ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 28 -- United States Patent no. 12,449,346, issued on Oct. 21, was assigned to OceanSpace LLC (St. Petersburg, Fla.).

"System and method for imaging and classifying small aquatic organisms" was invented by Milton Dean (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.), Eric Steimle (St Petersburg, Fla.) and William Arnold (St Petersburg, Fla.).

According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "Improved methods and systems for image acquisition of small aquatic organisms at high resolution are disclosed. The methods and systems disclosed herein provide taxonomical classification of the small aquatic organisms through captured images. They also provide a platform that allows easy extension and/or adaptation and/or cus...