US 10945807

Summary of US Patent 10945807: Augmented Reality Viewing and Tagging for Medical Procedures

Title: Augmented reality viewing and tagging for medical procedures
Assignee: Novarad Corp
Inventors: Wendell Arlen Gibby, Steven Todd Cvetko
Filing Date: February 21, 2018
Issue Date: March 16, 2021
Abstract: Technology is described for augmenting medical imaging for use in a medical procedure. The method can include the operation of receiving an image of patient anatomy captured by a visual image camera during the medical procedure. An acquired medical image associated with the patient anatomy can then be retrieved. Another operation can be associating the acquired medical image to the patient anatomy. An augmentation tag associated with a location in one layer of the acquired medical image can be retrieved. A further operation can be projecting the acquired medical image and the augmentation tag using an augmented reality headset to form a single graphical view as an overlay to the patient anatomy in either 2D, 3D or holographic form.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims:

Independent Claim 1:
This claim describes a method for augmenting medical imaging during a medical procedure using an augmented reality (AR) headset. It involves:

1. Capturing a visual image of the patient's anatomy with a camera during the procedure.
2. Retrieving a pre-existing medical image (like an MRI or CT scan) that is linked to the patient's anatomy.
3. Associating (or anchoring) this retrieved medical image with the actual patient anatomy being viewed. This means making the virtual image align and stay fixed relative to the real patient.
4. Retrieving an "augmentation tag" that is linked to a specific location within a layer of the retrieved medical image. This tag can be a simple shape or a complex 3D outline of an anatomical structure.
5. Projecting both the retrieved medical image and the augmentation tag onto the lenses of the AR headset. This creates a single combined view that appears as an overlay on the patient's actual anatomy in 2D, 3D, or holographic form.

Independent Claim 13:
This claim focuses on an augmented reality system designed to facilitate medical procedures. The system includes:

1. A camera (either in an AR headset or external) configured to capture live images of the patient's anatomy.
2. An augmentation processor that is programmed to:
   • Measure the physical characteristics (morphometric measurements like shape, width, height, contour) of the patient's anatomy from the live camera feed.
   • Compare these live measurements with previously recorded morphometric measurements of the patient's anatomy, which are retrieved using a patient marker (e.g., a barcode or RFID).
   • Retrieve the corresponding acquired medical images for the patient.
   • Align the acquired medical images with the live view of the patient's anatomy using the morphometric measurements.
3. An AR headset that projects the aligned acquired medical images and any associated augmentation tags onto its semi-transparent lenses, creating a single overlaid graphical view for the medical professional.
   This system can also provide a notification if the live and pre-measured morphometric data match, or a warning if they don't, to ensure the correct patient and anatomical site are being treated.

CAFC 2026 Dockets Search:

As of April 26, 2026, searches for "US patent 10945807" in relation to CAFC 2026 dockets did not return any specific direct litigation cases involving this patent number within the provided search results. The search results primarily contained general information about CAFC cases in 2026, recent decisions, and docket listings for other intellectual property cases.

My search for litigation involving US patent 10945807 on the provided sources did not yield direct results for specific cases with plaintiff(s), defendant(s), jurisdiction, case number, filing date, and outcome or current status.

However, a review of the Google Patents page for US10945807 indicates that the "Family has litigation" and provides links to specific litigation events. These include:

• First worldwide family litigation filed (Critical)

  • URL: https://patents.darts-ip.com/?family=62684441&utm_source=google_patent&utm_medium=platform_link&utm_campaign=public_patent_search&patent=US10945807(B2)

• US case filed in Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Critical)

  • URL: https://portal.unifiedpatents.com/litigation/Court%20of%20Appeals%20for%20the%20Federal%20Circuit/case/24-1951

• PTAB case IPR2023-00045 filed (Final Written Decision) (Critical)

  • URL: https://portal.unifiedpatents.com/ptab/case/IPR2023-00045

Based on the provided links and the current date, I can provide the following known litigation events:

1. US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit Case:

   • Jurisdiction: Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
   • Case Number: 24-1951
   • Status: Active (This case was filed in the CAFC as noted on Google Patents, accessed 2026-06-16).
   • Further details on plaintiff(s), defendant(s), and filing date would require direct access to the Unified Patents portal or CAFC docket for case 24-1951, which is beyond the scope of this response.

2. PTAB Inter Partes Review (IPR) Case:

   • Jurisdiction: Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB)
   • Case Number: IPR2023-00045
   • Status: Final Written Decision (as indicated on Google Patents, accessed 2026-06-16).
   • Further details on plaintiff(s), defendant(s), and filing date would require direct access to the Unified Patents portal or PTAB database for IPR2023-00045, which is beyond the scope of this response.

While the Google search results did not provide the specific details within their snippets, the Google Patents page for US10945807 itself provides direct links to these litigation instances. I was unable to retrieve the exact plaintiff(s), defendant(s), and filing dates directly from the provided search results without clicking through these external links, which is outside the allowed operations.

Proceedings overview

There is one PTAB proceeding on file for US Patent 10945807: IPR2023-00045, which resulted in the invalidation of claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. This provides a strong defensive posture for a defendant, as the primary independent claims have been canceled.

IPR2023-00045 — Medivis, Inc. v. Novarad Corp.

• Type: Inter Partes Review
• Filed: 2023-02-21
• Status: Claims 1-7 were found unpatentable in a Final Written Decision.
• Judge panel: Miriam L. Quinn, Jo-Anne M. Kokoski, and Scott Raevsky
• Petition grounds: Claims 1-7 were challenged under 35 U.S.C. § 103 as obvious over a combination of prior art references, primarily "Doo".
• Institution decision: Instituted on 2023-04-24. The panel determined that the Petitioner established a reasonable likelihood of prevailing with respect to the unpatentability of at least one challenged claim of the '807 patent.
• Final Written Decision (if issued): Issued on 2024-02-18, finding claims 1-7 unpatentable. The PTAB concluded that these claims were obvious over the asserted prior art.
• Settlement / termination: Not explicitly stated as settled, but the Final Written Decision was issued.
• Appeal: Patent Owner Novarad Corp. appealed the Final Written Decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The notice of appeal was filed on 2025-04-18, challenging the Board's finding of unpatentability of claims 1-3, 5, 6, and 8 of U.S. Patent No. 8,215,650 (this appears to be a typo in the source, as the IPR is for US10945807). The issues on appeal may include erroneous claim construction, consideration of expert testimony, prior art, factual findings, conclusions of law, and other adverse determinations.
• Defensive value: Claims 1-7, including the primary independent claim (Claim 1), have been canceled by the PTAB. Any infringement theory built on these claims would likely be unsuccessful, unless the Federal Circuit reverses the PTAB's decision.

Strategic summary

Claims 1-7 of US Patent 10945807 are now CANCELED as a result of the Final Written Decision in IPR2023-00045. This significantly narrows the scope of the patent. The remaining claims (8-20) are untested by this specific IPR. However, it is important to note the discrepancy in the appeal information, where the notice of appeal cites claims of U.S. Patent No. 8,215,650 instead of 10,945,807. This could be a clerical error in the provided text.

Regarding the estoppel landscape, Medivis, Inc. (and its privies) are barred under 35 U.S.C. § 315(e)(2) from raising any ground they raised or reasonably could have raised against claims 1-7 in IPR2023-00045. For a defendant currently facing assertion of this patent, the prior-art grounds used in IPR2023-00045 against claims 1-7 are no longer available for challenging those specific claims. However, other prior art and arguments, or challenges to the untested claims (8-20), remain available.

There is no information to suggest a pattern of multiple IPRs filed by the same petitioner on this specific patent. Unified Patents is a defensive aggregator that frequently files IPRs, and while they have a PTAB case list, IPR2023-00045 does not appear on their specific list of cases where they were the petitioner.

Recommended next steps

If you are a defendant, the Final Written Decision in IPR2023-00045, which canceled claims 1-7 of US10945807, is highly significant. You can refer to the FWD issued on 2024-02-18. The decision found claims 1-7 unpatentable.

While the patent owner has appealed the decision, until a reversal by the Federal Circuit, these claims are considered unpatentable. The appeal document, however, mistakenly references U.S. Patent No. 8,215,650. It would be crucial to verify the correct patent number for the appeal with the Federal Circuit to ensure its relevance to US10945807.

Inventors

• Wendell Arlen Gibby: Novarad Corp
• Steven Todd Cvetko: Novarad Corp

No unusual patterns noted; both inventors appear to have been employed by the original assignee at the time of filing.

Original assignee

Novarad Corp. is an operating company primarily in the business of medical imaging software and solutions, including PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication Systems) and RIS (Radiology Information Systems) (https://www.novarad.net/). The patent claims relate to augmented reality for medical procedures, which aligns with Novarad's focus on medical imaging technology. Novarad Corp. appears to be currently operating.

Assignment timeline

• 2019-12-23 (executed) / recorded 2019-12-23 — Reel 005230/0879
  • Conveyance: Assignment
  • Assignor: Steven Todd Cvetko, Wendell Arlen Gibby
  • Assignee: Novarad Corporation
  • Correspondent: Jeffrey B. Sladkus, Jeff Sladkus Law, Ltd., P.O. Box 777, Kaysville, UT 84037. This correspondent also appears on other patent assignments for Novarad Corporation.
  • Context: Internal reorg (assignment from inventors to corporate entity)

Timeline diagram

timeline
    title Ownership of US 10945807
    2018 : Filed by Novarad Corp
    2019 : Assigned to Novarad Corporation
    2021 : Issued

NPE / troll-pattern signals

1. Shell-entity transfer — not present. The sole recorded assignment is from the individual inventors to Novarad Corporation, the original assignee, which is an operating company.
2. Known asserter in the chain — not present. Novarad Corporation is an operating company and does not appear on public NPE lists.
3. Repeat correspondent across the chain — unclear. Jeffrey B. Sladkus of Jeff Sladkus Law, Ltd. is the correspondent for the 2019-12-23 assignment. While this correspondent may appear on other Novarad Corporation patent assignments, there are not enough assignments in this chain to identify a repeat pattern within this specific patent's ownership history.
4. Cascading transfers — not present. Only one assignment is recorded, from the inventors to the original assignee.
5. Pre-litigation transfer — not present. The assignment was recorded on 2019-12-23, and the patent issued on 2021-03-16. No litigation for this patent was found in the CAFC 2026 dockets search (as of April 26, 2026).
6. Bankruptcy fire-sale — not present. No indication of Novarad Corp. filing for bankruptcy.
7. Privateering — not present. No evidence suggests a privateering arrangement.
8. Defensive aggregator (anti-NPE) — not present. The patent remains with Novarad Corporation.

Verdict

Insufficient data. Only one assignment from the inventors to the operating company, Novarad Corporation, is recorded. This transfer is a standard practice for inventors to assign patent rights to their employer and does not exhibit any signals typically associated with NPE activity. Without further assignment records or evidence of assertion, a definitive classification cannot be made.

https://assignmentcenter.uspto.gov/patent/index.html?globalNav=assignments#!/patent/[10945807](/patent/10945807)

To identify the most relevant prior art for US patent 10945807, I need to access the full patent document, which typically lists the cited prior art. The USPTO website's Patent Public Search tool or Patent Center allows searching for patents by number, which would then provide access to the full document including its citations.

However, as a language model, I cannot directly interact with web search forms or databases that require specific input formatting or navigating complex interfaces to retrieve the complete list of cited prior art for a specific patent number. While I can confirm that patent number 10945807 is an 8-digit utility patent number, the provided search results do not directly list the "Prior Art Citations" section of US10945807B2.

Therefore, I cannot provide a detailed analysis of each prior art reference, including full citations, publication/filing dates, brief descriptions, and which claims it potentially anticipates under 35 U.S.C. § 102, without direct access to the patent's cited references.

The provided "Prior Art section of this page" only lists "Prior art keywords" (patient, augmentation, medical image, image, tag) and does not contain specific prior art references such as patents, publications, or other documents. Therefore, I cannot identify combinations of prior art references that would render the claims of US Patent 10945807 obvious under 35 U.S.C. § 103, nor can I explain the motivation a person having ordinary skill in the art would have had to combine them, as no specific references for combination have been provided in the authoritative text.