General Electric Company

Aiman A Abdel-Malek

John J Bloomer

Richard I Hartley

John Erik Hershey

Fathy F Yassa

Amer A Hassan

Gregory John Fera

Jeanette Marie Bruno

James Edward Schlabach

A Nadeem Ishaque

Brian Scallan

Bryan A Mathewson

Ivan Gomez

Gerald Burt Kliman

Kenneth Brakeley Welles

John Anderson Fergus Ross

Robert Arvin Hedeen

Bruce Gordon Barnett

Kenneth Wayne Rigby

Steven Hector Azzaro

Robert Douglas Cryer

Charles McDonald Puckette, Iv

Rudolph A Koegl

Steven P Roehm

Cecil M Daniel

Chukka Srinivas

Larry R Handler

Kathryn Eike Dudding

John Eri Hershey

Charles Andrew Tompkins

Mohsen Gharabaghloo

Bena L Currin

Max H Costa

A diagnosis and repair recommendation system for a railroad locomotive is disclosed. The system uses generalized repair recommendations and instantiates them to a specific repair process for a unique road number locomotive. In addition to repair steps to be executed by the technician, the method and system remotely provides supporting documentation specifically tailored for each step in the repair process. As the repair is being conducted, feedback information is entered by the technician. The repair recommendations and the supporting documents are available to the technician via a remote unit, thereby allowing the technician to access the repair steps and supporting documentation while the repair is in progress.

Diagnosis and repair system and method

A system for monitoring the condition of a vehicle has at least one wireless transmitter in on the vehicle, and in communication with the vehicle computer system. Data representative of operating parameters generated during the operation of the vehicle is downloaded to the transmitter, which transmits the data to a wireless receiver positioned proximal to a path of travel of the vehicle. The receiver is linked to a processor for transmission of the data to the processor for storage and processing if necessary. The system may also include at least one sensor, positioned proximal the path of travel, for detecting a physical phenomenon emanating from at least one vehicle component. The sensor generates a signal, which is transmitted to the processor. The processor is capable of analyzing the signal generating data indicative of operating condition of the vehicle component. The sensor, and/or receiver, mounted to a structure positioned proximal the path of travel of the vehicle.

System and method for monitoring the condition of a vehicle

An Internet download enhancement system for downloading a file comprising an application arranged to initiate a download process and receive a downloaded file over one of a narrow band download path and a broadband broadcast download path, wherein modules in communication with the application are arranged to provide selectable download options among the available download paths. The selectable download options are based at least on an unused bandwidth of one or more of the download paths, thereby enabling the input of a selected download option. The modules are arranged in response to the input to cause a download process to download files over one of the narrow band download path and the broadband broadcast download path and then to output the downloaded file to application.

Internet download enhancement system

The present invention provides for satellite-based remote monitoring of equipment under test to perform predictive assessment from a central diagnostic site which houses a central diagnostic station. The satellite-based remote diagnostic system monitors several machines at various geographically remote locations. Information gathered enables the user to assess the health of the equipment under test. The user may also utilize the present invention to conduct specialized tests on the equipment under test to aid in predictive maintenance.

Method and apparatus for enhanced service quality through remote diagnostics

A satellite communication system for sending high resolution medically related images from a remote location to a central location for diagnostics, consisting of at least one remote transmitting and receiving station and a central diagnostic station adapted to provide an image based on a standard digital format such as Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM), and the Extended Transmission Control Protocol to transmit medically related images with a transmission efficiency of at least 90 percent to facilitate feed back while the patient remains at the remote transmitting and receiving station.

System and method for prompt-radiology image screening service via

A method and apparatus to facilitate avoiding failure of a computed tomography x-ray source while performing a patient scan permits detection of the onset of a potential x-ray source failure and estimation of the x-ray source life expectancy. The information obtained can be used in deciding whether to repair or replace an x-ray source prior to failure. In one embodiment, signals I(x,y) representative of the x-ray beam optical focal spot detected by a detector array are sampled, and a wavelet transform is applied to the sampled signals I(x,y) to generate at least one energy level F.sub.new for a wavelet band. The energy level P.sub.new is compared with stored energy levels P.sub.stored to identify one of the energy levels P.sub.stored which, when subtracted from energy level P.sub.new, results in a statistically non-significant value. The remaining life of the x-ray source is estimated as being equal to the life expectancy value corresponding to the identified energy level P.sub.stored.

Systems and methods of determining x-ray tube life

Apparatus for monitoring the health and response of critical electromechanical control valves to detect the likelihood of future valve malfunction including the use of wavelet decomposition to selectively enhance portions of the valve response signal for comparison with a normal valve response signal.

Instrument for detecting potential future failures of valves in critical

Signal-dependent noise in a coherent imaging system signal, such as in medical ultrasound imaging, is reduced by filtering speckle noise using nonlinear adaptive thresholding of received echo wavelet transform coefficients, thereby enhancing the resultant image by improving the signal-to-noise ratio. The method includes the steps of dividing the imaging system signal into a number of subinterval signals of equal length; transforming each subinterval signal using discrete wavelet transformation to provide wavelet transform coefficients for each of a plurality of wavelet scales having different levels of resolution ranging from a finest wavelet scale to a coarsest wavelet scale: deleting all of the wavelet transform coefficients representing the finest wavelet scale: for each wavelet scale other than the finest wavelet scale, identifying for each subinterval signal which of the wavelet transform coefficients are related to noise and which are related to a true signal through the use of adaptive nonlinear thresholding; selecting those wavelet transform coefficients which are identified as being related to a true signal; and setting to zero those wavelet coefficients which are identified as being related to noise: inverse transforming the modified wavelet transform coefficients using an inverse discrete wavelet transformation to provide an enhanced true signal with reduced noise.

Enhanced method for reducing ultrasound speckle noise using wavelet

Apparatus for monitoring the health and response of critical electromechanical control valves to detect the likelihood of future valve malfunction includes the use of Fourier transform decomposition and time-domain wavelets to selectively enhance portions of the valve response signal for comparison with a normal valve response signal.

A signal processing system includes a phase locked loop for locking a largest sine wave phase and frequency element of an incoming analog signal; an amplitude estimator for estimating a maximum amplitude of the incoming signal; a multiplier for multiplying the estimated largest sine wave phase and frequency element by the estimated maximum amplitude to provide an estimated largest sine wave component; and a subtractor for subtracting the estimated largest sine wave component from the incoming signal to provide a diagnostic signal.

Motor current signal processor using analog substraction of an estimated

The enhancement of ultrasound images is provided through the filtering of signal dependent noise such as speckle noise by dividing the signal into selective subintervals and utilizing discrete wavelet transform and the identification and selection of those wavelet transform coefficients primarily including signal and not those primarily including signal dependent noise.

Speckle noise filtering in ultrasound imaging

A fluoroscopic imager for observing a living creature with reduced x-ray dosage uses a video monitor for displaying frames of image samples received during respective ones of frame scan intervals that regularly and successively occur at a display frame rate sufficiently high that brightness flicker is acceptably low to a human observer; an x-ray source that can be gated on for intervals not as long as a display frame; and a fluoroscopic camera, including a raster-scanning video camera and x-ray-to-light conversion apparatus with persistence not appreciably longer than a display frame and frame-filling apparatus. Especially during purely diagnostic procedures, the frame-filling apparatus generates a continuous succession of frames of image samples at the display frame rate by interpolating between successively grabbed frames of image samples. During procedures in which interpolating between successively grabbed frames of image samples introduces unacceptable delay in the observed image, the frame-filling apparatus generates the continuous succession of frames of image samples by extrapolating from each most recently grabbed frame.

Fluoroscopic imager with frame-filling apparatus

An automated system for determining artifacts in images indicating defects in an imaging device being tested employs a constant radiation source which supplies radiation of spatially uniform intensity to the imaging device to be tested. The imaging device then creates a flood image A.sup.(0). A region of interest (ROI) mask means for all pixel values of flood image A.sup.(0) sets values to zero outside of the imaging devices field of view to produce a flood image A.sup.(1). An image normalization means normalizes flood image A.sup.(1) to have an average value of zero producing a normalized flood image A. A correlation means performs an autocorrelation of normalized flood image A to produce a correlation field which is then masked to select portions of the correlation field. The correlation values of the selected regions are summed, the squares of the correlation values are summed and the resulting sums are normalized for mask shape and flood image intensity to determine and quantify the presence of specific artifacts. These normalized summed values may be compared to predetermined thresholds to determine if the artifacts have a magnitude above an acceptable level. Based upon the results of the comparison, a corrective action may be taken such as removing the imaging device from a manufacturing line or adjusting the imaging device and retesting it.

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Schenectady, NY, United States of America

Aiman A Abdel-Malek