Posts Tagged: "Medical technologies"

J&J is pretty active in terms of patenting, and our recent survey of patent applications filed with the USPTO showed us that the company is looking to usher in the next age of contact lenses. In a time when many people are talking about Google Glass and other wearable technologies, we were intrigued to find a large number of patent applications filed by J&J to protect methods of incorporating semiconductor components into contact lenses for digitizing vision care and correction. A surgical implant for hernia repair and cosmetic compositions which cause less skin irritation are also discussed below… Even more contact lens innovation is reflected in these recently issued patents, including contact lenses for stopping myopia progression or for providing more stability when worn on the eye. Anti-tumor topical compositions and disposable assay devices for the simpler completion of biochemical tests have also recently entered the intellectual property portfolio of this firm.

General Electric has been awash in recently issued patents pertaining to medical technologies, and we discuss an intriguing collection of these inventions. One patent protects an improved anaesthesia delivery system that monitors oxygen levels in patients undergoing anaesthesia. Another protects a system for recognizing family relationships among patients for better tracking of medical histories. Finally, we look at a couple of patents protecting technologies for energy generation systems, including one protecting a method of monitoring communication networks in wind farms to quickly identify network issues which need to be fixed for accurate energy production reporting.

Today we take our first in-depth look at the inventions which have lately sprung from the minds of researchers and developers working at Xerox. We start with an extensive look at one patent application filed by Xerox that would protect a method for less intrusive monitoring of a patient’s respiratory functions. This system uses 2D video in conjunction with a distortion pattern worn on the subject’s chest to determine lung volume and activity. Other patent applications we feature today discuss a variety of environmentally-friendly and sustainable inks as well as one innovation that would allow copy machines to detect that a human operator is nearby and enter normal operating mode. Our look at Xerox’s recently issued patents show a much wider scope of innovation, including a couple of patents protecting technologies to improve public transportation and intelligent transport systems (ITS). Another intriguing patent protects a method for embedding infrared marks on a document to prevent against forgery. Sentiment analysis of informal language found on social media networks is the focus of another patent which we discuss below.

Canon has been involved with developing X-ray technologies in the recent past, as we’ve profiled in our past coverage of this company’s intellectual property portfolio. Previous improvements to X-ray imaging devices that we profiled included improvements to durability, like better resilience to shocks from physical impacts as well as devices with a better capacity for withstanding heat from electrical energy generation. This patent application was filed by Canon with the USPTO in October 2013 to protect a mobile apparatus capable of performing X-ray imaging techniques on a patient. The apparatus is comprised of an X-ray tube contained within an arm that is supported over a cart through the use of a vertical pillar. The bottom portion of the mobile cart includes a wheel and caster system for moving the imaging device from room to room. To provide power for the X-ray device, the cart also includes a battery device on the cart that energizes the X-ray tube through the use of an alternating high-voltage cable.

Many of these patent references reviewed this week show us Siemens involvement with electrical and Internet systems on all levels, from personal to industrial. For example, one patent application would protect a floating sensor capable of detecting foam formation in industrial liquid production, a symptom of process issues. An issued patent, with an extremely narrow Claim 1, protects a system of analyzing industrial facility processes to identify energy cost savings. On an individual level, one patent application describes a system of creating anonymity among mobile device owners using cloud application resources. Siemens is also involved in medical technology upgrades that aid various bodily systems. One patent application filed with the USPTO would protect a system of training the hearing impaired to better understand speech, even when amplification affects the signal. Finally, we feature one last patent application that discusses a system of measuring heart activity non-invasively.

This week at IPWatchdog’s Companies We Follow series, we decide to leave the private sector and check out the recent patent applications and issued patents assigned to the University of California. This academic research system is involved with the research and development of computer, medical and energy technologies, among others.