Patents by Inventor Stephen Nickell

Stephen Nickell 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).

  • Method and apparatus for determining the lines of optimal direction for surgical cuts in the human skin
    Patent number: 6418339
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method and a device for in vivo detection of the direction of Langer's lines in the skin. Light is irradiated into the skin as primary light at one defined site (7) identified through the epidermis (6) in such a way that it is transported in the skin (5) by scattering or absorption, while part of said irradiated light emerges from the skin as secondary light in the region surrounding the irradiated site. An amplitude-dependent property of secondary light emerging from the skin (5) around the irradiated site is measured in order to determine the preferential direction of the diffuse light transport in the skin (5) and, consequently, determine the orientation of Langer's lines thereof.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2002
    Inventors: Matthias Essenpreis, Stephen Nickell, Dirk Bocker