Patents by Inventor William J. Vaughn

William J. Vaughn 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: 6827444
    Abstract: A wavefront aberration of an eye is determined, e.g., in real time. The eye is illuminated, and the light reflected from the retina is converted into spots with a device such as a Hartmann-Shack detector. The displacement of each spot from where it would be in the absence of aberration allows calculation of the aberration. Each spot is located by an iterative technique in which a corresponding centroid is located in a box drawn on the image data, a smaller box is defined around the centroid, the centroid is located in the smaller box, and so on. The wavefront aberration is calculated from the centroid locations by using a matrix in which unusable data can be eliminated simply by eliminating rows of the matrix. Aberrations for different pupil sizes are handled in data taken for a single pupil size by renormalization.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2002
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2004
    Assignee: University of Rochester
    Inventors: David R. Williams, William J. Vaughn, Benjamin D. Singer, Heidi Hofer, Geun-Young Yoon, Pablo Artal, Juan Luis Arag{dot over (o)}n, Pedro Prieto, Fernando Vargas
  • Publication number: 20030086063
    Abstract: A wavefront aberration of an eye is determined, e.g., in real time. The eye is illuminated, and the light reflected from the retina is converted into spots with a device such as a Hartmann-Shack detector. The displacement of each spot from where it would be in the absence of aberration allows calculation of the aberration. Each spot is located by an iterative technique in which a corresponding centroid is located in a box drawn on the image data, a smaller box is defined around the centroid, the centroid is located in the smaller box, and so on. The wavefront aberration is calculated from the centroid locations by using a matrix in which unusable data can be eliminated simply by eliminating rows of the matrix. Aberrations for different pupil sizes are handled in data taken for a single pupil size by renormalization.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 19, 2002
    Publication date: May 8, 2003
    Inventors: David R. Williams, William J. Vaughn, Benjamin D. Singer, Heidi Hofer, Geun-Young Yoon, Pablo Artal, Juan Luis Aragon, Pedro Prieto, Fernando Vargas
  • Patent number: 6299311
    Abstract: A wavefront aberration of an eye is determined, e.g., in real time. The eye is illuminated, and the light reflected from the retina is converted into spots with a device such as a Hartmann-Shack detector. The displacement of each spot from where it would be in the absence of aberration allows calculation of the aberration. Each spot is located by an iterative technique in which a corresponding centroid is located in a box drawn on the image data, a smaller box is defined around the centroid, the centroid is located in the smaller box, and so on. The wavefront aberration is calculated from the centroid locations by using a matrix in which unusable data can be eliminated simply by eliminating rows of the matrix. Aberrations for different pupil sizes are handled in data taken for a single pupil size by renormalization.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 24, 2000
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2001
    Assignee: University of Rochester
    Inventors: David R. Williams, William J. Vaughn, Benjamin D. Singer, Heidi Hofer, Geun-Young Yoon
  • Patent number: 6199986
    Abstract: A wavefront aberration of an eye is determined, e.g., in real time. The eye is illuminated, and the light reflected from the retina is converted into spots with a device such as a Hartmann-Shack detector. The displacement of each spot from where it would be in the absence of aberration allows calculation of the aberration. Each spot is located by an iterative technique in which a corresponding centroid is located in a box drawn on the image data, a smaller box is defined around the centroid, the centroid is located in the smaller box, and so on. The wavefront aberration is calculated from the centroid locations by using a matrix in which unusable data can be eliminated simply by eliminating rows of the matrix. Aberrations for different pupil sizes are handled in data taken for a single pupil size by renormalization.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 1999
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2001
    Assignee: University of Rochester
    Inventors: David R. Williams, William J. Vaughn, Benjamin D. Singer, Heidi Hofer, Geun-Young Yoon, Pablo Artal, Juan Luis Arag{dot over (o)}n, Pedro Prieto, Fernando Vargas
  • Patent number: 5569256
    Abstract: A surgical resection tool of the type having a rotary motor, a dissecting tool and a bearing tube is provided with dual quick releases for quickly releasing and latching dissecting tools and bearing tubes to expedite tooling changes during surgical procedures. The surgical resection tool preferably has a canted centerline in which the centerline for the rotary motor is canted with respect to the centerline for the dissecting tool and the bearing tube to provide an ergonomic shape for holding the resection tool. In a preferred embodiment, the two quick releases are provided by collet type latches having latching balls and slidable sleeves. The slidable sleeves are coupled together for selectively moving to a latching position where latching balls are pressed into grooves formed into dissecting tools and bearing tubes to latch a dissecting tool and a bearing tube into the resection tool.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 10, 1995
    Date of Patent: October 29, 1996
    Assignee: Midas Rex Pneumatic Tools, Inc.
    Inventors: William J. Vaughn, Ray E. Umber, William E. St. Clair, Larry D. Estes, Glenn T. Carlson
  • Patent number: 5569254
    Abstract: A surgical tool for resecting bone includes a pneumatic motor to which a bearing tube is secured for rotatably supporting a resecting tool. The bearing tube is eccentrically disposed within an attachment tube, with a flow channel defined between an interior of the attachment tube and an exterior of the bearing tube. Irrigation fluid is passed through the flow channel to maintain a constant flow of irrigation fluid about a cutting end of the resecting tool. Optical fibers extend within the attachment tube for passing light to lenses disposed at the specimen end of the attachment tube for providing illumination. At least one optical fiber extends from a lens at the specimen end, through the attachment tube, and to an optical viewer for providing a means for inspecting the bone being resected. The attachment tube is slidably adjustable along the bearing tube for selecting a distance between the specimen end of the attachment tube and the cutting end of the resecting tool.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 1995
    Date of Patent: October 29, 1996
    Assignee: Midas Rex Pneumatic Tools, Inc.
    Inventors: Glenn T. Carlson, William J. Vaughn, Ray E. Umber
  • Patent number: 5549634
    Abstract: A surgical instrument includes a conduit, the conduit having a conduit axis defined through a terminal end thereof, and a fluid-powered motor for rotating a dissecting tool, the motor having a longitudinal motor axis. A swivel member is connected in fluid communication between the motor and the conduit. The swivel member comprises a motor portion including a motor face inclined at a selected angle from the motor axis, and a conduit portion including a conduit face arranged oppositely that of the motor face and formed to engage matingly with the motor face. A connection shaft extends from one of the motor face and the conduit face and is engaged rotatably with a connection receptacle formed in another of the motor face and the conduit face.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 1994
    Date of Patent: August 27, 1996
    Assignee: Midas Rex Pneumatic Tools, Inc.
    Inventors: Tony D. Scott, Ray Umber, William J. Vaughn
  • Patent number: 5439005
    Abstract: A surgical instrument has a motor including a chuck for releasably receiving a dissecting tool for rotation about an axis of the surgical instrument. The dissecting tool has a cutting end and a shaft and the surgical instrument is provided with a base releasably connected to the motor. A sleeve is releasably connected to the base to support the shaft of the dissecting tool, and the surgical instrument is further provided with sleeve connection means for selectively permitting axial movement of the sleeve relative to the base and the dissecting tool to vary the amount of protrusion of the cutting end of the dissecting tool from the sleeve.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 1993
    Date of Patent: August 8, 1995
    Assignee: Midas Rex Pneumatic Tools, Inc.
    Inventor: William J. Vaughn
  • Patent number: 5257995
    Abstract: A dissecting device assists in removing a prosthesis from an embedded engagement within a bone. The device includes a cutting tool having a cutting tip and an elongated shank which has a diameter and length selected so as to allow significant lateral flexing. A motor configured to be gripped by one hand of a user, is connected to the cutting tool shank for providing rotational motion to the cutting tool. A handle configured to gripped by another hand of the user has a bearing carrier having a hole therethrough which rotatably receives the shank. The user will move the motor and the handle to guide the cutting tool around the perimeter of the prosthesis to dissect a thin layer between the prosthesis and the bone to release the prosthesis from the bone.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 1992
    Date of Patent: November 2, 1993
    Assignee: Midas Rex Pneumatic Tools, Inc.
    Inventors: Ray E. Umber, William J. Vaughn