Patent US6348793B1 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US6348793B1
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System architecture for medical imaging systems
Assignee: GE Medical Systems Global Technology Co LLC
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Filing: 2000-11-06
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Granted: 2002-02-19
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Expires: 2020-11-06
Abstract
Abstract A medical imaging system includes a workstation for receiving operator inputs that prescribe a scan and a plurality of servers which control the acquisition of image data and the reconstruction of prescribed images. The workstation is programmed in Java™ to produce scan descriptions that are downloaded to the servers prior to run time using a serialization mechanism.
Inventors
- 👤 William Balloni
- 👤 Josef Debbins
- 👤 Robert Haworth
- 👤 Paul Licato
- 👤 Graeme C. McKinnon
- 👤 Bo J. Pettersson
- 👤 Lawrence Ploetz
- 👤 Mark Radick
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 23:09
CPC Classifications
G; G16; G16H; G16H40/00; G16H40/60; G16H40/63; G16H30/00; G16H30/20; G16H30/40; G16H40/40
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 22
Claim 1
Independent Claim
116 words
A medical imaging system, the combination comprising: a) a workstation programmed in a hardware independent programming language to provide: i) an operator interface for receiving input information which prescribes a scan to be performed; ii) an image acquisition description comprised of components which determine how the imaging system is to operate during the scan to acquire image data; and iii) a data processing description comprised of components which determine how the acquired image data is processed to reconstruct an image; and b) a plurality of servers coupled to the workstation and being operable to receive the descriptions downloaded from the workstation, each server being operable in response to downloaded descriptions to perform functions during the scan.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
116 words
A medical imaging system, the combination comprising: a) a workstation programmed in a hardware independent programming language to provide: i) an operator interface for receiving input information which prescribes a scan to be performed; ii) an image acquisition description comprised of components which determine how the imaging system is to operate during the scan to acquire image data; and iii) a data processing description comprised of components which determine how the acquired image data is processed to reconstruct an image; and b) a plurality of servers coupled to the workstation and being operable to receive the descriptions downloaded from the workstation, each server being operable in response to downloaded descriptions to perform functions during the scan.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
21 words
The medical imaging system as recited in claim 1 in which the hardware independent programming language is an object oriented language.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
18 words
The medical imaging system as recited in claim 1 in which the hardware independent programming language is Java™.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
21 words
The medical imaging system as recited in claim 2 in which components of the descriptions are downloaded as streams of objects.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
52 words
The medical imaging system as recited in claim 1 in which the work station is further programmed to provide: a plurality of agents, each agent corresponding to one of the plurality of servers and each agent including components selected from a description; and means for downloading each agent to its corresponding server.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
31 words
The medical imaging system as recited in claim 5 in which the means for downloading each agent includes a serialization mechanism at the workstation and a deserialization mechanism at each server.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
31 words
The medical imaging system as recited in claim 1 in which the workstation resides on one programmable machine and at least one of the servers resides on a second programmable machine.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
127 words
A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system which comprises: a) a workstation programmed to provide: i) an operator interface for receiving input information which prescribes a scan to be performed; ii) a pulse description comprised of components which determine the pulses produced during the scan; iii) a sequence description comprised of components which determine the pulse sequence used during the scan to acquire NMR signals; iv) a data process description comprised of components which determine how the acquired NMR signals are processed into a clinically useful form; and b) a plurality of servers coupled to the workstation and being operable to receive the descriptions downloaded from the workstation, each server being operable in response to downloaded descriptions to operate elements of the MRI system to perform the scan.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
127 words
A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system which comprises: a) a workstation programmed to provide: i) an operator interface for receiving input information which prescribes a scan to be performed; ii) a pulse description comprised of components which determine the pulses produced during the scan; iii) a sequence description comprised of components which determine the pulse sequence used during the scan to acquire NMR signals; iv) a data process description comprised of components which determine how the acquired NMR signals are processed into a clinically useful form; and b) a plurality of servers coupled to the workstation and being operable to receive the descriptions downloaded from the workstation, each server being operable in response to downloaded descriptions to operate elements of the MRI system to perform the scan.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
26 words
The MRI system as recited in claim 8 in which one of the servers controls a gradient system and an RF system on the MRI system.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
25 words
The MRI system as recited in claim 9 in which another one of the servers reconstructs images from NMR signals produced by the RF system.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
39 words
The MRI system as recited in claim 10 in which the workstation resides on one programmable machine, the one server resides on a second programmable machine, and the other one of the servers resides on a third programmable machine.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
41 words
The MRI system as recited in claim 8 in which the workstation further includes: v) an acquisition description comprised of components which direct the acquisition of NMR signals and the production of information therefrom that is used to control the scan.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
46 words
The MRI system as recited in claim 12 in which the workstation further includes: iv) a data store description comprised of components which direct the merger of images produced under the direction of the data process description with information pertaining to the subject of the image.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
43 words
The MRI system as recited in claim 13 in which there is a corresponding server for each description and in which components in each of the descriptions is downloaded to its corresponding server to enable the MRI system to perform the prescribed scan.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
55 words
The MRI system as recited in claim 14 in which the workstation is further programmed to provide: a plurality of agents, each agent corresponding to one of the plurality of servers and each agent including components selected from a description; and means for downloading each agent to its corresponding server prior to performing the scan.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
30 words
The MRI system as recited in claim 15 in which the means for downloading each agent includes a serialization mechanism at the workstation and a deserialization mechanism at each server.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
23 words
The MRI system as recited in claim 16 in which the programs employed by the workstation are written in a machine independent language.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
23 words
The MRI system as recited in claim 17 which the workstation includes a Java™ virtual machine and the programs are written in Java™.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
50 words
The MRI system as recited in claim 8 in which the workstation is further programmed to provide: a plurality of agents, each agent corresponding to one of the plurality of servers and each agent including components selected from a description; and means for downloading each agent to its corresponding server.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
30 words
The MRI system as recited in claim 19 in which the means for downloading each agent includes a serialization mechanism at the workstation and a deserialization mechanism at each server.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2005-02-18 | 2005-08-20 | 2006-02-19 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2009-02-18 | 2009-08-20 | 2010-02-19 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2013-02-18 | 2013-08-20 | 2014-02-19 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |