The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 01, 2008
Filed:
Jul. 11, 2005
Andre Vanhove, Beveren, BE;
Brian W. Lasiuk, Spring, TX (US);
Peter J. Codella, Niskayuna, NY (US);
Wiley Lyle Parker, Conroe, TX (US);
Andre Vanhove, Beveren, BE;
Brian W. Lasiuk, Spring, TX (US);
Peter J. Codella, Niskayuna, NY (US);
Wiley Lyle Parker, Conroe, TX (US);
GE Betz, Inc., Trevose, PA (US);
Abstract
A system and method for counting opaque particles within a fluid sample. The system uses an optical lens system to focus a light beam onto a sample on a multi-dimensional translation stage. The translation stage is moved in a pattern such that the intensity of the transmitted light is measured as a function of path length. A photo detector is used to measure the transmitted light through the sample. An analog-to-digital converter quantifies the transmitted light intensity. Changes in light intensity along the path length are correlated with the detection of an opaque particle. Data processing algorithms are implemented to automatically determine the background noise level associated with the acquired data and to set a discriminator level above which a particle is registered. The total number of particles and an areal density is reported along with an estimate of the uncertainty.