John T Oxaal

US Patent:

61266000, Oct 3, 2000

Filed:

May 4, 1998

Appl. No.:

9/072732

Inventors:

John T Oxaal - Bahama NC
Robert Samuel Smith - San Jose CA
Olaf T Von Ramm - Efland NC

International Classification:

A61B 800

US Classification:

600439

Abstract:

An apparatus and method for injecting a drug into a precisely selected location in a patient's body which is a combination scanner and drug injector. The scanner is a planar array of ultrasonic transducers which transmits a focused ultrasonic beam over the entire region of interest. The injector is preferably a hypodermic syringe mounted with the array on a base. The syringe is mounted to slide between one position where the injector conduit is retracted from the patient and another position where the adjustably positioned exit end of the conduit is in the desired location for injection of the drug. As the operator holds the scanner-injector against the patient's body with injector conduit retracted, he views on a monitor screen a virtual image of the conduit which is the image of the conduit after the conduit is injected into the body. The operator electronically adjusts the length of the virtual image and adjusts the position of the scanner-injector so that the exit tip of the virtual image is located at the desired location of the image of the region on the screen. Then the conduit is inserted into the body up to a length where the exit tip of the injector is at the desired location.

US Patent:

55468071, Aug 20, 1996

Filed:

Dec 2, 1994

Appl. No.:

8/306716

Inventors:

John T. Oxaal - Durham NC
Olaf T. Van Ramm - Efzand NC
David M. Blaker - Hillsborough NC
Robert S. Smith - San Jose CA

International Classification:

G01N 2906

US Classification:

73606

Abstract:

A high speed method for presenting display of images obtained from a volumetric scanner in which multiple slices of object space are displayed simultaneously in real time thereby enabling a viewer to study relationships between various parts of the object. The slices are selectable by the viewer manipulating an icon on the display screen. Accordingly C-scans or B scans may be selected as well as I scans in which the scan plane has a selected orientation. Multiple I scans may be selected and viewed in perspective so that the viewer has an impression of a three dimensional display. Color and spectral doppler is incorporated with the scans to provide additional information of dynamic properties.

US Patent:

62416758, Jun 5, 2001

Filed:

Jun 7, 1999

Appl. No.:

9/326900

Inventors:

David W. Smith - Raleigh NC
Donald K. McAlister - Apex NC
Norman J. Bennett - Apex NC
Paul J. Hilts - Durham NC
John J. Stefanski - Raleigh NC
Steve Moore - Chapel Hill NC
Richard Holloway - Chapel Hill NC
John A. Schachte - Cary NC
Ronald E. Hileman - Durham NC
Olaf T. von Ramm - Durham NC
John T. Oxaal - Bahama NC

Assignee:

Volumetrics Medical Imaging - Durham NC

International Classification:

A61B 800

US Classification:

600443

Abstract:

A volumetric ultrasound system is used to determine the velocity of tissue using 3D echo data. In particular, the velocity of tissue in a 3D volume is determined by steering ultrasound beams to the tissue in the 3D volume and forming 3D echo data from receive ultrasound beams formed from reflections of the steered ultrasound beams from the tissue in the 3D volume. The velocity of the tissue associated with the 3D echo data can be determined using velocity determination techniques. The velocity of the tissue can be displayed in real-time. For example, in one embodiment, a sub-volume of the 3D volume can be scanned and the determined velocity of the tissue displayed in about 50 milliseconds (ms).