| ESAOTE S.p.A Patent applications |
| Patent application number | Title | Published |
|---|
| 20120089027 | Method and apparatus for ultrasonic detection and imaging of hemodynamic information, particularly venous blood flow information - A method for ultrasonic detection and imaging of hemodynamic information includes the steps of transmitting ultrasonic pulses into a body, which are generated by an array of electro-acoustic transducers arranged in a predetermined order and design; receiving reflected pulses with an array of receiving electro-acoustic transducers, which generate receive signals upon stimulation of the reflected pulses, the succession of pulses transmitted to or received from the body being focused along one or more scan lines; generating a Doppler frequency shift signal resulting from the reflection of pulses transmitted by a blood flow into a vessel intersected by the scan line, in a point and along the scan line, or along a direction of propagation of a pulse; determining the direction of blood flow velocity from the average frequency value of Doppler shift frequencies; and displaying the direction of blood flow velocity by graphical and/or chromatic representation differentiating opposite directions. | 04-12-2012 |
| 20110257531 | METHOD OF MEASURING THE THICKNESS OF A BIOLOGICAL TISSUE BY ULTRASOUNDS AND DEVICE FOR CARRYING OUT SUCH METHOD - A method of measuring the thickness of a biological tissue by ultrasounds and a device carrying out such method. The method is implemented with an ultrasound probe that emits ultrasonic pulses within a body under examination and receives echoes generated from structures of the body under examination. The probe includes an array of two or more electro-acoustic transducers and, in combination, means for processing the reception signals and means for orienting one or more lines of sight, along which the emission of the pulses and/or the reception of the echoes is focused, according to different angles with respect to an axis perpendicular to the emitting surface of the probe. The thickness of the biological tissue is calculated by the time interval between the reception of the first echo and the reception of the second echo, which are relevant to the same ultrasonic pulse emitted along at least a line of sight oriented along an axis perpendicular to the surface of the biological tissue, which is defined by the iteration of measurements with the line of sight oriented at different angles and with comparisons between the measured intensity values, the orientation corresponding to the axis perpendicular to the surface of the biological tissue being the one showing the maximum intensity of the first echo. | 10-20-2011 |
| 20110208059 | Ultrasound probe - An ultrasound probe for diagnostic images includes a set or array of electroacoustic transducers generating an ultrasonic beam and defining at least one scan plane or a predetermined scan volume, and one or more layers matching acoustic impedance characteristics of the transducers with acoustic impedance characteristics of tissues under examiantion. The layers overlap the transducers, on the face emitting/receiving acoustic pulses. Acoustic properties of the material or materials constituting the one or more layers, the geometric shape of the layers, and/or the structure of the transducers cause the ultrasonic beam to be apodized and the profile of the ultrasonic beam in a plane perpendicular to the scan plane and parallel to the ultrasonic beam to be highly homogeneous. The emitted pulse has a greater intensity uniformity in the part of the ultrasonic beam closer to the scan plane and a predetermined lower intensity in side lobes of the ultrasonic beam. | 08-25-2011 |
| 20110130646 | PATIENT SUPPORT DEVICE, SUCH AS A PATIENT BED, TABLE OR CHAIR FOR USE WITH MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING APPARATUSES - A patient support device for use with a Magnetic Resonance Imaging apparatus includes a patient support surface and at least one receptacle for housing and/or removably coupling a coil adapted to receive signals from anatomic regions upon excitation thereof by the Magnetic Resonance Imaging apparatus, the at least one receptacle being arranged in an area of the patient support surface corresponding to a position of an anatomic region to be imaged. The receptacle is adapted for removable fastening of removably connectable bases of the receiver coil, and the base of each coil and its respective housing or coupling receptacle include complementary mechanisms for electrical connection to at least one dedicated electrical line such that the electrical connection is automatically effected when the base of each coil is fitted and/or mechanically fastened in a respective housing or coupling receptacle. | 06-02-2011 |
| 20110084695 | METHOD FOR MAKING A PERMANENT MAGNET PARTICULARLY FOR MRI SCANNERS AND A PERMANENT MAGNET, PARTICULARLY FOR MRI SCANNERS MADE BY SAID METHOD - Method for making magnets particularly for the use in MRI scanners, which magnets are three-dimensional and have a tubular wall made of magnetized material, with a closed or open annular shaped cross-section, the tubular wall being composed of individual elements made of magnetized material, the magnetization of each element made of magnetized material having a predetermined direction in the transverse section plane and said directions being determined such to generate a uniform static magnetic field in the cavity of the tubular wall. The invention provides the following steps:
| 04-14-2011 |
| 20110025332 | MRI APPARATUS - An MRI apparatus comprising a magnet structure which delimits a cavity for receiving a body under examination or a part thereof, and which includes means for generating a magnetic field in said cavity, as well as means for causing the body under examination or the part thereof to emit nuclear magnetic resonance signals, a region being defined in the cavity, known as imaging volume, and means for receiving the nuclear magnetic resonance signals. The MRI apparatus also comprises an electronic processing unit with which the means for receiving the nuclear magnetic resonance signals are electrically connected; the cavity has an access opening for receiving a body under examination or part thereof. | 02-03-2011 |
| 20100301861 | MRI Apparatus - An MRI apparatus including a magnetic structure defining a cavity for receiving a body under examination or a part thereof, a mechanism for generating a magnetic field inside the cavity, a mechanism for causing the body under examination or a part thereof to emit nuclear magnetic resonance signals, and a mechanism for receiving the nuclear magnetic resonance signals. The mechanism for generating the magnetic field includes one or more elements made of permanently magnetized material of the so-called superconducting bulk material type and, in combination therewith, a mechanism for keeping the magnetization condition of the superconducting bulk material which includes mechanisms for maintaining the temperature of the permanently magnetized material below the critical temperature thereof and for restoring the magnetization of the superconducting bulk material upon a complete or partial demagnetization. | 12-02-2010 |
| 20100055991 | MULTI-POLE CONNECTOR DEVICE - A multi-pole connector has a first movable connector member ( | 03-04-2010 |
| 20090310841 | APPARATUS FOR MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING OF PATIENTS WITH LIMBS, PARTICULARLY LOWER LIMBS, UNDER NATURAL STRESS - An apparatus for magnetic resonance imaging of patients with limbs, particularly lower limbs, under natural stress, which apparatus includes a magnet structure having an open or closed annular shape, and a predetermined axial extension, which structure delimits a cavity for receiving at least a part of the patient body, with at least two or three open sides, the open sides providing access to the cavity. The open or closed annular magnet structure being disposed with the axis of the open or closed annular shape oriented with at least one vertical directional component and devices being provided for vertical translation of the magnet structure or the patient relative to the magnet structure. | 12-17-2009 |
| 20090270735 | ELECTRONIC ARRAY PROBE FOR ULTRASONIC IMAGING - An electronic array probe for ultrasonic imaging includes an array of transmitting and/or receiving electroacoustic transducers arranged in concentric bands in which the transducers are tangent to one other in both radial and circumferential directions. In order to minimize the number of transducers required without compromising dynamic range, a transducer arrangement geometry is provided so that the number of transducers having the same focusing delay is minimal or null. | 10-29-2009 |
| 20080249396 | Method And Apparatus For Determining Indications Helping The Diagnosis Of Orthopedical Diseases - Apparatus for determining indications helping the diagnosis of orthopedic diseases comprising a section detecting and acquiring signals from a body under examination or from a part thereof wherein the detecting section is a unit detecting images by nuclear magnetic resonance and it is integrated in a section for processing acquired images as regards image data and/or resonance signals, which processing section defines, from image data and/or resonance signals, values of one or more different numerical parameters indicating the presence or absence of an orthopedic disease and/or a measure of the evolution condition of said orthopedic disease. | 10-09-2008 |
| 20080212407 | Surface Micromechanical Process For Manufacturing Micromachined Capacitive Ultra-Acoustic Transducers and Relevant Micromachined Capacitive Ultra-Acoustic Transducer - The invention concerns a manufacturing process, and the related micromachined capacitive ultra-acoustic transducer, that uses commercial silicon wafer | 09-04-2008 |
| 20080197845 | MAGNETIC STRUCTURE FOR MRI MACHINES AND MRI MACHINE PARTICULARLY FOR ORTHOPEDIC OF RHEUMATOLOGIC APPLICATIONS - Magnetic structure for MRI machines, which machine has a U-shaped or annular, that is O-shaped geometry having two opposite poles between which a magnetic field is generated and are borne at a predetermined distance one with respect to the other by a magnetic yoke having an inverted U shape or an annular one, that is an O shape, which poles generating the magnetic field and/or at least a part of which yoke delimit a cavity housing at least a part of the patient body, while inside the volume of said cavity a partial volume is generated wherein values of the magnetic field are such to guarantee the acquisition of MRI images having quality characteristics sufficient to be used like diagnostic images, so called imaging volume. | 08-21-2008 |
