Did You Know...
...that the inventor of the electric motor was a blacksmith named Thomas Davenport? Described as "a brilliantly unsuccessful inventor", Davenport invented the first rotary electric motor. In 1836 he headed out -- on foot -- from his Vermont home to file a patent application at the Patent Office in Washington, D.C. By the time he got there, he had squandered away his money and couldn't afford the $30 filing fee so he turned around and went home. When he later mailed in his application with money he'd raised, the Patent office was destroyed in a fire. He did finally get credit for his invention on Feb. 5, 1837.
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US Patent 4729379 - Digital subtraction-imaging apparatus utilizing cardiac-synchronized subtraction method
Estimated Patent Expiration Date:
December 23, 2006Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.AbstractIn a digital subtraction imaging apparatus, the digital subtraction between mask images and contrast images is carried out in synchronism with cardiac beats of an object under medical examination such as a patient. The subtraction-imaging apparatus includes a first memory, a second memory, a cardiac-synchronized subtraction unit, and a central processing unit. When the number of the contrast images acquired within one cardiac cycle is smaller than that of the mask images, for example, when four contrast images and five mask images are obtained, the digital subtraction by the subtraction unit, under the control of the central processing unit, is performed between four contrast images and only four mask images, without using the fifth mask image. Conversely, when the number of the contrast images is greater than that of the mask images, for example, when five contrast images and four mask images are obtained, the digital subtraction is effected between four mask images and four contrast images, and furthermore, is performed between the fourth mask image and the fifth contrast image, under the control of the central processing unit.Other References
| InventorApplicationNo. 06/945542 filed on 12/23/1986US Classes:600/431, Detectable material placed in body378/95, Object responsive control378/98.12, With image subtraction or addition600/436, Nuclear radiation (e.g., radioactive emission, etc.)600/521Detecting R portion of signal waveformExaminersPrimary: Kamm, William E.Assistant: Smith, Ruth S. Attorney, Agent or FirmUS Patent References4204225, Real-time digital X-ray subtraction imagingIssued on: 05/20/1980 Inventor: Mistretta4433428, Diagnostic x-ray installation for the representation of organs Issued on: 02/21/1984 Inventor: Haendle , et al.4611340Apparatus for examining a biological object by using radiation Issued on: 09/09/1986 Inventor: Okazaki International ClassesG06T 5/50 (20060101)H04N 5/32 (20060101) A61B 6/00 (20060101) Foreign Application Priority Data1985-12-27 JP |
