Patent US5950207A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US5950207A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Computer based multimedia medical database management system and user interface
Assignee: Merge Technologies Inc
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Filing: 1997-08-08
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Granted: 1999-09-07
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Expires: 2017-08-08
Abstract
Abstract A computer database for medical imaging stores and manipulates multimedia data from various sources and reduces misidentification of data. A unique identifier is generated and linked to each data object, preferably at the time the image is generated. A graphical representation of the identifier is incorporated into the image or text when displayed or printed. A detector may be used to read the representation, allowing the identifier to be read and identify the data.
Inventors
- 👤 William C. Mortimore
- 👤 Dwight A. Simon
- 👤 Michael J. Gray
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 20:42
CPC Classifications
G; G16; G16H; G16H30/00; G16H30/20; G16H30/40; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S707/00; Y10S707/99941; Y10S707/99944; Y10S707/99945; Y10S707/99948
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 84
Claim 1
Independent Claim
66 words
A method of managing multimedia medical data, wherein the data are visually presentable in hard copy form, comprising the steps of: generating a data object representative of the medical data; assigning a first unique identifier to the data object; and integrating a machine readable graphical representation of the first unique identifier into substantially all hard copies of the corresponding medical data represented by the data object.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
66 words
A method of managing multimedia medical data, wherein the data are visually presentable in hard copy form, comprising the steps of: generating a data object representative of the medical data; assigning a first unique identifier to the data object; and integrating a machine readable graphical representation of the first unique identifier into substantially all hard copies of the corresponding medical data represented by the data object.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the first unique identifier is assigned at approximately the same time the data object is generated.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of storing the data object in a memory.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method of claim 3, further comprising the steps of: machine reading the machine readable graphical representation of the first unique identifier integrated into one of the hard copies; and retrieving the data object from the memory based on the read first unique identifier.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of electronically transmitting the data object to a remote location.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of: generating a second data object; and selecting portions of the first data object and the second data object to create a third data object comprising at least one of the selected portions.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
45 words
The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of: generating a second data object; and assigning a second unique identifier to the second data object, wherein the first and second unique identifiers are related to facilitate correlation of the first and second data objects.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of assigning a third unique identifier to a group of data objects including the first data object and the second data object.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the hard copy of the data is comprised of film.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the hard copy of the data is comprised of reflective paper.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the first unique identifier is assigned based at least in part on information relating to the data object.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the multimedia medical data includes analog information, and further comprising the step of digitizing the analog information.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
45 words
The method of claim 1, further including the steps of: storing the data object in a memory at an address; providing a directory containing the first unique identifier; and linking the first unique identifier in the directory with the memory address of the data object.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
90 words
The method of claim 13 further including the step of retrieving the data object from the corresponding address in the memory, and wherein the step of integrating the machine readable graphical representation includes the steps of: generating the machine readable graphical representation of the first unique identifier; modifying the data object by merging the machine readable graphical representation of the first unique identifier into a portion of the data object corresponding to a viewable portion of the hard copy; and outputting the modified data object to a hard copy generator.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 14, further including the step of storing the modified data object into the memory at the corresponding address.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 1, wherein the machine readable graphical representation of the first unique identifier includes a gray scale component.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
81 words
A method of managing multimedia medical data, wherein the data are visually presentable in hard copy form, comprising the steps of: generating a data object including textual and pixel data components representative of the medical data; assigning a first unique identifier to the pixel data component; assigning a second unique identifier to the textual data component, wherein the second unique identifier is related to the first unique identifier to facilitate correlation of the textual data component to the pixel data component.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
81 words
A method of managing multimedia medical data, wherein the data are visually presentable in hard copy form, comprising the steps of: generating a data object including textual and pixel data components representative of the medical data; assigning a first unique identifier to the pixel data component; assigning a second unique identifier to the textual data component, wherein the second unique identifier is related to the first unique identifier to facilitate correlation of the textual data component to the pixel data component.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
96 words
A method of managing multimedia medical data, wherein the data are visually presentable in hard copy form, comprising the steps of: generating a data object representative of the medical data; assigning a first unique identifier to the data object; integrating a machine readable graphical representation of the first unique identifier into substantially all hard copies of the corresponding medical data represented by the data object; scanning a hard copy of medical information; creating a second data object based on the information; and assigning a second unique identifier to the second data object based on the information.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
96 words
A method of managing multimedia medical data, wherein the data are visually presentable in hard copy form, comprising the steps of: generating a data object representative of the medical data; assigning a first unique identifier to the data object; integrating a machine readable graphical representation of the first unique identifier into substantially all hard copies of the corresponding medical data represented by the data object; scanning a hard copy of medical information; creating a second data object based on the information; and assigning a second unique identifier to the second data object based on the information.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
90 words
A method of managing visually presentable multimedia information, comprising the steps of: generating a data object representative of the information; assigning a first unique identifier to the data object; electronically storing the data object in a memory; generating a hard copy of the information based on the data object; incorporating a machine readable representation of the unique identifier into the hard copy; machine reading the representation of the first unique identifier; and identifying the data object in the memory corresponding to the information based on the read first unique identifier.
Claim 23
Independent Claim
90 words
A method of managing visually presentable multimedia information, comprising the steps of: generating a data object representative of the information; assigning a first unique identifier to the data object; electronically storing the data object in a memory; generating a hard copy of the information based on the data object; incorporating a machine readable representation of the unique identifier into the hard copy; machine reading the representation of the first unique identifier; and identifying the data object in the memory corresponding to the information based on the read first unique identifier.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 19, wherein the unique identifier is assigned at approximately the same time the data object is generated.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 19, further comprising the step of retrieving the data object from the memory based on the read first unique identifier.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
70 words
The method of claim 19, further comprising the steps of: generating a second data object representative of a second information, wherein the first information is related to the second information; assigning a second unique identifier to the second data object, wherein the second unique identifier is related to the first unique identifier for correlation of the first and second data objects; and storing the second data object in the memory.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 19, further comprising the step of electronically transmitting the data object to a remote location.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method of claim 19, further comprising the steps of: generating a second data object; and selecting portions of the first data object and the second data object to create a third data object comprising at least one of the selected portions.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
45 words
The method of claim 19, further comprising the steps of: generating a second data object; and assigning a second unique identifier to the second data object, wherein the first and second unique identifiers are related to facilitate correlation of the first and second data objects.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 25, further comprising the step of assigning a third unique identifier to a group of data objects including the first data object and the second data object.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 19, wherein the hard copy of the data is comprised of film.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 19, wherein the hard copy of the data is comprised of reflective paper.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 19, wherein the first unique identifier is assigned based at least in part on information relating to the data object.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 19, wherein the information includes analog information, and wherein the generating step further comprises digitizing the analog information.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method of claim 19, wherein the step of integrating the graphical representation includes the steps of: providing a directory containing the first unique identifier; and linking the first unique identifier in the directory with the location of the data object in the memory.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 19, wherein the machine readable representation of the first unique identifier includes a gray scale component.
Claim 37
Independent Claim
132 words
A method of managing visually presentable multimedia information, comprising the steps of: generating a data object including textual and pixel components representative of the information; assigning a first unique identifier to the pixel component; assigning a second unique identifier to the textual component, wherein the second unique identifier is related to the first unique identifier to facilitate correlation of the textual component to the pixel component; electronically storing the data object in a memory; generating a hard copy of the information based on the data object; incorporating a machine readable representation of one of the first and second unique identifiers into the hard copy; machine reading the representation of the one unique identifier; and identifying the data object in the memory corresponding to the information based on the read one unique identifier.
Claim 38
Independent Claim
132 words
A method of managing visually presentable multimedia information, comprising the steps of: generating a data object including textual and pixel components representative of the information; assigning a first unique identifier to the pixel component; assigning a second unique identifier to the textual component, wherein the second unique identifier is related to the first unique identifier to facilitate correlation of the textual component to the pixel component; electronically storing the data object in a memory; generating a hard copy of the information based on the data object; incorporating a machine readable representation of one of the first and second unique identifiers into the hard copy; machine reading the representation of the one unique identifier; and identifying the data object in the memory corresponding to the information based on the read one unique identifier.
Claim 39
Independent Claim
121 words
A method of managing visually presentable multimedia information, comprising the steps of: generating a data object representative of the information; assigning a unique identifier to the data object; electronically storing the data object in a memory; generating a hard copy of the information based on the data object; incorporating a machine readable representation of the unique identifier into the hard copy; machine reading the representation of the unique identifier; and identifying the data object in the memory corresponding to the information based on the read unique identifier; scanning a hard copy of a second information; creating a second data object based on the second information; and assigning a second unique identifier to the second data object based on the second information.
Claim 40
Independent Claim
121 words
A method of managing visually presentable multimedia information, comprising the steps of: generating a data object representative of the information; assigning a unique identifier to the data object; electronically storing the data object in a memory; generating a hard copy of the information based on the data object; incorporating a machine readable representation of the unique identifier into the hard copy; machine reading the representation of the unique identifier; and identifying the data object in the memory corresponding to the information based on the read unique identifier; scanning a hard copy of a second information; creating a second data object based on the second information; and assigning a second unique identifier to the second data object based on the second information.
Claim 41
Dependent Claim
111 words
A management system for multimedia information comprising: a plurality of information generating devices generating data objects in a plurality of formats; a converter connected to at least one of the information generating devices for converting information into a format compatible with the formats of data objects generated by other information generating devices; an indexer for assigning a unique identifier to each data object generated by the information generating devices; and a hard copy generator for generating a hard copy of the information based on at least one of the data objects, wherein the hard copy generator automatically integrates a machine readable representation of the corresponding unique identifier into the hard copy.
Claim 42
Dependent Claim
111 words
A management system for multimedia information comprising: a plurality of information generating devices generating data objects in a plurality of formats; a converter connected to at least one of the information generating devices for converting information into a format compatible with the formats of data objects generated by other information generating devices; an indexer for assigning a unique identifier to each data object generated by the information generating devices; and a hard copy generator for generating a hard copy of the information based on at least one of the data objects, wherein the hard copy generator automatically integrates a machine readable representation of the corresponding unique identifier into the hard copy.
Claim 43
Dependent Claim
24 words
The management system of claim 35, wherein the indexer assigns the unique identifier at approximately the same time the corresponding data object is generated.
Claim 44
Dependent Claim
15 words
The management system of claim 35, further comprising a memory for storing the data objects.
Claim 45
Dependent Claim
39 words
The management system of claim 37, further comprising a detector for reading the machine readable representation of the unique identifier integrated into the hard copy, wherein the memory provides the data object in response to the read unique identifier.
Claim 46
Dependent Claim
54 words
The management system of claim 35, wherein: the converter generates a second data object related to the first data object; and the indexer assigns a second unique identifier to the second data object, wherein the second unique identifier is related to the first unique identifier for correlation of the first and second data objects.
Claim 47
Dependent Claim
21 words
The management system of claim 35, further comprising a communications link for electronically transmitting the data object to a remote location.
Claim 48
Dependent Claim
49 words
The management system of claim 35, wherein the converter generates a second data object, and the management system further comprises an editor for selecting portions of the first data object and the second data object to create a third data object comprising at least one of the selected portions.
Claim 49
Dependent Claim
30 words
The management system of claim 35, wherein the indexer assigns a third unique identifier to a group of data objects including the first data object and the second data object.
Claim 50
Dependent Claim
17 words
The management system of claim 35, wherein the hard copy of the information is comprised of film.
Claim 51
Dependent Claim
18 words
The management system of claim 35, wherein the hard copy of the information is comprised of reflective paper.
Claim 52
Dependent Claim
49 words
The management system of claim 35, further comprising: a scanner for scanning a hard copy of a second information and creating a second data object based on the second information; and wherein the indexer assigns a second unique identifier to the second data object based on the second information.
Claim 53
Dependent Claim
37 words
The management system of claim 45, further comprising a second converter connected to the scanner for converting data from the scanner into a format compatible with the formats of data objects generated by other information generating devices.
Claim 54
Dependent Claim
26 words
The management system of claim 35, wherein the unique identifier is assigned based on information relating to the data object to uniquely identify the data object.
Claim 55
Dependent Claim
22 words
The management system of claim 35, wherein the information includes analog information, and further comprising a digitizer for digitizing the analog information.
Claim 56
Dependent Claim
44 words
The management system of claim 35, further comprising: a memory for storing the data object at an address; and a directory for storing the unique identifier, wherein the directory links the unique identifier in the directory with the memory address of the data object.
Claim 57
Dependent Claim
20 words
The management system of claim 35, wherein the machine readable representation of the unique identifier includes a gray scale component.
Claim 58
Dependent Claim
18 words
The management system of claim 35, wherein the multimedia information is in an electronic format corresponding to pixels.
Claim 59
Dependent Claim
17 words
The management system of claim 51 wherein the multimedia information is further in a hardcopy film format.
Claim 60
Dependent Claim
17 words
The management system of claim 51 wherein the multimedia information is further in a hardcopy paper format.
Claim 61
Dependent Claim
21 words
The management system of claim 51 wherein the multimedia information is further in an electronic format corresponding to ASCII text data.
Claim 62
Dependent Claim
18 words
The management system of claim 51 wherein the multimedia information is further in an analog video data format.
Claim 63
Dependent Claim
154 words
A management system for multimedia information comprising: a plurality of information generating devices generating data objects in a plurality of formats; a converter connected to at least one of the information generating devices for converting information into a format compatible with the formats of data objects generated by other information generating devices; at least one generated data object including textual and pixel data components; an indexer for assigning a first unique identifier to the pixel data component and a second unique identifier to the textual data component, wherein the second unique identifier is related to the first unique identifier to facilitate correlation of the textual data component to the pixel data component; and a hard copy generator for generating a hard copy of the information based on at least one of the data objects, wherein the hard copy generator automatically integrates a machine readable representation of the corresponding unique identifier into the hard copy.
Claim 64
Dependent Claim
154 words
A management system for multimedia information comprising: a plurality of information generating devices generating data objects in a plurality of formats; a converter connected to at least one of the information generating devices for converting information into a format compatible with the formats of data objects generated by other information generating devices; at least one generated data object including textual and pixel data components; an indexer for assigning a first unique identifier to the pixel data component and a second unique identifier to the textual data component, wherein the second unique identifier is related to the first unique identifier to facilitate correlation of the textual data component to the pixel data component; and a hard copy generator for generating a hard copy of the information based on at least one of the data objects, wherein the hard copy generator automatically integrates a machine readable representation of the corresponding unique identifier into the hard copy.
Claim 65
Dependent Claim
95 words
A database management system for a database of multimedia data objects generated by a plurality of data generating devices, wherein the data objects are visually presentable to a user in hard copy form, comprising: an indexer associated with each of the data generating devices for assigning a unique identifier to each data object generated by the data generating devices; and a hard copy generator for generating a hard copy of at least one of the data objects, wherein the hard copy generator includes a machine readable representation of the unique identifier in each hard copy.
Claim 66
Dependent Claim
95 words
A database management system for a database of multimedia data objects generated by a plurality of data generating devices, wherein the data objects are visually presentable to a user in hard copy form, comprising: an indexer associated with each of the data generating devices for assigning a unique identifier to each data object generated by the data generating devices; and a hard copy generator for generating a hard copy of at least one of the data objects, wherein the hard copy generator includes a machine readable representation of the unique identifier in each hard copy.
Claim 67
Dependent Claim
24 words
The management system of claim 57, wherein each indexer assigns the unique identifier at approximately the same time the corresponding data object is generated.
Claim 68
Dependent Claim
38 words
The management system of claim 58, wherein at least one of the indexers includes a converter for converting data objects generated by the corresponding data generating device into a format compatible with each of the other data objects.
Claim 69
Dependent Claim
15 words
The management system of claim 57, further comprising a memory for storing the data objects.
Claim 70
Dependent Claim
38 words
The management system of claim 60, further comprising a detector for reading the representation of the unique identifier integrated into the hard copy, and wherein the memory provides the data object in response to the read unique identifier.
Claim 71
Dependent Claim
82 words
The management system of claim 57, wherein: at least one of the data generating devices generates a first data object and the corresponding indexer assigns a first unique identifier to the first data object; at least one of the data generating devices generates a second data object and the corresponding indexer assigns a second unique identifier to the second data object; and the second unique identifier is related to the first unique identifier for correlation of the first and second data objects.
Claim 72
Dependent Claim
20 words
The management system of claim 57, further comprising a communications link for electronically transmitting data objects to a remote location.
Claim 73
Dependent Claim
55 words
The management system of claim 57, wherein at least one of the data generating devices generates a second data object, and the management system further comprises an editor for selecting portions of the first data object and the second data object to create a third data object comprising at least one of the selected portions.
Claim 74
Dependent Claim
34 words
The management system of claim 64, wherein at least one of the indexers assigns a third unique identifier to a group of data objects including the first data object and the second data object.
Claim 75
Dependent Claim
18 words
The management system of claim 57, wherein the hard copy of the data object is comprised of film.
Claim 76
Dependent Claim
19 words
The management system of claim 57, wherein the hard copy of the data object is comprised of reflective paper.
Claim 77
Dependent Claim
56 words
The management system of claim 57, further comprising: a scanner for scanning a hard copy of information and creating a second data object based on the information; and wherein the indexer corresponding to the second data object assigns a second unique identifier to the second data object based at least in part on the hard copy.
Claim 78
Dependent Claim
36 words
The management system of claim 68, further comprising a converter connected to the scanner for converting data from the scanner into a format compatible with the formats of data objects generated by other data generating devices.
Claim 79
Dependent Claim
23 words
The management system of claim 57, wherein the identifier is assigned based at least in part on information relating to the data object.
Claim 80
Dependent Claim
23 words
The management system of claim 57, wherein the data object includes analog data, and further comprising a digitizer for digitizing the analog data.
Claim 81
Dependent Claim
45 words
The management system of claim 57, further comprising: a memory for storing each data object at an address; and a directory for storing each unique identifier, wherein the directory links the unique identifier in the directory with the memory address of the corresponding data object.
Claim 82
Dependent Claim
20 words
The management system of claim 57, wherein the machine readable representation of the unique identifier includes a gray scale component.
Claim 83
Dependent Claim
166 words
A database management system for a database of multimedia data objects generated by a plurality of data generating devices, at least one of the data objects including textual and pixel data components, wherein the data objects are visually presentable to a user in hard copy form, comprising: an indexer associated with each of the data generating devices for assigning a unique identifier to each data object generated by the data generating devices; a hard copy generator for generating a hard copy of at least one of the data objects, wherein the hard copy generator includes a machine readable representation of the unique identifier in each hard copy; the indexer corresponding to a data object including textual and pixel data components assigning a first unique identifier to the pixel data component and assigns a second unique identifier to the textual data component, wherein the second unique identifier is related to the first unique identifier to facilitate correlation of the textual data component to the pixel data component.
Claim 84
Dependent Claim
166 words
A database management system for a database of multimedia data objects generated by a plurality of data generating devices, at least one of the data objects including textual and pixel data components, wherein the data objects are visually presentable to a user in hard copy form, comprising: an indexer associated with each of the data generating devices for assigning a unique identifier to each data object generated by the data generating devices; a hard copy generator for generating a hard copy of at least one of the data objects, wherein the hard copy generator includes a machine readable representation of the unique identifier in each hard copy; the indexer corresponding to a data object including textual and pixel data components assigning a first unique identifier to the pixel data component and assigns a second unique identifier to the textual data component, wherein the second unique identifier is related to the first unique identifier to facilitate correlation of the textual data component to the pixel data component.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
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| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2006-09-06 | 2007-03-08 | 2007-09-07 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2010-09-06 | 2011-03-08 | 2011-09-07 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |