lübeck GmbH
    Inventors: Peter KOCH, Gesa FRANKE, Hendrik SPAHR, Helge SUDKAMP, Gereon HÜTTMANN, Dierck HILLMANN, Reginald BIRNGRUBER
  • Patent number: 10016164
    Abstract: A system and method are provided for the design and assembly of a device including a sensor capable and a compatible matrix material incorporated into a dressing. The sensor is capable of detecting analytes such as molecular oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitric oxides, dissolved analytes in plasma, and hydrogen ions, and the matrix is at least partially permeable to the analyte. The device emits a detectable signal when the sensor is excited in the presence of the analyte.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2013
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2018
    Assignee: The General Hospital Corporation
    Inventors: Conor L. Evans, Gabriela Apiou, Reginald Birngruber, Alexander J. Nichols, Emmanouil Rousakis, Zongxi Li
  • Publication number: 20180177587
    Abstract: A method for treating hyperopia or presbyopia in a patient, the method comprising making a cut deep in the patient's cornea to create a two-dimensional slit adjacent to and generally parallel to an anterior surface of the cornea and injecting a liquid or semi-solid transparent filler material into the deep cut in an amount sufficient to flatten the posterior surface of the cornea to increase the refractive power of the cornea by a predetermined correction of up to about 5 diopters due to the physical flattening of the posterior surface of the cornea, wherein the transparent filler material comprises a refractive index of about 1.3 to about 1.6, and forms a corneal implant with a lenticular shape within the cornea.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 13, 2016
    Publication date: June 28, 2018
    Inventors: Richard Rox Anderson, Reginald Birngruber
  • Publication number: 20150182166
    Abstract: A system and method are provided for the design and assembly of a device including a sensor capable and a compatible matrix material incorporated into a dressing. The sensor is capable of detecting analytes such as molecular oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitric oxides, dissolved analytes in plasma, and hydrogen ions, and the matrix is at least partially permeable to the analyte. The device emits a detectable signal when the sensor is excited in the presence of the analyte.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 10, 2013
    Publication date: July 2, 2015
    Inventors: Conor L. Evans, Gabriela Apiou, Reginald Birngruber, Alexander J. Nichols, Emmanouil Rousakis, Zongxi Li
  • Patent number: 8774904
    Abstract: A device for examining or treating living tissue by means of local heating of the tissue by absorbing electromagnetic radiation, with at least one radiation source emitting electromagnetic radiation, a control unit for controlling the irradiation parameters of the radiation source, and at least one FD-OCT apparatus with a light source emitting a measurement light for illuminating that tissue region in which the electromagnetic radiation is absorbed by the tissue, characterized by a computational unit for carrying out the following steps: determining the depth-resolved tissue velocity in the radiation direction of the measurement light at a predetermined measurement point of the tissue from the phase information from the FD-OCT interference light, integrating the established tissue velocity over time, differentiating the calculated time integral with respect to space, and displaying the spatial derivative as a function of space and time and/or feeding the spatial derivative as a function of space and time to a
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2011
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2014
    Assignee: Medizinisches Laserzentrum Luebeck GmbH
    Inventors: Reginald Birngruber, Ralf Brinkmann, Gereon Huettmann, Heike Mueller
  • Publication number: 20130102894
    Abstract: A device for examining or treating living tissue by means of local heating of the tissue by absorbing electromagnetic radiation, with at least one radiation source emitting electromagnetic radiation, a control unit for controlling the irradiation parameters of the radiation source, and at least one FD-OCT apparatus with a light source emitting a measurement light for illuminating that tissue region in which the electromagnetic radiation is absorbed by the tissue, characterized by a computational unit for carrying out the following steps: determining the depth-resolved tissue velocity in the radiation direction of the measurement light at a predetermined measurement point of the tissue from the phase information from the FD-OCT interference light, integrating the established tissue velocity over time, differentiating the calculated time integral with respect to space, and displaying the spatial derivative as a function of space and time and/or feeding the spatial derivative as a function of space and time to a
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 16, 2011
    Publication date: April 25, 2013
    Applicant: MEDIZINISCHES LASERZENTRUM LUEBECK GMBH
    Inventors: Reginald Birngruber, Ralf Brinkmann, Gereon Huettmann, Heike Mueller
  • Patent number: 6234633
    Abstract: A method for the topographic display of interior surfaces of an object, for example, leakages on vessels of biological material by means of fluorescence angiography, in the case of which fluorescence images are produced in several planes of different depths and a fluorescent segmental chart is obtained therefrom.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 1999
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2001
    Assignee: Medizinisches Laserzentrum Luebeck GmbH
    Inventors: Reginald Birngruber, Joachim Noack, Ursula Schmidt-Erfurth
  • Patent number: 6095648
    Abstract: Systems, methods, and apparatus are provided for deriving the relative position of an eye by tracking a boundary of the eye such as the limbus (i.e., the interface between the white sclera and the colored iris). A technique for tracking the position of the eye of patient comprises directing light to an annular region of the eye between the sclera and the iris and receiving reflected light from that region. The intensity of the reflected light is then measured to determine a relative position of the eye. In some embodiments, the measured region is scanned around the boundary. In other embodiments, a light spot is scanned around a substantially annular trajectory radially outward from the pupil. The signals corresponding to the intensity of the reflected light are then processed and measured to determine the eye's position. A flap of tissue covering the boundary may be automatically detected so as to selectively measure the boundary away from the flap.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 1, 2000
    Assignee: Herbert Schwind GmbH & Co. KG
    Inventors: Reginald Birngruber, Christian Scholz, Peter Koch, Ralf Engelhardt
  • Patent number: 5302259
    Abstract: A method and apparatus are disclosed for altering the properties of light sensitive material, for example, biological material, which has a plurality of randomly spaced light absorbing structures thereon. A beam of light, for example, from a laser, is directed, as by scanning, onto a site of the material to be influenced. In order to achieve changes in the properties of the light sensitive material substantially only at each light absorbing structure, the light beam is modulated with a pattern of successive pulses, the pattern being a plurality of pulses of selected duration, energy level, and repetition frequency. The light induced changes may be thermal, mechanical, or chemical in nature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 23, 1993
    Date of Patent: April 12, 1994
    Inventor: Reginald Birngruber
  • Patent number: 4741612
    Abstract: A control system for use with a conventional photocoagulation device for controlling the exposure parameters of irradiation of biological tissue, such as the fundus of an eye. The photocoagulation device includes a source of radiation, a means for initiating and terminating the source of radiation, and sensing means for measuring the extent of coagulation of the biological tissue. Exposure parameters of the device include exposure time and the wavelength spot size and power of the irradiating beam. The control system cooperates with the device for determining and regulating the exposure parameters in accordance with the unique mathematical relationship between the extent and progression of coagulation during a photocoagulation operation, thereby to terminate the photocoagulation operation should unsatisfactory results be anticipated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 1986
    Date of Patent: May 3, 1988
    Inventors: Reginald Birngruber, Veit-Peter Gabel