Patents by Inventor Takashi Azuma
Takashi Azuma 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).
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Patent number: 8861812Abstract: Provided is an ultrasonic imaging apparatus including: a time-gain controller (TGC) that compensates an amplitude fading occurring in the process of propagation inside a living body; a scan converter (SC) that constructs image data; a TIC measurement unit that measures a TIC of each pixel; an evaluation index input unit that inputs an index for evaluating hemodynamics on the basis of a TIC; a mapping parameter estimation unit that estimates a mapping parameter comparable to an evaluation index; a TIC image construction unit that constructs a two-dimensional image on the basis of the mapping parameter; and a pixel detection unit that extracts a region corresponding to a color map from a TIC image, and utilizing a TIC measured with each pixel so as to measure a difference in hemodynamics.Type: GrantFiled: February 17, 2009Date of Patent: October 14, 2014Assignee: Hitachi Medical CorporationInventors: Hideki Yoshikawa, Takashi Azuma
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Publication number: 20140240482Abstract: A weight value used for a beamforming process performed on received signals in an ultrasound imaging apparatus is obtained with a small amount of computations and with a high degree of precision, even when a method of adaptive signal processing is employed. Multiple elements 401 receive ultrasound signals from a test subject, and the similarity operator 404 obtains the similarity between the received signals x(n). By using the similarity C(n) between the received signals obtained by the similarity operator 404, the adaptive weight operator 407 computes the adaptive weight w(n) in association with the similarity. The beamforming operator 408 uses the adaptive weight w(n) and the received signal x(n) to generate a beamforming output. The imaging processor 108 uses the beamforming output to generate image data. By way of example, the similarity operator 404 performs computations of the similarity in the time direction.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 7, 2012Publication date: August 28, 2014Applicant: HITACHI MEDICAL CORPORATIONInventors: Teiichiro Ikeda, Takashi Azuma, Hiroshi Masuzawa
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Publication number: 20140193099Abstract: Provided is an image diagnostic device with which it is possible to correct location misalignment of an image capture subject, and to improve the reliability of the result of the correction, in time series image data.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 24, 2012Publication date: July 10, 2014Applicant: HITACHI MEDICAL CORPORATIONInventors: Hideki Yoshikawa, Takashi Azuma
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Patent number: 8760974Abstract: Artifacts due to lateral wave that occurs in a substrate of a Capacitive Micro-machined Ultrasonic Transducer is reduced. The substrate thickness of the ultrasonic transducer is set in an optimum range to efficiently radiate the energy of lateral wave in the sensitive band 91 of the ultrasonic transducer to the outside so that the lateral wave is attenuated thereby reducing the artifacts in ultrasonic imaging.Type: GrantFiled: April 19, 2010Date of Patent: June 24, 2014Assignee: Hitachi Medical CorporationInventors: Hiroki Tanaka, Takashi Azuma
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Publication number: 20140167761Abstract: A magnetic resonance measuring equipment capable of detecting a nuclear magnetic resonance signal with a higher sensitivity and a higher resolution in comparison with related magnetic resonance measuring equipment. The magnetic resonance measuring equipment modulates a nuclear magnetic resonance signal by applying a vibration (sonic wave) of a known frequency, which is higher than the frequency of the nuclear magnetic resonance signal, to an examination object, and detects the modulated signal by performing lock-in detection, which makes it possible that the magnetic resonance measuring equipment detects the nuclear magnetic resonance signal with a high sensitivity. In addition, after irradiating a local area of the object with an ultrasonic wave, and modulating the nuclear magnetic resonance signal derived from the irradiated local area, the magnetic resonance measuring equipment can detect the nuclear magnetic resonance signal with a high resolution.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 25, 2012Publication date: June 19, 2014Applicant: HITACHI, LTD.Inventors: Yusuke Seki, Takashi Azuma
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Publication number: 20140150688Abstract: There is provided a railcar including a under frame, paired side bodyshell parts, and a roof bodyshell part. Strap bar receiving parts hanging downward from the roof bodyshell part are fixed to the roof bodyshell part. An upper horizontal member and a lower horizontal member are provided like bridges between the paired side bodyshell parts. The upper horizontal member and the lower horizontal member are disposed at an interval in a vertical direction and connected by connection pipes. The upper horizontal member is formed by a plurality of reinforcement pipes and the lower horizontal member is formed by a plurality of reinforcement pipes. At least one ends of the plurality of reinforcement pipes are fixed to the strap bar receiving parts.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 17, 2012Publication date: June 5, 2014Applicants: EAST JAPAN RAILWAY COMPANY, JAPAN TRANSPORT ENGINEERING COMPANY, KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Makoto Taguchi, Jin Kato, Aya Kojima, Keisuke Mizutani, Kenichi Koyama, Tetsuya Asaka, Takashi Ono, Takashi Azuma
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Patent number: 8647276Abstract: In a radiation-pressure elastography technique for transmitting a ultrasound focused beam into a test object body and diagnosing the hardness thereof, it is required to consider high sensitivity and safety. In the present invention, the focused beam is transmitted to two positions as a means for displacing a tissue and exciting a shear wave. In addition, time control is performed in such a manner that a transmit beam serves as a burst-chirp signal, and ultrasound waves are transmitted and received while sweeping a transmit frequency. On this occasion, when the distance between the two focused points and the transmit frequency become integral multiple of the wavelength, two waves interfere with each other, thereby obtaining a large amplitude. Furthermore, when the transmit frequency becomes equal to a resonance frequency peculiar to the tissue, the amplitude also becomes larger. Accordingly, a small intensity of transmit waveform enhances sensitivity.Type: GrantFiled: August 4, 2010Date of Patent: February 11, 2014Assignee: Hitachi Medical CorporationInventors: Marie Tabaru, Takashi Azuma, Kunio Hashiba
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Publication number: 20140005537Abstract: A device and an agent for performing imaging in a deep part with high sensitivity and high resolution are to be provided. A photoacoustic measurement device (photoacoustic imaging device) performs light irradiation on an inspection area of a subject to which a photoacoustic agent generating an acoustic signal by causing phase change from a solid phase or a liquid phase to a gas phase by the light irradiation is administered, while the irradiated energy amount is increased, and detects the acoustic signal generated in the inspection area due to the light irradiation to form an imaged image of the inspection area based on the detected acoustic signal.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 6, 2012Publication date: January 2, 2014Applicant: HITACHI, LTD.Inventors: Rei Asami, Kennichi Kawabata, Shinta Takano, Takashi Azuma
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Publication number: 20130319282Abstract: In the interior equipment installation structure for a railcar according to the present invention, a first installation member is mounted to a roof body shell along the car longitudinal direction or the car width direction. Second installation members are attached to the first installation member using mechanical fastening tools such as bolts with the positions of the second installation members adjusted in the up-down direction of the car. The second installation members are used for installing lighting appliances such as fluorescent lights, each has a size corresponding to each of the lighting appliances, and are continuously installed. There are portions in which plate members are overlapped with each other between respective adjacent ones of the second installation members, and hand strap receivers are installed in these portions.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 9, 2011Publication date: December 5, 2013Applicant: KAWASAKI JUKOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHAInventors: Yuichirou Mitani, Takashi Azuma
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Publication number: 20130317361Abstract: An ultrasound diagnostic apparatus with which elastic modulus can be measured when measuring elastic modulus using shear wave generation. The ultrasound diagnostic apparatus includes an ultrasound probe that sends and receives echo signals, a strain-computing unit that receives an echo signal from the body by radiating a first displacement-detecting beam and computes strain information in a Region 1, a measurement position-selecting unit that selects a Region 2, within Region 1, based on the strain information, a displacement-generating unit that radiates a focused beam into the body and displaces the tissue, an elastic modulus-computing unit that receives an echo signal from the body by radiating a second displacement-detecting beam, detects the shear wave displacement that results from the focused beam, and computes the elastic modulus in Region 2, and a display unit that displays the strain image that is based on the strain information in Region 1 and the elastic modulus.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 28, 2011Publication date: November 28, 2013Applicant: HITACHI MEDICAL CORPORATIONInventors: Marie Tabaru, Takashi Azuma, Hideki Yoshikawa, Kunio Hashiba
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Publication number: 20130289402Abstract: When multiple tissues having differing speeds of sound are intermixed in the viewing field of a measured subject such as a living body, the invention measures hardness, such as modulus of elasticity or viscosity, with high precision. As a means for detecting heterogeneity of sound speed in the tissues of a subject, a displacement-generating transmission beam is applied from a displacement generating beam-generating device (13) of a displacement-generating unit (10) on an ultrasound probe (1) to irradiate a focused ultrasonic wave into the living tissue and generate a shear wave. From the displacement-time waveforms of multiple positions of the shear wave detected using the displacement detection transmission beam-generating device (22) and the displacement detection received beam-computing device (23) of a displacement-detecting unit (20), at least two pieces of information, such as the integrated value and the maximum amplitude value, are obtained.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 1, 2011Publication date: October 31, 2013Applicant: HITACHI MEDICAL CORPORATIONInventors: Marie Tabaru, Takashi Azuma, Hideki Yoshikawa, Kunio Hashiba
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Publication number: 20130289408Abstract: Provided is a technology which quantitatively measures blood flow in the vicinity of circulatory organs. An ultrasound image capture device according to the present invention removes an image portion corresponding to an organ shape by taking the difference of a multi-frame ultrasound image, and thereafter computes a measured value of a blood flow velocity vector on the basis of a plurality of images at different timings (as per FIG. 3).Type: ApplicationFiled: November 28, 2011Publication date: October 31, 2013Applicant: Hitachi Medical CorporationInventors: Tomohiko Tanaka, Takashi Azuma, Kunio Hashiba
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Patent number: 8562531Abstract: There is provided a ultrasonic motion detecting device that detects a three-dimensional motion of an object. The ultrasonic motion detecting device, comprises first and second ultrasonic transducers 13 having piezoelectric elements arranged in an array, which transmit ultrasonic waves to an object and acquire reflection signals from the object, a motion detection unit 20 that extracts an estimation region which is used for estimating a motion of the object from the reflection signals that are acquired by the first and second ultrasonic transducers, and detects a three-dimensional motion within the estimation region, and an image display unit 19 that displays the three-dimensional motion within the estimation region, wherein ultrasonic wave scanning surfaces due to the first and second ultrasonic transducers cross over each other.Type: GrantFiled: November 16, 2004Date of Patent: October 22, 2013Assignee: Hitachi Medical CorporationInventors: Hideki Yoshikawa, Takashi Azuma, Shin-ichiro Umemura, Ken-ichi Kawabata
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Publication number: 20130261451Abstract: A diagnostic imaging apparatus for imaging information changing with time and displaying it in real time, composed of an ultrasonic probe (2), having piezoelectric elements arranged in an array form that transmit ultrasonic waves to a target object (1) and acquires a reflection signal from the target object; a body movement measuring unit (12) that constitutes a two-dimensional ultrasonic image using the reflection signal acquired by the ultrasonic probe, sets, in the image plane, a plurality of measuring areas used for measuring the body movement of the target object, and measures the body movement and deformation amounts in the measuring areas; and an image accumulating (subtracting) unit for accumulating or subtracting images using body movement measured by the body movement measurement unit.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 28, 2013Publication date: October 3, 2013Applicant: Hitachi Medical CorporationInventors: Hideki YOSHIKAWA, Takashi AZUMA, Kenichi KAWABATA, Kazuaki SASAKI, Shinichiro UMEMURA
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Patent number: 8535229Abstract: An ultrasonographic technique capable of forming a transmission beam enabling multi-beam transmission/reception of identical transmission sensitivity. An ultrasonographic device for imaging inside of an examinee includes a transmitter for transmitting an ultrasonic pulse signal from an ultrasonic element array to the examinee, and a receiver for receiving the ultrasonic pulse reflected from the examinee. The transmitter transmits an ultrasonic pulse signal having a plurality of peaks of substantially equal transmission intensity in the azimuth direction and a trace in the depth direction of each peak as a substantially straight line, from a transmission opening of the ultrasonic element array to the examinee.Type: GrantFiled: July 15, 2005Date of Patent: September 17, 2013Assignee: Hitachi Medical CorporationInventors: Shin-ichiro Umemura, Takashi Azuma, Yuichi Miwa
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Patent number: 8506484Abstract: An ultrasonic imaging device which narrows the width of annular areas to be established, without increasing the number of channels. The controller establishes the annular areas 421 to 42p the number of which is larger than the number of signal lines, along line intersections between wave surfaces 51 to 54 of reflective waves and a multi-dimensional surface of the probe 1. The controller selects multiple annular areas (0, 0), (0, 1), and (0, 2) with focal depths differing, for example, by an integral multiple of the ultrasonic wavelength ?, out of the multiple annular areas being established, and connects the multiple transducer elements positioned within the selected multiple annular areas with an identical signal line. Accordingly, the received signals from the selected multiple annular areas arrive at multiple time points shifted by the time corresponding to the wavelength, and the signals do not cancel one another out.Type: GrantFiled: January 16, 2008Date of Patent: August 13, 2013Assignee: Hitachi Medical CorporationInventors: Mariko Yamamoto, Kunio Hashiba, Takashi Azuma
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Patent number: 8506483Abstract: It possible to provide an ultrasonogram having a preferable spatial resolution and signal/noise ratio. A signal dynamic range is measured so that selection between a linear interpolation or sinc function interpolation is adaptively performed for the signal or weighted averaging of the both is performed. It is possible to set in advance a depth position for switching between the linear interpolation and the sinc function interpolation in a storage unit (21) so that the two interpolation methods are switched from one to the other at the boundary of the depth position.Type: GrantFiled: June 14, 2007Date of Patent: August 13, 2013Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd., Hitachi Medical CorporationInventor: Takashi Azuma
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Publication number: 20130157915Abstract: The invention provides a grease composition for huh unit bearing, containing (a) an aromatic diurea thickener, (b) a base oil, (c) a metal salt of oxidized wax, (d) diphenyl hydrogen phosphate, and (e) at least one rust preventive selected from the group consisting of sulfonate rust preventives and carboxylic acid rust preventives. The grease composition of the invention shows excellent anti-fretting properties at low temperature, and at the same time, exhibit excellent rust preventing properties.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 2, 2011Publication date: June 20, 2013Applicants: NTN CORPORATION, KYODO YUSHI CO., LTD.Inventors: Takashi Azuma, Yoshihisa Imamoto, Motohiro Ito, Yasushi Shibata
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Publication number: 20130148894Abstract: An objective is to enable calculation of a distribution of a physical property such as a density inside a measurement object, even when the distribution of the physical property value is non-uniform, within a feasible period of time without causing image deterioration due to phenomena such as refraction and multiple-reflections caused by the non-uniformity.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 28, 2011Publication date: June 13, 2013Inventors: Mariko Yamamoto, Shin-ichiro Umemura, Takashi Azuma, Kunio Hashiba
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Patent number: 8460191Abstract: An diagnostic imaging apparatus for imaging information changing with time and displaying it in real time, composed of an ultrasonic probe (2), having piezoelectric elements arranged in an array form that transmit ultrasonic waves to a target object (1) and acquires a reflection signal from the target object; a body movement measuring unit (12) that constitutes a two-dimensional ultrasonic image using the reflection signal acquired by the ultrasonic probe, sets, in the image plane, a plurality of measuring areas used for measuring the body movement of the target object, and measures the body movement and deformation amounts in the measuring areas; and an image accumulating (subtracting) unit for accumulating or subtracting images using body movement measured by the body movement measurement unit.Type: GrantFiled: May 18, 2006Date of Patent: June 11, 2013Assignee: Hitachi Medical CorporationInventors: Hideki Yoshikawa, Takashi Azuma, Kenichi Kawabata, Kazuaki Sasaki, Shinichiro Umemura