ALEXANDRIA, Va., Jan. 13 -- United States Patent no. 12,521,084, issued on Jan. 13, was assigned to Konica Minolta Inc. (Tokyo).
"Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus" was invented by Masahiko Kadokura (Ogaki, Japan), Koji Oura (Yokohama, Japan), Kaoru Okada (Hino, Japan) and Takashi Mizuno (Kokubunji, Japan).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus that assists an insertion task of a puncture needle into a subject is provided. The ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus includes: an ultrasonic probe that acquires an ultrasonic image of an inside of the subject by transmitting and receiving ultrasonic waves; first and second optical cameras attached to the ultrasonic probe and capt...