32685results about "Acoustic wave reradiation" patented technology

The invention is a medical device comprising an insertion shaft having an articulation section located near its distal end. The medical device comprises one or more alignment systems to assist in bringing two portions of the insertion shaft that are located on opposite sides of the articulation section into alignment. The alignment systems are selected from the following: a) a mechanical system comprising one or more alignment pins or screws and two or more locking screws located in one of the portions and a corresponding number of funnels and receptacles into which the alignment pins and the locking screws can be inserted or advanced respectively located in the other of the portions; b) an ultrasound system comprising an ultrasound reflecting mirror having one or more steps located on one of the portions and a ultrasound transmitter / receiver located on the other of the portions; and c) an optical system comprising one or more light sources that emit light from one of the portions and an image sensor located on the other of the portions.

A system and method for remote asset management is described which can provide the basis for a diverse product group including an improved remote location monitoring system, a means for communicating with and for monitoring the status and or location of a plurality of diverse assets, as well as the means for communicating with said assets for the purpose of modifying the operational status of one or more of said assets according to one or more stored data parameters such as location, use, battery power, and such like. The remote asset management system comprises a wireless module, which is associated with at least one of the plurality of asset and which is interfaced with the operating system of said assert and or with an electromechanical control means, which may control one or more features of the operation of said assets. A supporting network-based, or internet-based service platform, controls and manages the status of each of the plurality of assets, either automatically, or in response to received messages from fixed or wireless communication devices, and which is capable of selectively communicating data to said assets for changing the operational status of said assets according to pre-programmed conditions.

A method and apparatus for determining the position and orientation of a remote object relative to a reference coordinate frame includes a plurality of field-generating elements for generating electromagnetic fields, a drive for applying, to the generating elements, signals that generate a plurality of electromagnetic fields that are distinguishable from one another, a remote sensor having one or more field-sensing elements for sensing the fields generated and a processor for processing the outputs of the sensing element(s) into remote object position and orientation relative to the generating element reference coordinate frame. The position and orientation solution is based on the exact formulation of the magnetic field coupling as opposed to approximations used elsewhere. The system can be used for locating the end of a catheter or endoscope, digitizing objects for computer databases, virtual reality and motion tracking. The methods presented here can also be applied to other magnetic tracking technologies as a final "polishing" stage to improve the accuracy of their P&O solution.

A method of managing a fluid or gas reservoir is disclosed which assimilates diverse data having different acquisition time scales and spatial scales of coverage for iteratively producing a reservoir development plan that is used for optimizing an overall performance of a reservoir. The method includes: (a) generating an initial reservoir characterization, (b) from the initial reservoir characterization, generating an initial reservoir development plan, (c) when the reservoir development plan is generated, incrementally advancing and generating a capital spending program, (d) when the capital spending program is generated, monitoring a performance of the reservoir by acquiring high rate monitor data from a first set of data measurements taken in the reservoir and using the high rate monitor data to perform well-regional and field-reservoir evaluations, (e) further monitoring the performance of the reservoir by acquiring low rate monitor data from a second set of data measurements taken in the reservoir, (f) assimilating together the high rate monitor data and the low rate monitor data, (g) from the high rate monitor data and the low rate monitor data, determining when it is necessary to update the initial reservoir development plan to produce a newly updated reservoir development plan, (h) when necessary, updating the initial reservoir development plan to produce the newly updated reservoir development plan, and (i) when the newly updated reservoir development plan is produced, repeating steps (c) through (h). A detailed disclosure is provided herein relating to the step (a) for generating the initial reservoir characterization and the step (b) for generating the initial reservoir development plan.

A Flogrid Simulation Gridding Program includes a Flogrid structured gridder. The structured gridder includes a structured areal gridder and a block gridder. The structured areal gridder will build an areal grid on an uppermost horizon of an earth formation by performing the following steps: (1) building a boundary enclosing one or more fault intersection lines on the horizon, and building a triangulation that absorbs the boundary and the faults; (2) building a vector field on the triangulation; (3) building a web of control lines and additional lines inside the boundary which have a direction that corresponds to the direction of the vector field on the triangulation, thereby producing an areal grid; and (4) post-processing the areal grid so that the control lines and additional lines are equi-spaced or smoothly distributed. The block gridder of the structured gridder will drop coordinate lines down from the nodes of the areal grid to complete the construction of a three dimensional structured grid. A reservoir simulator will receive the structured grid and generate a set of simulation results which are displayed on a 3D Viewer for observation by a workstation operator.

<heading lvl="0">Abstract of Disclosure< / heading> A system and method for accurately locating and tracking the position of a target, such as a tumor or the like, within a body. In one embodiment, the system is a target locating and monitoring system usable with a radiation delivery source that delivers selected doses of radiation to a target in a body. The system includes one or more excitable markers positionable in or near the target, an external excitation source that remotely excites the markers to produce an identifiable signal, and a plurality of sensors spaced apart in a known geometry relative to each other. A computer is coupled to the sensors and configured to use the marker measurements to identify a target isocenter within the target. The computer compares the position of the target isocenter with the location of the machine isocenter. The computer also controls movement of the patient and a patient support device so the target isocenter is co-incident with the machine isocenter before and during radiation therapy.

Method for obtaining information about objects in an environment around a vehicle in which infrared light is emitted into a portion of the environment and received and the distance between the vehicle and objects from which the infrared light is reflected is measured. An identification of each object from which light is reflected is determined and a three-dimensional representation of the portion of the environment is created based on the measured distance and the determined identification of the object. Icons representative of the objects and their position relative to the vehicle are displayed on a display visible to the driver based on the three-dimensional representation. Additionally or alternatively to the display of icons, a vehicular system can be controlled or adjusted based on the relative position and optionally velocity of the vehicle and objects in the environment around the vehicle to avoid collisions.

A frequency modulation type wireless power supply and charger system includes a power supply base unit consisting of a first microprocessor, a power circuit, a power switch driver circuit, a first resonant circuit, a first coil, a detection module and a power input interface, and a wireless power supply and charge receiver unit consisting of a secondary coil, a second resonant circuit, a rectifier filter circuit, a detection and protection module, a second microprocessor, a temperature sensor, a charging module and a power output interface and adapted for receiving electrical power from the power supply base unit wirelessly for charging an external electronic device. The detection and protection module of the wireless power supply and charge receiver unit detects the supply of the electrical power, and the second microprocessor sends a feedback signal to the power supply base unit through the signal generator circuit and the second resonant circuit subject to the detection of the detection and protection module for enabling the power supply base unit to control the power switch driver circuit to regulate its output power automatically, thereby minimizing power transmission loss and the load of the internal components of the wireless power supply and charge receiver unit.

A diagnostic device for use in a industrial process includes monitoring electronics or diagnostic circuitry configured to diagnose or identify a condition or other occurrence in the industrial process. The system can be implemented in a process device such as a flowmeter, and in one example an acoustic flowmeter. A transducer can also be used and a frequency response, such as resonant frequency, can be observed.

Arrangement and method for obtaining information about a vehicle occupant in a compartment of the vehicle in which a light source is mounted in the vehicle, structured light is projected into an area of interest in the compartment, rays of light forming the structured light originating from the light source, reflected light is detected at an image sensor at a position different than the position from which the structured light is projected, and the reflected light is analyzed relative to the projected structured light to obtain information about the area of interest. The structured light is designed to appear as if it comes from a source of light (virtual or actual) which is at a position different than the position of the image sensor.

A method of managing a fluid or gas reservoir is disclosed which assimilates diverse data having different acquisition time scales and spatial scales of coverage for iteratively producing a reservoir development plan that is used for optimizing an overall performance of a reservoir. The method includes: (a) generating an initial reservoir characterization, (b) from the initial reservoir characterization, generating an initial reservoir development plan, (c) when the reservoir development plan is generated, incrementally advancing and generating a capital spending program, (d) when the capital spending program is generated, monitoring a performance of the reservoir by acquiring high rate monitor data from a first set of data measurements taken in the reservoir and using the high rate monitor data to perform well-regional and field-reservoir evaluations, (e) further monitoring the performance of the reservoir by acquiring low rate monitor data from a second set of data measurements taken in the reservoir, (f) assimilating together the high rate monitor data and the low rate monitor data, (g) from the high rate monitor data and the low rate monitor data, determining when it is necessary to update the initial reservoir development plan to produce a newly updated reservoir development plan, (h) when necessary, updating the initial reservoir development plan to produce the newly updated reservoir development plan, and (i) when the newly updated reservoir development plan is produced, repeating steps (c) through (h). A detailed disclosure is provided herein relating to the step (a) for generating the initial reservoir characterization and the step (b) for generating the initial reservoir development plan.

The present invention provides a measurement-while-drilling (MWD) system having a downhole computer and multiple downhole sensors. Relatively large amounts of basic or "raw" data are measured by downhole sensors, and these data are processed within a downhole computer to be reduced to parameters of interest, which may be utilized to control the drilling operation by downhole devices, stored downhole, telemetered to the surface, or both. The measurements may be correlated downhole with stored reference data thereby providing additional information pertaining to the drilling operation. Downhole depth correlation between downhole measured parameters may be made by utilizing surface determined or downhole determined borehole depth.

The present invention relates to compounds of Formula I, II or Ill, or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, ester, or prodrug, thereof: wherein W is a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic ring system. The compounds inhibit serine protease activity, particularly the activity of hepatitis c virus (HCV) NS3-NS4A protease. Consequently, the compounds of the present invention interfere with the life cycle of the hepatitis c virus and are also useful as antiviral agents. The present invention further relates to pharmaceutical compositions comprising the aforementioned compounds for administration to a subject suffering from HCV infection. The invention also relates to methods of treating an HCV infection in a subject by administering a pharmaceutical composition comprising the compounds of the present invention.

Portable locators are disclosed for finding and mapping buried objects such as utilities. A articulatable antenna node configuration and the use of Doppler radar and GPS navigation are also disclosed.

RF / MRI compatible leads include at least one conductor that turns back on itself at least twice in a lengthwise direction, and can turn back on itself at least twice at multiple locations along its length. The at least one electrical lead can be configured so that the lead heats local tissue less than about 10 degrees Celsius (typically about 5 degrees Celsius or less) or does not heat local tissue when a patient is exposed to target RF frequencies at a peak input SAR of at least about 4 W / kg and / or a whole body average SAR of at least about 2 W / kg. Related devices and methods of fabricating leads are also described.

A Graphical User Interface (GUI) for an ultrasound system. The ultrasound system has operational modes and the GUI has corresponding icons, tabs, and menu items image and information fields. The User Interface (UI) provides several types of graphical elements with intelligent behavior, such as being context sensitive and adaptive, called active objects, for example, tabs, menus, icons, windows of user interaction and data display and an alphanumeric keyboard. In addition the UI may also be voice activated. The UI further provides for a touchscreen for direct selection of displayed active objects. In an embodiment, the UI is for a medical ultrasound handheld imaging instrument. The UI provides a limited set of hard and soft keys with adaptive functionality that can be used with only one hand and potentially with only one thumb.

This invention is directed to a downhole method and apparatus for simultaneously determining the horizontal resistivity, vertical resistivity, and relative dip angle for anisotropic earth formations. The present invention accomplishes this objective by using an antenna configuration in which a transmitter antenna and a receiver antenna are oriented in non-parallel planes such that the vertical resistivity and the relative dip angle are decoupled. Preferably, either the transmitter or the receiver is mounted in a conventional orientation in a first plane that is normal to the tool axis, and the other antenna is mounted in a second plane that is not parallel to the first plane. This invention also relates to a method and apparatus for steering a downhole tool during a drilling operation in order to maintain the borehole within a desired earth formation. The steering capability is enabled by computing the difference or the ratio of the phase-based or amplitude-based responses of the receiver antennas which are mounted in planes that are not parallel to the planes of the transmitter antennas. Although this invention is primarily intended for MWD or LWD applications, this invention is also applicable to wireline and possibly other applications.

In one aspect of the invention, a downhole tool string component comprises a tubular body with at least one end adapted for threaded connection to an adjacent tool string component. The end comprises at least one shoulder adapted to abut an adjacent shoulder of an adjacent end of the adjacent tool string component. An annular magnetic coupler is disposed within an annular recess formed in the at least one shoulder, and the magnetic coupler comprises a coil in electrical communication with an electrical conductor that is in electrical communication with an electronic device secured to the tubular body. The coil comprises a plurality of windings of wire strands that are electrically isolated from one another and which are disposed in an annular trough of magnetic material secured within the annular recess.

A user interface (90) comprises an image area that is divided into a plurality of views for viewing corresponding 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional images of an anatomical region. Tool control panes (95-101) can be simultaneously opened and accessible. The segmentation pane (98) enables automatic segmentation of components of a displayed image within a user-specified intensity range or based on a predetermined intensity

Line locator systems that fuse traditional sensors used in a combined pipe and cable locator (electromagnetic coils, magnetometers, and ground penetrating radar antennas) with low cost inertial sensors (accelerometers, gyroscopes) in a model-based approach are presented. Such systems can utilize inexpensive MEMS sensors for inertial navigation. A pseudo-inertial frame is defined that uses the centerline of the tracked utility, or an aboveground fixed object as the navigational reference. An inertial sensor correction mechanism that limits the tracking errors over time when the model is implemented in state-space form using, for example, the Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) is disclosed.

An interruption-free hand-held positioning method and system, carried by a person, includes an inertial measurement unit, a north finder, a velocity producer, a positioning assistant, a navigation processor, a wireless communication device, and a display device and map database. Output signals of the inertial measurement unit, the velocity producer, the positioning assistant, and the north finder are processed to obtain highly accurate position measurements of the person. The user's position information can be exchanged with other users through the wireless communication device, and the location and surrounding information can be displayed on the display device by accessing a map database with the person position information.

This invention is directed to a downhole method and apparatus for simultaneously determining the horizontal resistivity, vertical resistivity, and relative dip angle for anisotropic earth formations. The present invention accomplishes this objective by using an antenna configuration in which a transmitter antenna and a receiver antenna are oriented in non-parallel planes such that the vertical resistivity and the relative dip angle are decoupled. Preferably, either the transmitter or the receiver is mounted in a conventional orientation in a first plane that is normal to the tool axis, and the other antenna is mounted in a second plane that is not parallel to the first plane. Although this invention is primarily intended for MWD or LWD applications, this invention is also applicable to wireline and possible other applications.

Portable locators are disclosed for finding and mapping buried objects such as utilities. A articulatable antenna node configuration and the use of Doppler radar and GPS navigation are also disclosed.

Interactive geographic information systems (GIS) and techniques are disclosed that provide users with a greater degree of flexibility, utility, and information. A markup language is provided that facilitates communication between servers and clients of the interactive GIS, which enables a number of GIS features, such as network links (time-based and view-dependent dynamic data layers), ground overlays, screen overlays, placemarks, 3D models, and stylized GIS elements, such as geometry, icons, description balloons, polygons, and labels in the viewer by which the user sees the target area. The markup language is used to describe a virtual camera view of a geographic feature. A compressed file format holds multiple files utilized to display a geographic feature in a single file.

A robot obstacle detection system including a robot housing which navigates with respect to a surface and a sensor subsystem aimed at the surface for detecting the surface. The sensor subsystem includes an emitter which emits a signal having a field of emission and a photon detector having a field of view which intersects the field of emission at a region. The subsystem detects the presence of an object proximate the mobile robot and determines a value of a signal corresponding to the object. It compares the value to a predetermined value, moves the mobile robot in response to the comparison, and updates the predetermined value upon the occurrence of an event.

Disclosed are compositions, systems and methods for treating a subject's body, body part, tissue, body fluid cells, pathogens, or other undesirable matter involving the administration of a targeted thermotherapy that comprises a bioprobe (energy susceptive materials that are attached to a target-specific ligand). Such targeted therapy methods can be combined with at least one other therapy technique. Other therapies include hyperthermia, direct antibody therapy, radiation, chemo- or pharmaceutical therapy, photodynamic therapy, surgical or interventional therapy, bone marrow or stem cell transplantation, and medical imaging, such as MRI, PET, SPECT, and bioimpedance. The disclosed therapies may be useful in the treatment of a variety of indications, including but not limited to, cancer of any type, such as bone marrow, lung, vascular, neuro, colon, ovarian, breast and prostate cancer, epitheleoid sarcomas, AIDS, adverse angiogenesis, restenosis, amyloidosis, tuberculosis, cardiovascular plaque, vascular plaque, obesity, malaria, and illnesses due to viruses, such as HIV.

The invention detects the loft time, speed, power and / or drop distance of a vehicle, such as a sporting vehicle, during activities of moving and jumping. A loft sensor detects when the vehicle leaves the ground and when the vehicle returns to the ground. A controller subsystem converts the sensed information to determine a loft time. A display shows the recorded loft time to a user of the system. In addition, a speed sensor can detect the vehicle's speed for selective display to the user. A power sensing section informs the user of expended energy, which can be compared to other users. A drop distance sensing unit informs the user of the peak height of a jump, during an airtime. Gaming on the internet is facilitated to connect worldwide sport enthusiasts.

At least one antenna array including three mutually orthogonal antennas each sharing a common center point senses an electromagnetic signal emitted by a buried object such as a utility line, pipe or sonde. A circuit at least partially mounted in a housing is connected to the array and determines a location of the buried object by measuring signal strength and field angles in three dimensions without having to align the antenna array relative to the buried object while eliminating nulls and false peaks. A graphical user interface (GUI) has user-friendly icons, symbols, menus, numbers and graphical and auditory representation of signal strength. A SEARCH view indicates signal strength by showing a rotating strength indicator, a trace mode MAP view in which line location is shown by a line that moves side-to-side, and a sonde mode MAP view in which sonde location is shown by a moving line, pole and equator.

Devices (i.e., catheters and guidewires) for, and methods of, ultrasonic imaging and ablation. In one embodiment, a device includes: (1) a fiber-optic bundle configured to carry laser light for ultrasonic imaging, each fiber of the fiber-optic bundle having a reflective layer oriented at an acute angle with respect thereto at a distal end thereof, (2) an elongated member associated with the fiber-optic bundle and configured to carry energy for ablation, the energy for ablation projecting past the distal end and (3) a photoacoustic layer associated with the each fiber of the fiber-optic bundle and configured to receive at least some of the laser light for the ultrasonic imaging and generate ultrasonic pressure waves in response thereto.