Patents by Inventor Stephan Biber

Stephan Biber 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: 12631704
    Abstract: A magnetic resonance imaging device including a main magnet, a gradient system with at least one gradient coil, a cryocooler, a thermal bus structure, and an electromagnetic shield arranged between the gradient system and the main magnet. The electromagnetic shield includes spaced shield elements. The electromagnetic shield is configured to provide an electromagnetic shielding of the main magnet from a magnetic field generated by the at least one gradient coil. The thermal bus structure includes thermal bus elements configured to provide a thermal connection between the plurality of spaced shield elements and a cold head of the cryocooler. At least two thermal bus elements of thermal bus elements include different heat transfer properties to provide individualized temperature control of the spaced shield elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2023
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2026
    Assignee: Siemens Healthcare Limited
    Inventors: Stephan Biber, Nicholas Aley
  • Patent number: 12571865
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to a magnetic resonance apparatus having a superconducting main magnet, a magnet cooler for the main magnet and a cooling apparatus for the magnet cooler and further components of the magnetic resonance apparatus that are to be cooled. The cooling apparatus has a cooling circuit with a coolant that can be conveyed via a pump for circulation, and the cooling circuit has a first partial circuit to which the magnet cooler is coupled for cooling, at least one second partial circuit for the further components and a common portion, and at least the second partial circuit has a flow rate setting apparatus for setting the coolant flow rate through the partial circuit and associated with the cooling apparatus is a control apparatus, which is configured for actuating the pump and/or the flow rate setting apparatus dependent upon an operating state information item of the magnetic resonance apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 15, 2024
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2026
    Assignee: Siemens Healthineers AG
    Inventor: Stephan Biber
  • Patent number: 12571866
    Abstract: A shim tray designed to be pushed into a shim tray receptacle of a gradient coil unit may elongated and have a length in a longitudinal direction, a height in a radial direction and a width in a circumferential direction. The shim tray may include at least two shim pockets each configured to accommodate at least two shim plates, and at least two shim plates arranged one above the other in a radial direction in one of the shim pockets. The surfaces of the at least two shim plates may have an insulating coating.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2023
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2026
    Assignee: Siemens Healthineers AG
    Inventor: Stephan Biber
  • Patent number: 12540990
    Abstract: The disclosure describes techniques for invalidating a local coil for a magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) system. The techniques include carrying out a measurement with the local coil on the MRT system, changing a mechanical and/or an electrical property of the local coil and/or an item of information about the local coil in the MRT system to the extent that a number of measurements possible with this local coil is reduced and, in the case where only the measurement carried out was possible with the local coil, a further measurement is no longer possible with this local coil on the MRT system. The disclosure also relates to a local coil and to an MRT system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 2023
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2026
    Assignee: Siemens Healthineers AG
    Inventor: Stephan Biber
  • Publication number: 20260029494
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to a filter unit for a cable unit connecting a gradient coil unit to a gradient controller. The filter unit may include a filter and a cooler. The cooler may include a cooling line through which a cooling medium can flow. The cooler may be configured to cool the filter.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 24, 2025
    Publication date: January 29, 2026
    Applicant: Siemens Healthineers AG
    Inventors: Thomas Beck, Stephan Biber
  • Publication number: 20260026754
    Abstract: A patient support apparatus for an imaging apparatus, including: a patient couch and a cushioning element, wherein the cushioning element is arranged on a surface of the patient couch and forms a receiving surface for a patient, wherein the patient couch is designed to accommodate a patient in a recumbent posture, and wherein the patient support apparatus is designed to transport the patient on the patient couch into a patient receiving zone of the imaging apparatus, wherein a width of the cushioning element along an X direction of the patient support apparatus substantially corresponds to a width of the patient receiving zone at a receiving height for the patient couch.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 28, 2025
    Publication date: January 29, 2026
    Applicant: Siemens Healthineers AG
    Inventors: Wilfried Schnell, Hans Weber, Antje Lohfink, Christopher Hable, Stephan Biber
  • Publication number: 20260013807
    Abstract: A patient call ball may be used for communication between a patient and medical operating staff during a medical magnetic resonance examination. The patient call ball may include an actuation section configured to be actuated (e.g., pressed) by a patient and a signal unit configured to transmit a communication signal when the actuation section is actuated. The patient call ball may include a magnetic field sensor unit that includes a magnetic field sensor and an activation unit. The activation unit may be configured to activate the signal unit in response to a value of a magnetic field measured by the magnetic field sensor being greater than a limit value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 10, 2025
    Publication date: January 15, 2026
    Applicant: Siemens Healthineers AG
    Inventor: Stephan Biber
  • Patent number: 12517202
    Abstract: Techniques are provided for cooling a magnetic resonance system in a cost-effective and space-saving manner. For this purpose, a magnetic resonance system is proposed which has a superconducting magnetic coil facility, an outer vacuum chamber in which the superconducting magnetic coil facility is arranged, and a first load facility for ramping down the superconducting magnetic coil facility. An electric current is introduced from the magnetic coil facility into the load facility, and the first load facility is arranged within the outer vacuum chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2023
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2026
    Assignee: Siemens Healthineers AG
    Inventor: Stephan Biber
  • Publication number: 20250387040
    Abstract: Systems and methods for ascertaining an item of position information about a position of a patient positioned in a magnetic resonance apparatus are provided. The magnetic resonance apparatus includes at least one transmit antenna, wherein each of the at least one transmit antennas is provided to generate RF transmit pulses for generating magnetic resonance signals in the body of the patient. Furthermore, the magnetic resonance apparatus includes at least one receive antenna that is configured to receive a response signal of the RF transmit pulse, for example a magnetic resonance signal triggered by the RF transmit pulse. An RF transmit pulse is generated with the at least one transmit antenna of the magnetic resonance apparatus, which pulse includes a frequency band which is outside of an examination frequency band of the magnetic resonance apparatus. The item of position information is ascertained using the response signal of the RF transmit pulse.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 19, 2025
    Publication date: December 25, 2025
    Inventors: David Grodzki, Stephan Biber
  • Patent number: 12504490
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to a detector unit comprising a radio frequency antenna unit and a gradient coil unit surrounding the radio frequency antenna unit concentrically, each embodied as hollow cylinders surrounding a cylinder axis in the longitudinal direction. The detector unit comprises at least four shim units, which are embodied as oblong shapes and are each arranged in parallel to the cylinder axis at various positions in the circumferential direction on a first inner surface, with said first inner surface corresponding to the side of the gradient coil unit facing towards the cylinder axis, and forming raised areas in the direction of the cylinder axis. The detector unit comprises a fixing unit embodied for fixing the at least four shim units to the gradient coil unit, and an RF screen, which is arranged at least partly between the radio frequency antenna unit and the gradient coil unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2024
    Date of Patent: December 23, 2025
    Assignee: Siemens Healthineers AG
    Inventors: Stephan Biber, Stefan Stocker, Andrew Dewdney, Jürgen Nistler, Ludwig Eberler, Simon Körber
  • Publication number: 20250298100
    Abstract: A spine coil, a system having a patient table and the spine coil, and a magnetic resonance apparatus are provided. The spine coil includes multiple parts that may be arranged separately from one another on the patient table of the magnetic resonance apparatus.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 22, 2025
    Publication date: September 25, 2025
    Inventors: Stephan Biber, Volker Matschl, Antje Lohfink, Sebastian Dennert
  • Publication number: 20250271517
    Abstract: A magnetic resonance imaging system may include a scanning unit. The scanning unit may comprise a gantry which has a magnet system with a base field magnet and a patient opening, and a carrier unit which has a vertical translation mechanism which is set up to arrange the gantry in a predetermined height position. Part of the magnetic resonance imaging system may include a patient seat on which a patient can be positioned seated in an at least semi-upright position during imaging and which is arranged to be displaceable in a horizontal direction relative to the gantry.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 21, 2025
    Publication date: August 28, 2025
    Applicant: Siemens Healthineers AG
    Inventor: Stephan Biber
  • Publication number: 20250268485
    Abstract: A magnetic resonance local coil arrangement, a system with a magnetic resonance local coil arrangement and patient support apparatus, a magnetic resonance apparatus, and a use of such apparatuses are provided. The magnetic resonance local coil arrangement includes a bottom section and a top section. In a connected state, the bottom section and the top section delimit a spatial volume in which a body part of a patient may be supported during a magnetic resonance examination. The bottom section is configured to be positioned on a patient support apparatus of a magnetic resonance apparatus for performing the magnetic resonance examination. The bottom section and the top section have a total height in a connected state. The bottom section has a height of less than ? of the total height.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 26, 2025
    Publication date: August 28, 2025
    Inventor: Stephan Biber
  • Patent number: 12392514
    Abstract: A magnetic resonance system has an air suction apparatus configured and arranged so as to suck air exhaled by a patient examined by the MR system. A method for operating the MR system is also provided, with which air exhaled by a patient examined by the MR system is sucked in.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 19, 2025
    Assignee: Siemens Healthineers AG
    Inventor: Stephan Biber
  • Patent number: 12372594
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to a dental coil comprising a transmitter unit including an antenna, a receiver unit with an array of antennas, and a carrier element to be positioned in use on the jaw region of the patient and to follow at least part of the outer shape of the jaw region of the patient, wherein the carrier element is moreover designed to hold the array of antennas of the receiver unit in a predetermined relative position with respect to the jaw region of the patient, such that the array of antennas of the receiver unit borders the outer shape of the jaw region in the predetermined relative position. The disclosure further relates to a magnetic resonance system having a magnetic resonance apparatus and a dental coil, wherein the magnetic resonance apparatus is designed to detect magnetic resonance signals from a jaw region of the patient via the dental coil.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2025
    Assignee: Siemens Healthineers AG
    Inventor: Stephan Biber
  • Publication number: 20250235174
    Abstract: A method for dedicated medical imaging, including acquiring medical scan data from an investigation region of a patient, automatically carrying out an image recognition based on the acquired medical scan data, and automatically taking an enabling decision which relates to the medical image data generated based on the medical scan data, based on the image recognition.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 22, 2025
    Publication date: July 24, 2025
    Applicant: Siemens Healthineers AG
    Inventor: Stephan Biber
  • Publication number: 20250231262
    Abstract: A magnetic resonance device is provided comprising a retaining structure and a field generation unit having a main magnet, a gradient system and a radiofrequency system, wherein the retaining structure is embodied to mechanically support the main magnet, and wherein the field generation unit is enclosed on its outer circumference by a volume delimited by the retaining structure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 16, 2025
    Publication date: July 17, 2025
    Applicant: Siemens Healthineers AG
    Inventor: Stephan Biber
  • Patent number: 12313712
    Abstract: A magnetic resonance tomography system with a sensor for detecting spikes and with a gradient coil. Nuclear spins of an object under observation are excited by a magnetic alternating field of the magnetic resonance tomography system. A gradient field is generated by the magnetic resonance tomography system using the gradient coil. A magnetic resonance signal is acquired using a receiving antenna of the magnetic resonance tomography system and an interference signal using the sensor. From the magnetic resonance signal an image is reconstructed as a function of the acquired interference signal of the sensor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2023
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2025
    Assignee: Siemens Healthineers AG
    Inventors: Rainer Schneider, Jürgen Nistler, Razvan Lazar, Stephan Biber
  • Publication number: 20250160755
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to a patient support apparatus for a magnetic resonance apparatus, a system including a patient support apparatus and at least one local coil, and a magnetic resonance apparatus. The patient support apparatus includes a patient table having a table surface for positioning a patient. The patient table includes at least one table-side contact field, (e.g., an electrical table-side contact field), for electrically contacting at least one local coil. The at least one table-side contact field is integrated in a flush manner into the table surface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 30, 2024
    Publication date: May 22, 2025
    Inventors: Volker Matschl, Stephan Biber
  • Publication number: 20250098979
    Abstract: Techniques are described for carrying out a dental magnetic resonance imaging examination of a field-of-view within a subject, the field-of-view including a dental area of the subject. The techniques include determining whether a metallic object is present within or near the field-of-view, initiating a standard examination workflow if it has been determined that no metallic object is present within or near the field-of-view, and initiating a modified examination workflow that is different from the standard examination workflow if it has been determined that a metallic object is present within or near the field-of-view, and carrying out the standard examination workflow or the modified examination workflow.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 23, 2024
    Publication date: March 27, 2025
    Applicants: Siemens Healthineers AG, Dentsply Sirona Inc., SIRONA Dental Systems GmbH
    Inventors: Andreas Greiser, Lars Lauer, Gunnar Krüger, Carmel Hayes, Stephan Biber, Kim Burzan, Johannes Ulrici