Patent application number | Description | Published |
20080253231 | FUNCTIONAL ACTUATOR-SENSOR PATH OPTIMIZATION IN STRUCTURAL HEALTH MONITORING SYSTEM - A method for optimizing transducer performance in an array of transducers in a structural health monitoring system includes specifying a plurality of paths between pairs of the transducers on a monitored structure and evaluating the quality of signal transmissions along the paths so as to optimize the gain and frequency operating condition of the transducers. | 10-16-2008 |
20100040274 | PROCESSING AND DISPLAYING BREAST ULTRASOUND INFORMATION - Displaying breast ultrasound information on an interactive user interface is described, the user interface being useful in adjunctive ultrasound mammography environments and/or ultrasound-only mammography environments. Bilateral comparison is facilitated by a pairwise display of thick-slice images corresponding to analogous slab-like subvolumes in the left and right breasts. Coronal thick-slice imaging and convenient navigation on and among coronal thick-slice images is described. In one preferred embodiment, a nipple marker is displayed the coronal thick-slice image representing a projection of a nipple location thereupon. A convenient breast icon is also displayed including a cursor position indicator variably disposed thereon in a manner that reflects a relative position between the cursor and the nipple marker. Preferably, the breast icon is configured to at least roughly resemble a clock face, the center of the clock face representing the nipple marker location. Bookmark-centric and CAD-marker-centric navigation within and among thick-slice images is also described. | 02-18-2010 |
20100152591 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR NON-INVASIVE AND MINIMALLY-INVASIVE SENSING OF PARAMETERS RELATING TO BLOOD - A system and method for monitoring one or more parameters relating to blood, such as cardiac output, of a patient is provided. The system preferably includes an acoustic energy transducer unit configured and positioned to transmit acoustic energy into a target structure, preferably a blood vessel, within the patient so as to induce a measurable change, preferably a change in blood volume, within the target structure. The transducer unit can be an ultrasonic array, annular array, or groups thereof, or a single element transducer. The unit can also be a vibrator or acoustic loudspeaker. An optical transmitter transmits light into the target structure, and an optical receiver senses light scattered from within the target structure. The blood parameter can then be estimated from the sensed scattered radiation. Relative blood oxygen saturation in the blood vessel can be estimated by transmitting two wavelengths to measure oxy-hemoglobin and deoxy-hemoglobin. | 06-17-2010 |
20100280375 | Breast Ultrasound Examination Including Scanning Through Chestwardly Compressing Membrane And Processing And Displaying Acquired Ultrasound Image Information - Navigation among breast ultrasound volumes derived from different volumetric ultrasonic scans of a same breast is described. On a display of a breast ultrasound workstation, a first image derived from a first ultrasonic volume is displayed. A user election of a source region of interest (ROI) in the first image is received. A destination ROI within a second ultrasonic volume is identified that at least roughly corresponds to a same locality of tissue in the breast as the source ROI. A second image derived from the second ultrasonic volume and including the destination ROI is displayed, the destination ROI being highlighted. | 11-04-2010 |
20100331699 | Full-field breast ultrasound system and architecture - A modular, flexible architecture for offering full-field breast ultrasound (FFBU) functionality and general-purpose ultrasound functionality in a single system is described. A conventional, general-purpose ultrasound system ( | 12-30-2010 |
20110046459 | Non-Invasive Patient Monitoring Using Near Infrared Spectrophotometry - Methods, systems, and related computer program products for non-invasive spectrophotometric monitoring of an optical property of a medium are described. Respective light portions are propagated through respective at least partially non-overlapping subregions of the medium during each of a calibration interval and a subsequent monitoring interval. Detections of the light portions acquired during the calibration interval are processed to compute at least one algorithm compensation that causes a first result related to the optical property for the first subregion to be substantially equal to a second result related to the optical property for the second subregion. Subsequently, detections of respective light portions acquired during the monitoring interval are processed in conjunction with the at least one algorithm compensation to compute a monitoring result for the optical property. Advantages can include a reduction in the number of sources/detectors required and/or an obviation of symmetry requirements in source/detector layout. | 02-24-2011 |
20110060197 | NEAR INFRARED SPECTROPHOTOMETRY WITH ENHANCED SIGNAL TO NOISE PERFORMANCE - Methods, systems, and related computer program products for the non-invasive spectrophotometric monitoring of an optical property of a tissue volume are described. Multiple optical signals having different modulation frequencies are introduced into the tissue volume simultaneously and on a continuous basis throughout the monitoring session. Multiple optical signal portions incident upon each of a plurality of optical detectors are detected and separated based on their modulation frequency. Amplitude and phase signals corresponding to each optical signal portion are extracted and processed to determine the optical property of the tissue volume. In one preferred embodiment, a first optical detector includes an aperture having a central area, a first edge positioned nearer to a first optical source than the central area, and a second edge positioned farther from the first optical source than the central area. The first and second edges are each curved concavely toward the first optical source. | 03-10-2011 |
20110098566 | THICK-SLICE ULTRASOUND IMAGES DERIVED FROM ULTRASONIC SCANS OF A CHESTWARDLY-COMPRESSED BREAST OF A SUPINE PATIENT - Displaying breast ultrasound information on an interactive user interface is described, the user interface being useful in adjunctive ultrasound mammography environments and/or ultrasound-only mammography environments. Bilateral comparison is facilitated by a pairwise display of thick-slice images corresponding to analogous slab-like subvolumes in the left and right breasts. Coronal thick-slice imaging and convenient navigation on and among coronal thick-slice images is described. In one preferred embodiment, a nipple marker is displayed the coronal thick-slice image representing a projection of a nipple location thereupon. A convenient breast icon is also displayed including a cursor position indicator variably disposed thereon in a manner that reflects a relative position between the cursor and the nipple marker. Preferably, the breast icon is configured to at least roughly resemble a clock face, the center of the clock face representing the nipple marker location. Bookmark-centric and CAD-marker-centric navigation within and among thick-slice images is also described. | 04-28-2011 |
20110190613 | HYBRID SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC MONITORING OF BIOLOGICAL CONSTITUENTS - Systems, methods, and related computer program products for non-invasive NIR spectrophotometric (NIRS) monitoring of total blood hemoglobin levels and/or other blood constituent levels based on a hybrid combination of phase modulation spectrophotometry (PMS) and continuous wave spectrophotometry (CWS) are described. PMS-based measurements including both amplitude and phase information used in the determination of a non-pulsatile component of an absorption property for each of at least three distinct wavelengths are processed to compute PMS-derived intermediate information at least partially representative of a scattering characteristic. CWS-based measurements including amplitude information is processed in conjunction with the PMS-derived intermediate information to compute a pulsatile component of the absorption property. A metric representative of at least one chromophore level, such as the total blood hemoglobin level, is computed from the pulsatile component of the absorption property at the at least three wavelengths and displayed on an output display. | 08-04-2011 |
20110288414 | FULL-FIELD BREAST IMAGE DATA PROCESSING AND ARCHIVING - A system, computer program product, and related methods are described for obtaining, processing, and/or and archiving full-field breast image data, such as full-field breast ultrasound (FFBU) data, in a manner that promotes ready integration with current x-ray mammogram-based breast cancer screening methodologies, and which can alternatively be used to support a full-field-only environment. Two-dimensional thick-slice images computed from a three-dimensional data volume are used to facilitate efficient archiving for a breast imaging session, the two-dimensional thick-slice images corresponding to slab-like subvolumes of the breast. Clinician data overload problems that can arise from the existence of large amounts of three-dimensional full-field breast image data are reduced. Archive space is also preserved while still providing sufficient information data for future reference purposes. Related adjunctive full-field workflow methods are also described. The described embodiments are applicable to FFBU imaging and other full-field breast imaging modalities such as MRI, CT, PET, and others. | 11-24-2011 |
20120095305 | Spectrophotometric Monitoring Of Multiple Layer Tissue Structures - Methods, systems, and related computer program products for the non-invasive spectrophotometric monitoring of a biological volume having multiple tissue layers are described. Aggregate absorption and scattering properties are measured for each of a plurality of predetermined source-detector separation distances along a surface of the biological volume, the measurement being based on a model of the biological volume as a single-layer, semi-infinite, homogeneous volume. A predetermined multi-layer tissue model is retrieved that characterizes a mathematical relationship among (a) absorption and scattering properties of each layer of a multi-layer tissue structure, and (b) aggregate absorption and scattering properties of the multi-layer tissue structure as would be measured at selected source-detector separation distances along a surface thereof. The measured aggregate absorption and scattering properties are processed in conjunction with the predetermined multi-layer tissue model to compute therefrom a deep-layer-specific absorption property corresponding to the relatively deep tissue layer. | 04-19-2012 |
20130174412 | FULL-FIELD BREAST ULTRASOUND SYSTEM AND ARCHITECHTURE - A modular, flexible architecture for offering full-field breast ultrasound (FFBU) functionality and general-purpose ultrasound functionality in a single system is described. A conventional, general-purpose ultrasound system ( | 07-11-2013 |