Patents by Inventor Williams E. Higgins

Williams E. Higgins 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).

  • Publication number: 20100310146
    Abstract: This invention relates generally to medical imaging and, in particular, to a method and system for reconstructing a model path through a branched tubular organ. Novel methodologies and systems segment and define accurate endoluminal surfaces in airway trees, including small peripheral bronchi. An automatic algorithm is described that searches the entire lung volume for airway branches and poses airway-tree segmentation as a global graph-theoretic optimization problem. A suite of interactive segmentation tools for cleaning and extending critical areas of the automatically segmented result is disclosed. A model path is reconstructed through the airway tree.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 16, 2009
    Publication date: December 9, 2010
    Applicant: The Penn State Research Foundation
    Inventors: Williams E. Higgins, Jason D. Gibbs, Kun-Chang Yu, Michael W. Graham, Kongkuo Lu