Ohio Nuclear, Inc.

Technicare Corporation

Invacare Corporation

Joseph B Richey

Robert H Wake

Thomas R McBride

Arthur B Braden

William J Daniels

John Covic

Samuel K Taylor

Ronald G Walters

John T Keller

John J Kuwik

Willard F Hunt

Theodore D Wakefield

Samual K Taylor

Steven L Cool

Donald J Styblo

Alan D Wainscott

Henry H Wilson

Michael C Cheiky

Joseph J Lekan

Thomas Strothmann

Provided is a powered wheelchair having the drive motors mounted to the driven wheels. The wheelchair includes a seat and first and second side frames extending in a parallel relationship to support opposite sides of the seat. First and second driven wheels are rotatably mounted on the first and second side frames through a fixed axle shaft. First and second drive motors are fixedly mounted on the first and second driven wheels, respectively, and are operatively connected by first and second drives to the first and second driven wheels, respectively. Rotation of the first and second drive motors causes rotation of the driven wheels. Control of the motors is provided by a remote control arrangement, the transmitter mounted to one of the side frames and the receiver mounted on the rotatably mounted wheels.

Powered wheelchair having drive motors integrated into driven wheels

A powered wheelchair includes a high efficiency drive mechanism for increasing the range of travel on a predetermined battery charge. Drive motors are transversely mounted relative to side frames of the wheelchair, and disposed in superimposed arrangement for varying the width of the wheelchair.

Powered wheelchair having transversely mounted drive mechanism

The patient's ECG signal is employed in a traverse-and-rotate type CT scanner as a time base for triggering the beginning of a traverse such that the traveling beam reaches the heart at a desired phase of the cardiac cycle. For a purely-rotational-type CT scanner, continuously generated scan data is only stored for corresponding phases of successive cardiac cycles. Alternatively, gating of the beams themselves can be controlled by the ECG signal. The use of a pacemaker to stabilize the cardiac period is described along with a system for recognizing unacceptable variations in the cardiac period. In a traverse-and-rotate-type fan-beam CT scanner, the effective beam width is narrowed to hasten the traverse of the heart.

Cardiac imaging with CT scanner

The radiographic system includes an x-ray source for irradiating a patient with x-radiation. An image intensifier receives the x-radiation which has traversed the patient and produces an optical image of a radiation shadowgraph of the examined area of the patient. A television camera converts the optical image into a video signal. An image processor stores each frame of the video signal generated by the television camera as an electronic image of the optical image viewed on the image intensifier. Alternately, a plurality of frames from the television camera may be combined to produce a composite image. A bias light is provided adjacent the target of a television camera to illuminate the target before an optical image from the image intensifier is monitored by the television camera. This improves the linearity of the response of the television camera, particularly to low amplitude light intensities on the first few video frames generated by the camera.

Bias lighting in a radiographic apparatus and method

Disclosed is a collimator for a tomographic scanner which performs the collimator function of dividing a fan of radiation into a multiplicity of finger beams and the attenuator function of causing a generally bell-shaped radiation energy distribution across a scan circle. The collimator has larger effective apertures for forming radiation into finger beams to traverse the center of the scan circle than for forming finger beams to traverse the edges of the scan circle. The width of the collimator apertures are defined by radially oriented vanes arranged along a circular arc. By offsetting the radiation source from the geometric center of the circular arc, the vanes defining the width of some apertures are more skewed than others relative to the radiation paths.

Eccentric source collimator assembly for rotating source CT scanner

The intrinsic nonuniformity of a radioisotope camera having an array of photomultiplier tubes viewing a scintillator crystal assembly is improved by comparing an internally generated correction factor from 1 to n, assigned to a location where a radiation event has been detected, to a random number between 1 and n and then discarding the radiation event datum if the correction factor is less than the random number. Correction factors are first generated by comparing the count at each location with an average minimum count in the presence of a uniform flood source.

Dynamic uniform flood correction for radioisotope cameras

A control and take-up mechanism for controlling and protecting at least one elongated cable and the like which may be employed to supply operating power, fluids, controls and so on to an operating member mounted within an apparatus and wherein the operating member is selectively movable within the apparatus through an operating plane between a first position and a second position spaced therefrom. The take-up mechanism is comprised of an arcuate cable trough fixedly mounted to the apparatus in a plane parallel to the operating plane with a portion of the elongated cable leading to the operating member longitudinally disposed therein. A cable wheel assembly is received in the trough in rolling engagement therewith and includes a hub and opposed sides which define a cable channel therebetween. The cable wheel assembly is constructed so that the sides and hub are rotatable about the assembly axis independently of each other in order to eliminate undesired sliding of the cable in the trough and/or around the hub during pay out of the cable in response to movement of the operating member between the first and second positions. The cable extends from its source through the trough, around a portion of the cable wheel assembly hub and then to the operating member itself. When the operating member is in the first position, the cable wheel assembly is disposed adjacent one end of the cable trough and as the operating member is moved toward the second position, the cable wheel assembly is pulled by the cable tension along the trough toward the other end thereof. Biasing means communicate with the cable wheel assembly to continuously urge the assembly toward one end of the cable trough against the tension of the cable. Means are also provided for maintaining the cable in substantially the same degree of contact with the wheel assembly hub as the cable moves therearound when the operating member is moved between the first and second positions.

Flexible cable control and take-up mechanism

An automatic variable collimator which controls the width and thickness of X-ray beams in X-ray diagnostic medical equipment, and which is particularly adapted for use with computerized axial tomographic scanners. A two-part collimator is provided which shapes an X-ray beam both prior to its entering an object subject to radiographic analysis and after the attenuated beam has passed through the object. Interposed between a source of radiation and the object subject to radiographic analysis is a first or source collimator. The source collimator causes the X-ray beam emitted by the source of radiation to be split into a plurality of generally rectangular shaped beams. Disposed within the source collimator is a movable aperture plate which may be used to selectively vary the thickness of the plurality of generally rectangular shaped beams transmitted through the source collimator. A second or receiver collimator is interposed between the object subject to radiographic analysis and a series of radiation detectors. The receiver collimator is disposed to receive the attenuated X-ray beams passing through the object subject to radiographic analysis. Located within the receiver collimator are a plurality of movable aperture plates adapted to be displaced relative to a plurality of fixed aperture plates for the purpose of varying the width and thickness of the attenuated X-ray beams transmitted through the object subject to radiographic analysis. The movable aperture plates of the source and receiver collimators are automatically controlled by circuitry which is provided to allow remote operation of the movable aperture plates.

Variable collimator

A versatile patient table system for transverse axial scanners employs front and rear tables with a spanning patient pallet for abdominal scans. A motorized conveyer belt on the front table increments the axial position of the patient. For brain scans the rear table and patient pallet are replaced by a head restraint assembly with a hinged headrest, check pad restraint members and a body pad which rests on the conveyer belt on the front table. In the automatic mode of operation, the belt moves either the body pad or the patient pallet out from the scanner in controlled increments triggered by the image processor. The hinged metal seam of the belt is used for indexing the extreme outward and inward positions.

Automatic patient table having means for transporting patient along a

The process of this invention includes detecting gamma radiation with a radiation sensing device, converting the gamma radiation to light radiation, viewing the light radiation with photomultiplier tubes and giving electrical impulses in response thereto. The impulses are operated on to correct for any distortion and to give an indication of the relation to location of the radiation. An area of interest, for the purpose of scanning, is selected and electronically masked. During a first pass, initial scanning is done electronically without physical movement of the radiation sensing device head. After initial electronic scanning, a detector head passes over the radiation of interest while sensing radiation. At the end of the mechanical movement, an area of radiation is again electronically scanned. A cot supporting the section of radiation is moved transverse to the longitudinal movement of the head after the first pass. A scan in the opposite direction occurs similar to that in the first direction. The radiation is correlated between the first scan and the second scan. In order to reduce artifacts, the perimeters of the areas under consideration are oscillated with a saw-tooth wave. The apparatus includes a radiation sensing device for scanning a section of radiation, normally an irradiated patient. The radiation sensing device includes a camera detection head and has a collimator which channels radiation, normally gamma radiation, from the patient to a scintillation crystal operatively attached thereto. The scintillation crystal converts gamma radiation to light radiation which is noted by photomultiplier tubes viewing the scintillation crystal. Electrical responses given by the photomultiplier tubes are operatively attached to means for operating on the electrical impulses to create a signal which gives an indication of the relative location of the radiation. A drive means moves the camera head in a longitudinal direction along a cot supporting the patient. At each end of the mechanical movement of the head, an electronic scanner views the ends of the section of radiation under consideration. Appropriate mechanical drive means moves or indexes the table supporting the patient in a direction transverse to the longitudinal movement of the detector head. A means for blending the radiation received from multiple passes of the detector head includes an electronic mask with oscillating sides. In this manner, multiple passes can be blended without substantial artifacts. A means for sequencing events governs the proper order of events.

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Shaker Heights, OH, United States of America

Joseph B Richey