Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090212183 | CLAMPING ARRANGEMENT FOR A CONVEYOR SEAL - A clamping arrangement may comprise a support having a base and an extension, a clamping member having a body, a clamping edge and one or more engaging features for engaging the support extension. The body may have a hole in which a fastener may be disposed when the clamping member engages the extension of the support. A stud and nut or a bolt may provide the fastener for moving the clamping member for applying a clamping force. The body may have an opening for engaging the extension of the support when the clamping member is in a certain position. | 08-27-2009 |
20110067197 | CONVEYOR BELT SCRAPER BLADE - A scraper blade for a conveyor may comprise: a blade body having a scraping edge and a base for mounting the scraper blade on a blade mount of a conveyor, wherein the blade body has a plurality of elongated recessed features extending across the rearward side thereof, wherein the elongated recessed features are spaced apart and are generally parallel to the scraping edge. Additionally, the base of the blade body may be affixed to a scraper blade mount having a shape of a “flattened W” defining a groove that has beveled edges to provide clearance for a fillet weld of a scraper blade support bar to which the scraper blade is mountable. | 03-24-2011 |
20130175743 | SCRAPER BLADE CUSHION - A cushion for a scraper blade may comprise: a support plate having one or more members for engaging a support; a mounting plate opposite the support plate having a first end to which a scraper blade is mountable and having a second end remote from the first end; and a resilient cushioning material between and adhering to the support plate and the mounting plate. The cushion may further include one or more springs extending between the support plate and the mounting plate, or the resilient cushioning material surrounding the one or more springs, or the mounting plate having holes filled by the resilient cushioning material, or the second end of the mounting plate being formed to extend towards the support plate, or a combination thereof. | 07-11-2013 |
20130206550 | CERAMIC TILE AND RUBBER PULLEY LAGGING - Pulley lagging may comprise: a resilient base and a plurality of ceramic tiles embedded therein. Each ceramic tile includes a tile body having a thickness that is less than the thickness of the resilient base and having a plurality of side surfaces extending between first and second broad surfaces thereof and tapering inwardly towards the second broad surface; wherein the first broad surface is larger than the second broad surface. The ceramic tile preferably has intersecting grooves on the first broad surface and a plurality of raised nubs on the second broad surface. Substantially all of the tile body is preferably embedded in the resilient base, whereby the raised nubs extend from the resilient base. | 08-15-2013 |
20130299311 | FLIP-ABLE V-PLOW BELT CLEANER - A V-plow belt cleaner has a cleaning element providing first and second opposing cleaning edges which can be flipped over so that the second cleaning edge is adjacent the conveyor belt; and reconnecting the V-plow belt cleaner to its mount. The flip-able V-plow belt cleaner may comprise: left and right arms defining an apex and providing a mounting interface for cleaning media; a front arm holder attached proximate the apex; a rear support bar attached proximate rearward ends of the arms for maintaining a spacing; one or more rear arm holders attached to the rear support bar; and two or more power arms for connecting to a V-plow mount, each power arm being pivotably connected to a front or rear arm holder and being mountable to positions both above and below the V-plow cleaner. | 11-14-2013 |
20140061006 | CONVEYOR BELT CRADLE IMPACT BED - An impact bed for supporting a conveyor belt in a troughing configuration. The impact bed has a plurality of resilient impact bars running lengthwise in a travel direction of the conveyor belt. The plurality of resilient impact bars includes at least a first resilient impact bar having a planar orientation, a second resilient impact bar having a troughing angled orientation and a third resilient impact bar between the first resilient impact bar and second resilient impact bar. The third resilient impact bar has an intermediate angled orientation that is greater than the planar orientation of the first resilient impact bar and less than the troughing angled orientation of the second resilient impact bar. The third resilient impact bar is removable from the impact bed without removing the first resilient impact bar or second resilient impact bar from the impact bed. | 03-06-2014 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080207997 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUS GUIDANCE OF ENDOSCOPY - Methods and apparatus provide continuous guidance of endoscopy during a live procedure. A data-set based on 3D image data is pre-computed including reference information representative of a predefined route through a body organ to a final destination. A plurality of live real endoscopic (RE) images are displayed as an operator maneuvers an endoscope within the body organ. A registration and tracking algorithm registers the data-set to one or more of the RE images and continuously maintains the registration as the endoscope is locally maneuvered. Additional information related to the final destination is then presented enabling the endoscope operator to decide on a final maneuver for the procedure. The reference information may include 3D organ surfaces, 3D routes through an organ system, or 3D regions of interest (ROIs), as well as a virtual endoscopic (VE) image generated from the precomputed data-set. The preferred method includes the step of superimposing one or both of the 3D routes and ROIs on one or both of the RE and VE images. The 3D organ surfaces and routes may correspond to the surfaces and paths of a tracheobronchial airway tree extracted, for example, from 3D MDCT images of the chest. | 08-28-2008 |
20090156895 | PRECISE ENDOSCOPIC PLANNING AND VISUALIZATION - Endoscopic poses are used to indicate the exact location and direction in which a physician must orient the endoscope to sample a region of interest (ROI) in an airway tree or other luminal structure. Using a patient-specific model of the anatomy derived from a 3D MDCT image, poses are chosen to be realizable given the physical characteristics of the endoscope and the relative geometry of the patient's airways and the ROI. To help ensure the safety of the patient, the calculations also account for obstacles such as the aorta and pulmonary arteries, precluding the puncture of these sensitive blood vessels. A real-time visualization system conveys the calculated pose orientation and the quality of any arbitrary bronchoscopic pose orientation. A suggested pose orientation is represented as an icon within a virtual rendering of the patient's airway tree or other structure. The location and orientation of the icon indicates the suggested pose orientation to which the physician should align during the procedure. | 06-18-2009 |
20100310146 | MEDICAL IMAGE REPORTING SYSTEM AND METHOD - 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. | 12-09-2010 |
20120203067 | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR DETERMINING THE LOCATION OF AN ENDOSCOPE - A technician-free strategy enables real-time guidance of bronchoscopy. The approach uses measurements of the bronchoscope's movement to predict its position in 3D virtual space. To achieve this, a bronchoscope model, defining the device's shape in the airway tree to a given point p, provides an insertion depth to p. In real time, the invention compares an observed bronchoscope insertion depth and roll angle, measured by an optical sensor, to precalculated insertion depths along a predefined route in the virtual airway tree to predict a bronchoscope's location and orientation. | 08-09-2012 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20110065982 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING AIRWAY DIAMETER USING ENDOSCOPE - A method and system for use with an endoscopic instrument determines anatomical properties of body lumen at various states. Lumen properties such as lumen diameter are identified in two or more states corresponding to, for example, an inflated or deflated state. The lumen states are registered with one another and the anatomical properties are identified in real time at the location of an endoscope or endoscopic instrument used with the endoscope. In one embodiment a diametrical range of an airway is identified in real time at the location of a bronchoscope. | 03-17-2011 |
20120046928 | AUTOMATED FIDUCIAL MARKER PLANNING SYSTEM AND RELATED METHODS - A system and method are described for determining candidate fiducial marker locations in the vicinity of a lesion. Imaging information and data are input or received by the system and candidate marker locations are calculated and displayed to the physician. Additionally, interactive feedback may be provided to the physician for manually selected or identified sites. The physician may thus receive automatic real time feedback for a candidate fiducial marker location and adjust or accept a constellation of fiducial marker locations. 3D renderings of the airway tree, lesion, and marker constellations may be displayed. | 02-23-2012 |
20120288173 | SURGICAL ASSISTANCE PLANNING METHOD USING LUNG MOTION ANALYSIS - A medical analysis method for estimating a motion vector field of the magnitude and direction of local motion of lung tissue of a subject is described. In one embodiment a first 3D image data set of the lung and a second 3D image data set is obtained. The first and second 3D image data sets correspond to images obtained during inspiration and expiration respectively. A rigid registration is performed to align the 3D image data sets with one another. A deformable registration is performed to match the 3D image data sets with one another. A motion vector field of the magnitude and direction of local motion of lung tissue is estimated based on the deforming step. The motion vector field may be computed prior to treatment to assist with planning a treatment as well as subsequent to a treatment to gauge efficacy of a treatment. Results may be displayed to highlight. | 11-15-2012 |
20120289825 | FLUOROSCOPY-BASED SURGICAL DEVICE TRACKING METHOD AND SYSTEM - A method and system for assisting a physician track a surgical device in a body organ of a subject during a procedure includes fluoroscopic based registration, tracking, and optimizing a fluoroscopy position. An initial registration step includes receiving a 3D image data of a subject in a first body position, receiving a real time fluoroscopy image data, and estimating a deformation model or field to match points in the real time fluoro image with a corresponding point in the 3D model. A tracking step includes computing the 3D location of the surgical device and displaying the surgical device and the 3D model of the body organ in a fused arrangement. Optimizing the fluoroscope camera pose includes computing a candidate camera pose to assist the surgeon to track a surgical device based on features of the surgical device, position of the patient, and mechanical properties or constraints of the fluoroscope. | 11-15-2012 |
20130346051 | AUTOMATED FIDUCIAL MARKER PLANNING METHOD - A system and method are described for determining candidate fiducial marker locations in the vicinity of a lesion. Imaging information and data are input or received by the system and candidate marker locations are calculated and displayed to the physician. Additionally, interactive feedback may be provided to the physician for manually selected or identified sites. The physician may thus receive automatic real time feedback for a candidate fiducial marker location and adjust or accept a constellation of fiducial marker locations. | 12-26-2013 |