Issuance of U.S. Patent Number 9,474,440 to EndoChoice, Inc.

/in /by

On October 25, 2016 , the USPTO issued U.S. Patent Number 9,474,440 to EndoChoice, Inc., which was successfully prosecuted by Novel IP.

The ‘440 patent  is directed towards  an endoscope having a tip section equipped with multiple viewing elements. Each of the viewing elements’ field of view is illuminated by a discrete illuminator, such as a LED, being operated in a flash mode. The flash mode of operation of the LEDs enable doctors to obtain a position of the endoscope tip within a patient’s body from outside by viewing the light emitted by the LEDs. Since the light is emitted for short pre-defined periods of time, the heat generated by the LEDs during their periods of operation is within a safe threshold value, and does not cause any burn injury inside the patient’s body.

Independent Claim 1 describes “A system for managing heat generated in a tip of an endo scope, comprising: a controller external to the endoscope, wherein said controller comprises a memory for storing programmatic functions and a processor for executing said programmatic functions; an input device in data communication with said controller, wherein said input device is adapted to receive data indicative of a programmatic function and wherein said input device is configured to communicate said data indicative of a programmatic function to the controller; and a plurality of discrete illuminators positioned within said tip and in electrical communication with said controller, wherein each of said plurality of discrete illuminators emits an amount of visible light and wherein said controller executes a programmatic function based upon said data indicative of a programmatic function that causes at least one of said plurality of discrete illuminators to operate in a first mode and a second mode, wherein, in said first mode, the at least one of said plurality of discrete illuminators emits said visible light at a baseline illumination level that is greater than zero and wherein, in said second mode, the at least one of said plurality of discrete illuminators emits said visible light at a first illumination level that is greater than the baseline illumination level for a first period of time and at a second illumination level that is greater than zero but less than the baseline illumination level for a second period of time.”

Issuance of U.S. Patent Number 9,468,859 to Trina Barkouras.

/in /by

On October 18, 2016 , the USPTO issued U.S. Patent Number 9,468,859 to Trina Barkouras, which was successfully prosecuted by Novel IP.

The ‘859 patent  is directed towards  an apparatus and kit for creating prints on a surface is provided. The kit includes at least one stamp and a material for depositing the stamp on a surface. The stamp has one or more pieces of sponge adhered to a front surface of a rigid backing material, the pieces of sponge forming a shape desired for printing. A back surface of the backing material has a handle for holding the stamp. The material is a powder that may be partially water-soluble, forming a paint-like mixture or that may form a suspension when mixed. Prints are made by dipping the front surface of the backing material in the paint-like mixture causing the one or more pieces of sponge to absorb the paint-like mixture and pressing the sponge pieces against the surface.

Independent Claim 1 describes “A kit for creating a colored shape on a surface comprising: at least one stamping device comprising a rigid carrier having a front surface and a back surface and an absorbent material adhered to the front surface, the absorbent material being shaped into a predefined form and being adhered such that it extends outward from the front surface; a handle configured to be affixed to said back surface by a user, wherein said handle: has at least one contact portion, said at least one contact portion having a planar surface comprising adhesive; has a pair of grasping portions; and is adapted to be configurable between a first configuration and a second configuration, wherein, when in said first configuration, said handle is designed to lay flat and, when in said second configuration, said contact portions are adhered, via said planar surface comprising adhesive, to said back surface of said rigid carrier and said grasping portions are configured to be handled by said user; a solid, granular material; and, a tray having a top periphery and a base defining a recessed area.”

Issuance of U.S. Patent Number 9,465,135 to RAPISCAN SYSTEMS, INC.

/in /by

On October 11, 2016, the USPTO issued U.S. Patent Number 9,465,135 to RAPISCAN SYSTEMS, INC., which was successfully prosecuted by Novel IP.

The ‘135 patent  is directed towards  a scanning system for scanning an object in a scanning zone. The scanning system includes both a radiation source arranged to irradiate the object with radiation having a peak energy of at least 900 keV and a scatter detector arranged to detect radiation scattered from the object wherein the radiation source is arranged to irradiate the object over a plurality of regions to be scanned within a single irradiation event. The scatter detector includes a plurality of detection elements, each detection element being arranged to detect scattered radiation from a predefined part of the scanning zone and a signal processor arranged to calculate scatter intensity across the plurality of detector elements.

Independent Claim 1 describes “A scanning method for scanning an object in a scanning zone, the method comprising: irradiating the object with an X-ray radiation source having a peak energy of at least 900 keV, wherein the object is irradiated over a plurality of regions to be scanned within a single irradiation event; detecting X-ray radiation scattered from the object wherein said scattered X-ray radiation is detected from a predefined part of the scanning zone via a detector having a plurality of detector elements and wherein each detector element comprises a first photodetector, a second photodetector, and scintillator material positioned therebetween; determining a point of interaction between photons of said X-ray radiation and said plurality of detector elements by obtaining a first output from the first photodetector and a second output from the second photodetector, and determining a ratio of said first and second outputs; determining a pattern of detector exposures, wherein said pattern of detector exposures is created using a mask to create exposure patterns across multiple detection elements, said mask restricting scattered X-ray radiation that is not from a corresponding part of the scanning zone from reaching its corresponding detector region; and analyzing the pattern of detector exposures to allocate each exposure pattern with a particular radiation source position.”