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Diagnostic Hardware/Software/Medical Devices

Latest Innovations
A2Biosensor: Point-of-Care Ascorbic Acid Sensing for Anterior Penetrating Ocular Globe Injuries Researchers have developed a point-of care device that can detect a penetrating ocular globe injury. Unlike current detection methods that require optical... Read More Researchers have developed a point-of care device that can detect a penetrating ocular globe injury. Unlike current detection methods that require optical equipment like slip lamp biomicroscopes or other heavy machines, this technology allows for a faster, cheaper, and more mobile means of diagnosing certain eye injuries by making use of differential ascorbic acid concentrations in different parts of the eye.
Adaptive Acquisition and Reconstruction of Dynamic Magnetic Resonance Images This invention is a new method for real time cardiac magnetic resonance (MR) imaging that produces high-spatial and temporal resolution motion movies of the... Read More This invention is a new method for real time cardiac magnetic resonance (MR) imaging that produces high-spatial and temporal resolution motion movies of the beating heart non-invasively using a MRI scanner, even in the presence of breathing. MRI's use in the cardiovascular system has been limited. The basic challenge in cardiac MRI is posed by the dynamic motion of the imaged object during the MR data acquisition; unless special methods are adopted this produces unwanted artifacts in the reconstructed MR images in the presence of physiological motion. Also, instead of simply capturing "snap-shot" images one could reconstruct a dynamic movie of the moving object, providing further information of possible diagnostic value. Methods designed to deal with the motion of objects caused by the beating of the heart and respiration can be classified into three categories: 1) general fast imaging approaches 2) methods dealing with respiration-induces motion 3) methods dealing with cardiac-induced motion This technology improves on the existing methods in several ways. Does not require breath holding, and the drawbacks associated with it. Acquires data throughout the respiratory cycle and can reconstruct real-time images of a cardiac slice. Uses estimates of the respiration-induced motion to select the ideal set of MR data to be acquired and thus reduces the complexity of the reconstruction algorithm while improving the reconstruction quality. Uses a more accurate motion model for respiratory motion to produce still and moving images with fewer artifacts and wider applicability. Compensates for affine respiration-induce motion exactly. It can also optimize the MR acquisition and reconstruction process and can produce a motion-movie of the dynamically beating heart. Does not assume cardiac cyclicity, acquires data throughout the heartbeat and can produce real-time cardiac motion movies. Explicitly models the effects of both cardiac and respiration-induced motion effects and hence overcome the drawbacks of these models. Benefits Easy to integrate - This system can be combined with pre-existing static and dynamic MR imaging methods to make them insensitive to affine respiratory motion and tolerant of more general (non-affine) respiratory motion. Improved image quality - The quality of dynamic cardiac reconstructions obtainable by MR scanners is improved in current applications by reducing image artifacts. Also improves the MR imaging (MRI) of other organs (such as the liver) whose images are otherwise degraded by respiratory motion Extends clinical applications of cardiac MRI - Improves the spatial and temporal resolution and enables real time 3-D imaging. Helps more people - Increases the reach of cardiac MR to a larger set of patients by eliminating constraints imposed by breath-holding requirements.
Chemical Dyes as Contrast Agents for Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) These patent-pending optical contrast agents and molecular detection technologies were developed to enhance the ability of optical coherence tomography (OCT) to... Read More These patent-pending optical contrast agents and molecular detection technologies were developed to enhance the ability of optical coherence tomography (OCT) to non-invasively map molecules in living specimens and diagnose disease where it starts. OCT utilizes low-coherence interferometry to measure the intensity of reflected or backscattered light to form images with micrometer resolution, is readily integrated with existing optical instrumentation and has application across a wide range of biological, medical, surgical, and non-biological specialties. While the majority of contrast agents are engineered to alter the intensity of backscattered light, this class of near-infrared dyes was designed to transform spectral wavelength, making in situ and in vivo three-dimensional imaging a reality Benefits: Cell-specific targeting Strong light penetration of tissue at NIR wavelengths High resolution images Compatible with existing dyes
Method and Apparatus for Optical Imaging of Magnetic Particles A spectral-domain magnetomotive optical coherence tomography apparatus, includes (a) a spectral-domain optical coherence tomography device, and (b) a magnet. The... Read More A spectral-domain magnetomotive optical coherence tomography apparatus, includes (a) a spectral-domain optical coherence tomography device, and (b) a magnet. The magnet is coupled with the optical coherence tomography device so that changes in the magnetic field are coordinated with collection of data by the optical coherence tomography device. This device may be used to examine a sample by spectral-domain magnetomotive optical coherence tomography, which includes examining the sample with a spectral-domain optical coherence tomography device, to collect optical coherence tomography data. The sample contains magnetic particles, and the magnetic particles are subjected to a changing magnetic field during the examining.
EMCCD Scintillation Camera for Low Energy X and Gamma Ray Imaging A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, an ionizing radiation sensor having a first scintillator for generating... Read More A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, an ionizing radiation sensor having a first scintillator for generating photons from incoming ionizing radiation, an imaging intensifier for amplifying the photons, and an electron-multiplying charge-coupled device (EMCCD) coupled to the imaging intensifier for sensing the amplified photons generated by the imaging intensifier.
Group Refractive Index Reconstruction with Broadband Interferometric Confocal Microscopy A system and method for microscale measurement and imaging of the group refractive index of a sample. The method utilizes a broadband confocal high-numerical... Read More A system and method for microscale measurement and imaging of the group refractive index of a sample. The method utilizes a broadband confocal high-numerical aperture microscope embedded into an interferometer and a spectrometric means, whereby spectral interferograms are analyzed to compute optical path delay of the beam traversing the sample as the sample is translated through the focus of an interrogating light beam. A determination of group refractive index may serve to disambiguate phase ambiguity in a measurement of refractive index at a specified wavelength. Spatial resolution of object characterization in three dimensions is achieved by imaging the object from multiple viewpoints. Applicable to a variety of industries, this novel method measures Group Refractive Indices of biological tissues at the micron scale and can be applied to several optical imaging techniques, such as Optical Coherence Tomography and Confocal Microscopy. Although the method can be used for non-medical applications, its most beneficial application is in the diagnosis of cancerous cells. It allows for quickly measuring cells' organelles to indentify cancerous properties. Since this method does not require refraction, a larger variety of biological samples can be examined. Hardware is readily available for the application of this method, and the method can be applied to any optical imaging technique due to its universal math.
A Non-Invasive Blood Viscosity Measurement through Pulse Oximetry A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a sensor having a pulse oximeter sensor to measure an oxygen saturation... Read More A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a sensor having a pulse oximeter sensor to measure an oxygen saturation level in a liquid, a magnetic source coupled to the pulse oximeter sensor, and a controller to control the pulse oximeter sensor and the magnetic source, and to measure a mechanical effect on the liquid responsive to the magnetic source applying a magnetic field to the liquid.
Auto-Calibrating Parallel MRI Technique with Distortion-Optimal Image Construction This invention provides a new computational method for the formulation of magnetic resonance (MR) images to 1) reduce the scan time and complexity and 2) improve... Read More This invention provides a new computational method for the formulation of magnetic resonance (MR) images to 1) reduce the scan time and complexity and 2) improve upon existing MRI methods. This is all accomplished while maintaining the integrity and functionality of other MRI methods. This invention describes the development of a computational method for the formulation of magnetic resonance (MR) images. It achieves this by utilizing data acquired by multiple receiver channels available on standard MRI scanners to 1) automatically identify the receiver characteristics without the need for additional data acquisition, 2) using the identification results to enable high quality imaging with fewer data samples than current methods and 3) improving upon the existing parallel MRI methods. This technology addresses two of the key issues/challenges (faster data retrieval and artifact free images) that MRI industry currently faces. Applications Neurological Musculoskeletal Cardiovascular Oncological Benefits Reduced scan time Increased set of clinical applications Reduced complexity Better, high quality MR images (Artifact-Free Imaging) Software can be uploaded to existing machines
Ultrasonic Biopsy Needle Shear Wave Imaging An apparatus and method for estimating and imaging mechanical properties of biological tissues. The apparatus includes one or two ultrasound emitting devices (... Read More An apparatus and method for estimating and imaging mechanical properties of biological tissues. The apparatus includes one or two ultrasound emitting devices (transducers) that first apply an acoustic radiation force to vibrationally displace a sphere embedded in the medium. Alternatively, a biopsy needle may be inserted into the medium and vibrated along its axis to generate shear waves. During and after vibration, ultrasound is again applied to image shear waves in the medium that propogate from the vibrating sphere or needle. By measuring the local wavelength of the shear waves, the shear modulus and viscous coefficient of the medium surrounding the vibrating element are estimated.
System and Method for Designing Multi-Channel RF Pulses for MR Imaging A system and method for designing RF pulses for multi-channel and/or multi-dimensional spatially-selective applications using a linear approximation. Embodiments... Read More A system and method for designing RF pulses for multi-channel and/or multi-dimensional spatially-selective applications using a linear approximation. Embodiments of the system and method may use a generalized linear-class large tip angle approximation to design RF pulses for multi-channel and parallel transmission. Further, some of these approximations allow for the design of arbitrarily large flip angles, irregularly-shaped flip angle profiles, or arbitrary initial magnetization values. Embodiments of the system and method may also provide for the design of k-space trajectories which aid in maintaining assumptions of the various linear class approximations.

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