Patents by Inventor Walter G. Fisher

Walter G. Fisher 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: 5998597
    Abstract: A method for the treatment of a particular volume of plant or animal tissue comprising the steps of treating the plant or animal tissue with at least one photo-active molecular agent, wherein the particular volume of the plant or animal tissue retains at least a portion of the at least one photo-active molecular agent, and then treating the particular volume of the plant or animal tissue with light sufficient to promote a simultaneous two-photon excitation of at least one of the at least one photo-active molecular agent retained in the particular volume of the plant or animal tissue, wherein the at least one photo-active molecular agent becomes active in the particular volume of the plant or animal tissue. There is also disclosed a method for the treatment of cancer in plant or animal tissue and a method for producing at least one photo-activated molecular agent in a particular volume of a material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 1997
    Date of Patent: December 7, 1999
    Assignee: Photogen, Inc.
    Inventors: Walter G. Fisher, Eric A. Wachter, H. Craig Dees
  • Patent number: 5889490
    Abstract: A high resolution ranging method is described utilizing a novel modulated waveform, hereafter referred to as coherent burst modulation. In the coherent burst method, high frequency modulation of an acoustic or electromagnetic transmitter, such as a laser, is performed at a modulation frequency. This modulation frequency is transmitted quasi-continuously in the form of interrupted bursts of radiation. Energy from the transmitter is directed onto a target, interacts with the target, and the returning energy is collected. The encoded burst pattern contained in the collected return signal is detected coherently by a receiver that is tuned so as to be principally sensitive to the modulation frequency. The receiver signal is processed to determine target range using both time-of-flight of the burst envelope and phase shift of the high frequency modulation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 24, 1998
    Date of Patent: March 30, 1999
    Inventors: Eric A. Wachter, Walter G. Fisher
  • Patent number: 5832931
    Abstract: A method for the imaging of a particular volume of plant or animal tissue, wherein the plant or animal tissue contains at least one photo-active molecular agent. The method includes the steps of treating the particular volume of the plant or animal tissue with light sufficient to promote a simultaneous two-photon excitation of the photo-active molecular agent contained in the particular volume of the plant or animal tissue, photo-activating at least one of the at least one photo-active molecular agent in the particular volume of the plant or animal tissue, thereby producing at least one photo-activated molecular agent, wherein the at least one photo-activated molecular agent emits energy, detecting the energy emitted by the at least one photo-activated molecular agent, and producing a detected energy signal which is characteristic of the particular volume of plant or animal tissue.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 10, 1998
    Assignee: Photogen, Inc.
    Inventors: Eric A. Wachter, Walter G. Fisher, H. Craig Dees
  • Patent number: 5829448
    Abstract: A method for the treatment of a particular volume of plant or animal tissue comprising the steps of treating the plant or animal tissue with at least one photo-active molecular agent, wherein the particular volume of the plant or animal tissue retains at least a portion of the at least one photo-active molecular agent, and then treating the particular volume of the plant or animal tissue with light sufficient to promote a simultaneous two-photon excitation of at least one of the at least one photo-active molecular agent retained in the particular volume of the plant or animal tissue, wherein the at least one photo-active molecular agent becomes active in the particular volume of the plant or animal tissue. There is also disclosed a method for the treatment of cancer in plant or animal tissue and a method for producing at least one photo-activated molecular agent in a particular volume of a material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 1996
    Date of Patent: November 3, 1998
    Assignee: Photogen, Inc.
    Inventors: Walter G. Fisher, Eric A. Wachter, H. Craig Dees
  • Patent number: 5745437
    Abstract: A high resolution ranging method is described utilizing a novel modulated waveform, hereafter referred to as coherent burst modulation. In the coherent burst method, high frequency modulation of an acoustic or electromagnetic transmitter, such as a laser, is performed at a modulation frequency. This modulation frequency is transmitted quasi-continuously in the form of interrupted bursts of radiation. Energy from the transmitter is directed onto a target, interacts with the target, and the returning energy is collected. The encoded burst pattern contained in the collected return signal is detected coherently by a receiver that is tuned so as to be principally sensitive to the modulation frequency. The receiver signal is processed to determine target range using both time-of-flight of the burst envelope and phase shift of the high frequency modulation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 1996
    Date of Patent: April 28, 1998
    Inventors: Eric A. Wachter, Walter G. Fisher
  • Patent number: 5483338
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for evaluating structural weaknesses in polymer matrix composites is described. An object to be studied is illuminated with laser radiation and fluorescence emanating therefrom is collected and filtered. The fluorescence is then imaged and the image is studied to determine fluorescence intensity over the surface of the object being studied and the wavelength of maximum fluorescent intensity. Such images provide a map of the structural integrity of the part being studied and weaknesses, particularly weaknesses created by exposure of the object to heat, are readily visible in the image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 1994
    Date of Patent: January 9, 1996
    Assignee: Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Eric A. Wachter, Walter G. Fisher