General Electric Company

Ge Medical Systems Global Technology Company, LLC

Oec Medical Systems, Inc.

Steven Emerson Curtis

R Larry Anderton

Barry Keith Hanover

Richard Larry Anderton

J Joseph Allred

Larry Anderton

Joseph Allred

David Ellis Barker

Vernon Jensen

Dimitri Victorovich Yatsenko

Marc Kevin Uhrey

Donley L Bush

R Bruce Spratt

Matthew Scott Curtis

Steven James Brown

Systems, methods and apparatus are provided through which in some embodiments, a mobile imaging system includes one or more fuel cells. Some embodiments include further electric power sources, such as battery and/or an external AC power source.

Systems, methods and apparatus for a mobile imaging system equipped with fuel cells

An imaging system that includes a radiation source. An image receptor is located to receive radiation emitted by the radiation source. The imaging system further has a servo system that includes a computer operationally coupled to a motor-load element. The servo system is configured to position the radiation source, the image receptor and the object to be scanned. The servo system is configured to measure at set time intervals in real-time a position of the radiation source, the image receptor, and the object. The measured position is used to predict a native hardware motion parameter value for the servo system.

System and method for improved collision detection in an imaging device

Methods and apparatus are provided through which mechanical members associated with a moving subsystem on a mobile X-ray medical imaging system are accelerated and decelerated using triangular acceleration and deceleration pulses having pulse widths that do not provide excitation energy that will cause unwanted vibrations in the members.

Methods and apparatus for accelerating mechanical members associated with a moving subsystem on a mobile X-ray medical imaging system

Certain embodiments of the present invention provide a method for x-ray imaging including: exposing a volume of interest to a first technique level to obtain a first set of image data; exposing the volume of interest to a second technique level to obtain a second set of image data; and estimating whether the volume of interest includes a foreign object based at least in part on a comparison of at least an aspect of the first set of image data and at least an aspect of the second set of image data. According to an embodiment, one of the first and second technique levels is selected to generate x-rays having a higher average energy than the other of the first and second technique levels. According to an embodiment, at least one of the first and second technique levels is selectable to cause an overexposure. According to an embodiment, at least one of the first and second technique levels corresponds to a clinical technique level.

Systems and methods for estimating presence of a material within a volume of interest using x-ray

A system and method for detecting at least one force, impact, shock, or vibration event on an imaging system. The system comprises a main assembly, a support assembly coupled to the main assembly, and at least one sensor coupled to the imaging system. The at least one sensor is configured to detect at least one force, impact, shock, or vibration event occurring on the imaging system. The method comprises detecting at least one force, impact, shock, or vibration event occurring on the imaging system and providing an indication to a user when a force, impact, shock, or vibration event occurs on the imaging system.

Method and system for impact detection of an imaging system

A method for differentiating if a feedback signal is a result of an unintentional collision in a servo system includes injecting a feed forward term in the servo system.

Methods and systems for reducing unintentional collisions

Certain embodiments of the present invention relate to a dynamic power management system. The system includes a power input providing power to an imaging system, measurement unit(s) for measuring current and/or voltage in the imaging system, and a power management controller allocating available power among components in the imaging system. The power management controller may allow a battery to charge at a maximum rate based on current used by the imaging system components. The measurement unit(s) may measure a voltage and a current for the power provided to the imaging system. The power management controller may control current drawn by the imaging system components. The system may also include a limit sensor for detecting when current consumption exceeds a certain limit. Additionally, the system may include at least one switching unit controlled by the power management controller. The switching unit(s) control an amount of power routed to imaging system components.

Intelligent power management control system and method

Methods and systems for controlling exposure for medical imaging devices is provided. The method includes varying the exposure level of X-rays within an X-ray imaging system to generate a plurality of images having different exposure levels and combining the plurality of images in an additive process to form a single X-ray image.

Methods and systems for controlling exposure for medical imaging devices

A method for differentiating if a feedback signal is a result of an unintentional collisions in a servo system includes injecting a feed forward term in the servo system.

A method and apparatus for reducing noise and motion artifacts in pixels of a processed or displayed video image by filtering pixel values of the video image based on a first frame having currently stored (filtered) pixel values and a second frame having recently captured but not yet filtered pixel values. The apparatus includes a spatial filter for computing a motion value of a pixel of interest by averaging difference values of selected pixels surrounding the pixel of interest. Also included is a filter function means for producing an output difference value of the pixel of interest based on the motion value and an adder for adding the output difference value to the first frame filtered pixel value of the pixel of interest. Thus, each pixel of the video image is filtered according to the amount of motion in the video image.

Method and apparatus for reducing motion artifacts and noise in video image processing

An electronic video camera apparatus is provided for focusing light rays from object plane proximate image intensifier of a medical x-ray imaging system onto an image plane proximate a light sensor. The electronic video camera includes a lens system located between the object and image planes to focus light rays from the object plane onto the image plane. The light rays at the object plane are representative of a patient image. An optical filter is located between the object and image planes and partially blocks light rays passing there through. The optical filter includes at least first and second filter regions having different opacity. The first and second filter regions are alignable with the lens system at different times to block differing first and second amounts of light rays, respectively, associated with differing first and second x-ray amounts transmitted at different times.

X-ray imaging optical camera apparatus and method of use

A system an method for determining the Dose Area Product (DAP) in an X-ray imaging system is provided. The present system constructs a pre-determined parameter space describing the DAP contour over ranges of typical imaging parameters. Later, when the employed in clinical imaging, a DAP processor on board the imaging system received a set of the imaging parameters being employed. The DAP applies the set of parameters to the parameter space to interpolate the DAP being delivered by the clinical imaging system. The present system may be individually calibrated to a specific X-ray imaging system to provide more optimal DAP values. Additionally, in imaging system employing an asymmetric shutter, such as a one-leaf shutter, the present system may determine a rotational scale factor for the DAP based on the rotation of the shutter. The rotational scale factor may also be calibrated to an individual X-ray imaging system.

System and method for determining dose area product in an X-ray imaging system

A mobile, bi-planar fluoroscopic imaging apparatus has first and second imaging systems disposed on first and second C-arms. The C-arms are preferably disposed on wheeled bases allowing for movement from one place to another. Alternatively, the first C-arm is large and disposed on a wheeled base while the second C-arm is smaller and disposed on the first C-arm such that it nests. A controller sends trigger pulses to the imaging systems causing the systems to alternate operation. Alternatively, the first and second systems are configured in a master/slave relationship with the master system sending triggering pulses to the slave. A display continuously displays the images produced by the imaging systems such that an image produced by the first system is displayed while the second system operated to produce an image and vis versa. A storage device stored the images as they are produced and later delivers the images to the display for viewing.

Mobile bi-planar fluoroscopic imaging apparatus

A miniaturized C-arm and imaging apparatus for use with X-ray diagnostic equipment and the like. An X-ray imaging system is coupled to a C-arm, including an X-ray source and an image receptor mounted upon opposing locations, respectively on the C-arm. The image receptor includes a vacuum bottle type image intensifier. The image receptor is characterized by an absence of fiber optic device, and the image intensifier is characterized by an absence of micro channels therein. The C-arm is mass balanced about an axis of orbital rotation and is pivotally coupled to an articulating arm assembly supported upon a wheeled support base. The mass balance enables repositioning of the X-ray imaging system between an anterior-posterior view and an orthogonal lateral view with a single, orbital movement of the C-arm which also causes the views to define an imaging isocenter. The C-arm is preferably miniaturized to an approximate outside diameter of twenty-eight inches with a source-to-image distance of approximately fourteen inches.

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Salt Lake City, UT, United States of America

Steven Emerson Curtis