Dear AuntMinnie Member,
Could ultrasound be in for a patent battle over tissue harmonic imaging (THI) technology? THI has become a widely used technique for acquiring better ultrasound images, but a technology investment and patent management firm in Tucson, AZ, says it owns basic patents covering the technology.
Research Corporation Technology (RCT) has already licensed its THI patents to one ultrasound vendor, and is offering nonexclusive licenses to other companies as well. Although the company has not detailed its specific plans for defending its intellectual property in THI, it has defended its patents in other industries by filing litigation against firms as large as computer software giant Microsoft.
We're featuring an article on RCT and its THI patents in our Ultrasound Digital Community this week -- read the story by clicking here.
Also in the spotlight is a recent study by South Korean researchers, who compared sonography to palpation-guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA) for the evaluation of palpable breast lesions. By employing the American College of Radiology's Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) lesion characterization criteria, they found that ultrasound performed just as well as FNA and potentially could be a replacement technique.
Get the details on that article by clicking here, or visit our Ultrasound Digital Community at ultrasound.auntminnie.com.
