59results about How to "Faster data acquisition" patented technology

A surgical instrument tray shipping tote identification system is provided. During transit to or from a medical facility, processing center, distribution center or other location, multiple surgical instruments trays are placed in an instrument tray shipping tote. Each instrument tray includes at least one RFID transponder tag storing identification information about that tray. The shipping tote has a bar coded shipping label affixed to one surface generated at the point of origin. When the tote arrives at the distribution center, it is placed on a conveyor system that includes a reading station having an RFID transceiver and a bar code reader. Information read from the RFID transponder tags and the bar code label is transmitted by a controller to an external database to check for any off-nominal status indicators. Once this check is performed, an indication is sent back to the controller and an appropriate indicator on the identification system is activated.

A method and apparatus for automatically identifying the contents of an instrument tray by use of a radio-frequency tag (RFID) is disclosed. The method, apparatus, and system enable the instrument tray to receive an interrogation signal from a reader and to respond to the interrogation signal with a code comprised of its identifying information as well as its contents of radio frequency tagged instruments. Both the instrument tray and / or the reader may be coupled by a proximity electromagnetic field, an inductive coupling, or may be units of a wireless LAN system such as a wireless fidelity local area network. The interrogation signal interrogates the tray to ascertain its contents, and the tray in turn transmits a signal to the reader to inform the reader of its contents. The method, apparatus, and system can track, inspect, and verify inbound and outbound surgical instrument trays and kits, to assess, for example, the surgical instruments' and trays' duty life cycle usage.

In a method and apparatus for generating a magnetic resonance image, raw magnetic resonance data are acquired from a subject for each of a number of PROPELLER strips using, for each strip, multiple magnetic resonance reception coils in a partial acquisition technique (PAT), and the raw data in said PROPELLER strips are entered into k-space according to the PROPELLER scan. A PAT reconstruction of the data in k-space is conducted dependent on the respective sensitivities of the reception coils, and a PROPELLER reconstruction of the data in k-space is conducted after the PAT reconstruction for generating a magnetic resonance image of the subject.

Characterization of an optical system is quickly and easily obtained in a single acquisition step by obtaining image data within a volume of image space. A reticle and image plane are positioned obliquely with respect to each other such that a reticle having a plurality of feature sets thereon, including periodic patterns or gratings, is imaged in a volume of space, including the depth of focus. Metrology tools are used to analyze the detected or recorded image in the volume of space through the depth of focus in a single step or exposure to determine the imaging characteristics of an optical system. Focus, field curvature, astigmatism, spherical, coma, and / or focal plane deviations can be determined. The present invention is particularly applicable to semiconductor manufacturing and photolithographic techniques used therein, and is able to quickly characterize an optical system in a single exposure with dramatically increased data quality and continuous coverage of the full parameter space. In embodiments, the test reticle is holographically generated by interfering two or more beams of optical radiation. The resulting interference pattern is recorded on a reticle and used for testing the optical system. The geometry of the holographic interference pattern is tightly controlled by the properties of the interfering beams and is therefore more accurate than conventional reticle writing techniques.