Acertara Acoustic Laboratories, Longmont, Colo, has announced that two members of its research and development team have been awarded US patent no. 8,896,439 related to the remote maintenance of imaging devices. Acertara describes its patented product as a medical imaging device that uses electromagnetic or acoustic information to generate a patient image that is remotely maintained. A set of operational characteristics for the device is maintained by a maintenance system disposed remotely from the device.

The Acertara team explained in its patent materials that data from sensors disposed locally to the device are received over a network at the maintenance system. A set of parameter measures is derived from the received data and analyzed in comparison with the set of operational characteristics to identify a predicted malfunction of a component of the device. The maintenance system is thus able to initiate a repair of the medical imaging device by generating an alert in response to identification of the predicted malfunction.

“In 2014 we emphatically announced our return to the market with the introduction of our Active-Z probe tester and the awarding of four US patents,” said G. Wayne Moore, president and CEO of Acertara, in a press release issued by the company. “This new patent, coupled with our patents for probe testing, demonstrate both the depth and breadth of our medical imaging engineering expertise. In 2015 we plan to release two new test devices that will enable our customers to keep pace with ever more complex ultrasound technologies. Dating back to our days at Sonora Medical Systems, it has and will continue to be our mission to ensure the safety and efficacy of ultrasound probes and systems while driving costs out of the healthcare system.”

According to the company announcement, the research and development team at Acertara Acoustic Laboratories has been awarded more than 45 United States and International patents ranging from 3D ultrasound products to devices that deliver super-saturated levels of oxygen to myocardial tissue of heart attack patients. 

For more information, visit the Acertara Acoustic Laboratories website.