Recent Patents on Medical Imaging (Discontinued) - Volume 3, Issue 2, 2013

The metal artifacts obscure or mimic pathologies and thus severely limit the diagnostic value of CT imaging in orthopedic applications. The fundamental root cause is the beam hardening effect due to the polychromatic x-ray beam. Recent patents introduce a dual-energy CT with fast-kVp switching technique that allows synthetic monochromatic energy images to be generated through material decomposition. These monochromatic energy images are not only free of metal artifacts, but also available at a broad energy range for optimal contrast at bone-tissue interface. This article summarizes the principle of this advanced CT technology with emphasis in its capability in suppressing metal implantinduced CT artifacts.

The O-armTM Imaging System (O-arm) is a patented x-ray imaging apparatus with a generally O-shaped gantry ring. It combines a traditional C-arm fluoroscope in a two-dimensional (2D) scan acquisition mode and a computed tomography (CT) scanner in a three-dimensional (3D) scan acquisition mode. Although the O-arm was originally designed primarily to support orthopedic surgery, it also has a potential for image-guided surgery and vascular surgery. Since its introduction in 2006, the O-arm cone beam imaging system has gradually gained acceptance and applications in both orthopedic and radiology departments. This paper provides an overview of patient radiation dose, image quality, as well as clinical applications of the O-arm cone beam imaging system.

The presence of metals in patients causes streaking artifacts in x-ray CT and has been recognized as a problem that limits various applications of CT imaging. In this article, we will summarize recent developments and patents in software-based approaches for metal artifacts reduction in CT. In particular, we will focus on the iterative image reconstruction algorithms for metal artifacts reduction as well as for accurate determination of the shape and the location of metal objects.

A number of patents on PET imaging have been reviewed with the intention of highlighting those that have applications to bone imaging for skeletal surgery applications. The factors influencing radionuclide uptake into skeletal structure are introduced as well as the basics of PET imaging and its effect on skeletal image appearance. The patents are separated into three groups, PET imaging and detection, Radiopharmaceuticals, and labeling methods, and reviewed based on practical applicability to skeletal imaging and potential to use the image for guiding skeletal surgery. The patents that have the most potential for use in guiding skeletal surgery are those that involve the use of a radiopharmaceutical that absorbs into the bone in areas of increased metabolic activity to highlight focused bone disease, abnormalities or growth. The analysis suggests that PET imaging with FDG and NaF have high sensitivity and specificity and has the potential for guiding surgery applications.

Eukaryotic cells are complex structures formed by several compartments. They present dynamic morphometry and functions, which are assessed in basic cell research to elucidate their behavior in response to different interventions, as well as to study several pathogenic processes and for diagnosis and therapy. Due to this wide use, new methods, tools and designs concerning the structural and functional imaging study of eukaryotic cells have been continuously developed, generating several patents that are deposited at the main offices of intellectual property around the world. Here, we reviewed the recent patents on morphometric analysis of eukaryotic cells deposited in the main patent databanks, i.e. the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the European Patent Office (EPO) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). We found fifty four patents covering several morphometric aspects of eukaryotic cells, such as general cell morphology, organelles and nuclear morphology, three-dimensional imaging and live cell imaging. Patents related to methods in tissue imaging were also included. We further classified each patent according to its use (i.e. in vitro or in vivo) and applicability (i.e. research, diagnosis or therapy). At the end, we discuss in an integrate manner the main aspects and significance of the reported patents.

The field of echocardiography has progressed rapidly since its introduction about 50 years ago. Device miniaturization, once a dream of the visionaries in the field is now a reality and has provided new avenues for timely diagnosis and management of cardiovascular disease at an individual level and at the societal and global levels as well. A complement to physical diagnosis, a tool for rapid recognition of life threatening cardiac conditions, a means of surveillance and follow up of specific parameters that determine course of management, and a tool for mass screening of athletes, at-risk population, and those living in remote regions are some of the tested and potential applications of this new technology. In addition, pocket-sized echocardiography devices can be used as a bedside teaching tool and as a means of monitoring appropriateness of referrals for further cardiovascular testing in an era of heightened sensitivity to proper resource utilization and cost consciousness. This manuscript summarizes the latest technological developments in the area of echocardiographic device miniaturization, reviews emerging applications of hand-carried and hand-held units, and presents related patents in this field.

The aim was to describe our experience in three cases of fetal intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) diagnosed prenatally. This was a retrospective and descriptive study between 2007 and 2010 that included analysis on three cases of ICH from our prenatal care based on information in the records (medical history and imaging studies). One fetus died in utero at 35 weeks of pregnancy and had ICH classified as grade IV. In another case, birth occurred prematurely, at 28 weeks; this newborn died 36 hours after birth and was also classified as ICH grade IV. The third case was born at term, but transfontanellar ultrasound showed a serious cerebral lesion compatible with encephalomalacia. The cases of ICH diagnosed prenatally had poor prognosis due to serious cerebral lesions. Diagnosing ICH prenatally is important for counseling the parents about the poor neonatal prognosis. The short-term postnatal outcome in cases of ICH is usually poor for fetuses with high-grade and/or progressive lesions.

It has become feasible to study several aspects of consciousness because of recent progress in the neuroscience of perception, memory, and action, and advances in techniques of neuroimaging of human brain function. Consciousness has 2 main components: level of arousal (wakefulness) and content of consciousness (self awareness). Level of arousal has been investigated with electric correlates and structures in the brainstem and diencephalons that regulate the sleepwake cycle. From a behavioral and neurobiological perspective, sleep and consciousness are intimately connected. Recent functional brain imaging has been used in humans to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying the generation of sleep stages. Sleep consolidates new memories, and spindle activity is associated with improvements in procedural and declarative memory. The sleeping brain processes external information and detects the pertinence of its context. A default mode of brain function may explain consistent decreases in brain-activity during cognitive processing as compared to a passive resting state. The recent advances in neuroimaging, including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) are reviewed with a focus on the possibility of prognostic tools to evaluate consciousness disturbance such as coma. Also recent advances in functional brain imaging and combined methods of electroencephalogram and magnetoencephalogram and/or fMRI, are reviewed with a focus on the progress on the evaluation of normal sleep physiology. Patents as neuroimaging tools in this field are introduced.

Elastosonography (ES) is a rapidly evolving technology in the evaluation of nodules occurring in different tissues. It is based on the assumption that malignant tissues have an altered organization of cells and interstitial elements leading to a more stiff structure. Thyroid ES by utilizing light external compressions or internal compressions caused by carotid systolic pulses displays thyroid stiffness either as a color coded pseudo-image pattern or an index of stiffness as compared to surrounding tissue. It is reported to have especially a high negative predictive value for papillary carcinomas. Still, to have a place in the algorithms for nodule evaluation further improvement is required in the technique to decrease intra and interobserver variability and its diagnostic capacity. This patent review highlights basics and developments on elastosonography for thyroid nodule evaluation in the past few years.

Hepatectomy is the main treatment of sizable benign or malignant liver tumors (primary or metastatic). The liver remnant is essential to be adequate in both volume and function in order to avoid severe complications or morbidity of the patient. Therefore the evaluation of the liver function and the future liver volume has become of paramount importance in the preoperative patient assessment. Computed tomography has a significant contribution in the multimodality preoperative imaging of the lesion and the liver infrastructure, as well as of the liver volume. The present article reviews the existing data regarding the impact and efficacy of the patents developed to enhance the capabilities of computed tomography, in terms of evaluating liver volume, function and surgical anatomy.