1468results about How to "Rule out the possibility" patented technology

An electrosurgical medical device and method for creating thermal welds in engaged tissue. In one embodiment, at least one jaw of the instrument defines a tissue engagement plane that carries a recessed central portion. In another embodiment, the controller coupled to the Rf source is adapted to switch from a power control operational mode to a voltage controlled operational mode at a selected transition impedance level.

An electrosurgical medical device and method for creating thermal welds in engaged tissue. In one embodiment, at least one jaw of the instrument defines a tissue engagement plane carrying a conductive-resistive matrix of a conductively-doped non-conductive elastomer. The engagement surface portions thus can be described as a positive temperature coefficient material that has a unique selected decreased electrical conductance at each selected increased temperature thereof over a targeted treatment range. The conductive-resistive matrix can be engineered to bracket a targeted thermal treatment range, for example about 60° C. to 80° C., at which tissue welding can be accomplished. In one mode of operation, the engagement plane will automatically modulate and spatially localize ohmic heating within the engaged tissue from Rf energy application—across micron-scale portions of the engagement surface.

Endoscopic steering apparatus is provided, including an endoscope (80) having distal (82) and proximal (98) ends thereof. In a preferred embodiment, at least one proximal cylinder (92) is disposed in a vicinity of the proximal end of the endoscope, and at least one proximal piston (94) is slidably coupled to the at least one proximal cylinder. This piston is typically manually driven. A first distal cylinder (88) is disposed at the distal end of the endoscope, and a first distal piston (90) is slidably coupled to the first distal cylinder. A second distal cylinder (88) is disposed at the distal end of the endoscope, and a second distal piston (90) is slidably coupled to the second distal cylinder. A first tube (86) is coupled to the first distal cylinder and to the at least one proximal cylinder, and a second tube (86) is coupled to the second distal cylinder and to the at least one proximal cylinder. A linkage (96) is disposed at the distal end of the endoscope and coupled to the first distal piston and to the second distal piston, such that displacement of at least one of the distal pistons causes displacement of the linkage and steering of the distal end of the endoscope.

Methods for delivery and deploying a stent formed of a shape memory alloy to a desired position in a tubular area of the body, and / or for repositioning and / or retrieving a stent formed of a two-way shape memory alloy. An arrangement is provided by which the temperature of the stent is locally adjusted during delivery, repositioning and / or retrieval in a safe and controlled manner by engagement with an expandable and collapsible thermal transfer member situated on a catheter assembly.

Methods and apparatus for electrosurgically treating human skin. The skin may be treated by applying thermal energy to the dermis to shrink the skin following liposuction, or to induce collagen deposition at the site of a wrinkle for wrinkle reduction or removal. In another embodiment, a method involves electrosurgically removing or modifying tissue in the head or neck to provide a face-lift or a neck-lift. In one embodiment, the working end of an electrosurgical instrument is positioned in at least close proximity to the dermis by approaching the dermis from the underside (reverse side) of the skin.

Disclosed is a charging apparatus for charging a secondary battery incorporated in a portable electronic device. The charging apparatus includes a contactless IC card reader configured to supply operating power to a contactless IC card unit incorporated in the portable electronic device and have an authentication function of authenticating that an object to be authenticated is a correct one, a charging circuit configured to perform contactless charging of the secondary battery, and a control unit configured to activate the charging circuit if an authentication result is OK after the contactless IC card reader authenticates an object to be authenticated when the object to be authenticated is placed.

Several methods and apparatus are available for treating patients that suffer from both gastro-esophageal reflux disorder and hiatal hernias. In order to treat these patients, an endoscopic probe may be used to push the herniated stomach below the diaphragm. In some embodiments, a two-part stent comprising a funnel stent and a reverse stent may be deployed to prevent a future re-herniation of the stomach and to reduce the annulus of the lower esophageal sphincter. In some embodiments, a reverse stent with perforating barbs may be deployed, in which the barbs penetrate the esophageal wall and attach to the diaphragm. In some embodiments, the crus muscles may be sutured together to reduce the hiatus size and a reverse stent may be deployed to reduce the annulus of the lower esophageal sphincter.

A wireless control device includes a small, lightweight housing worn by an operator, for example on the operator's wrist, and a controlled device, for example a personal computer. Several optical emitters, preferably light emitting diodes operating in the infrared range, and several optical detectors are provided on the housing. At least one x-axis emitter-detector pair operates to detect an x-direction of a pointing motion or gesture, and at least one y-axis emitter-detector pair operates to detect a y-direction of a pointing motion or gesture. This motion can then be used to cause a response in the controlled device. For example, angles of the operator's hand at the wrist can be interpreted to induce motion of a cursor on a computer display. The device may also include a motion sensor, an environmental condition sensor, or a voice recognition sensor, and can also be adapted for gesture recognition and image scanning applications.

An apparatus for analyzing a sample of biologic fluid quiescently residing within a chamber is provided. The apparatus includes a light source, a positioner, a mechanism for determining the volume of a sample field, and an image dissector. The light source is operable to illuminate a sample field of known, or ascertainable, area. The positioner is operable to selectively change the position of one of the chamber or the light source relative to the other, thereby permitting selective illumination of all regions of the sample. The mechanism for determining the volume of a sample field can determine the volume of a sample field illuminated by the light source. The image dissector is operable to convert an image of light passing through or emanating from the sample field into an electronic data format.

A wavelength selective reflection display (10) comprises a wavelength selective reflection medium (20) and a backing member (30) having a first, non-reflective optical state, and a second, reflective optical state. Both the wavelength selective reflection medium (20) and the backing member (30) are divided into pixels (40, 50, 60), and the backing member (30) is switchable between its first and second optical states on a pixel-by-pixel basis. The pixels of the backing member (30) are substantially aligned with those of the wavelength selective reflection medium (20).

A spinal implant apparatus that is an expandable spacer including features to minimize or eliminate spacer cant or offset during and after completing the expansion process. The spacer includes a top component, a base component in engagement with the top component, and an expansion mechanism arranged to change the top component's position with respect to the base component. The mechanism for causing expansion may be a screw, a cam, a wedge or other form of distracting device. In one embodiment, the expandable spacer includes a base component with a set of towers and a top component with a set of corresponding silos, where the towers and silos are configured to minimize or eliminate tilt of the top component as it extends upwardly from the base component. In another embodiment, the spacer may include a stepped arrangement around the perimeter of the top component and the base component for engagement during height expansion with minimal canting or slippage. In another embodiment, the spacer may include texturing modification at the opposite ends of the longitudinal axis of the spacer to prevent tilting, slipping, or canting. Additionally, a portion of one or more exterior surfaces of the spacer may be textured, sawtoothed, dovetailed or the like to increase frictional intervertebral contact. The spacer may contain one or more passageways of selectable shape / dimension for bone growth through the spacer.

The present invention relates to a system and methods by which the risk associated with a new opportunity or new or ongoing relationship may be assessed. An example of such new opportunity or new relationship for which the present invention may be used to assess the risk is that concerning a potential new customer of a financial institution. The risk assessment of the present invention may be used to assess whether a new customer should be taken on as a customer and, if so, to what extent should the possible full range of account benefits be provided to the new customer. Other applications include assessing risk regarding a candidate for employment, assessing casualty loss and / or repayment risk in the insurance industry, and assessing risk in a landlord tenant relationship to determine whether or not to rent to the prospective tenant and if so, the amount of the security deposit.

A needleless connector for medical use, adapted to facilitate the flow of fluid therethrough, includes a housing having an inlet port and an outlet port. The connector also includes a flex-tube assembly defining a fluid path between the inlet port and the outlet port. The flex-tube assembly is movable between uncompressed and compressed states. The flex-tube assembly has a first internal volume when in the uncompressed state and a second internal volume, greater than or substantially equal to the first internal volume, when in the compressed state.

A system, method, and program for managing applications on remote communication devices, such as cellular telephones, on a wireless communications network. A server on the wireless network stores application threshold event data and manages communication device resident applications through device interaction, such as limiting access to server-side applications, updating the application, or recording the occurrence of the threshold event for other application uses.

A collaborative communication system is disclosed. The collaborative communication system integrates a number of electronic. communication tools to meet the collaborative communication needs for an enterprise, family members or friends. All communications are within the system. According to one aspect of the collaborative communication system, registered users in the system are provided public, group and private arenas or domains. Depending on the privacy, communications with others may be conducted in any one of these domains. According to another aspect of the collaborative communication system, communications with others can be conducted through electronic internal mail (herein “i-mail”), instant messaging and file sharing. In particular, the i-mail operates on identifiers pertaining to registered users, thus eliminating the possibility of the registered users receiving unwanted email from other users outside the system.

A protective sports helmet that is molded from a shock absorbing foam. The helmet is preferably an single, homogenous piece of injection molded foam. An insert plate can be positioned near the user's forehead at the top and forward portion of the helmet. The purpose of the insert plate is to simulate the hardness of the user's head for heading a ball. The helmet can head the ball without the injury to the head and the brain as potentially encountered without protection. The soft-shell also minimizes injuries on other parts of the body that are struck by the helmet. The helmet can be utilized for football and other contact sports. Additional external components such as metal or plastic inserts can be inset molded into the foam. The purpose of these inserts is to improve stability and allow for attachment of face guards and chin straps.

A method for forming a self-aligned contact on a semiconductor substrate provided with a plurality of field-effect transistors. The method comprises the steps of forming a first insulating layer comprising a nitride along a profile of a gate structure and a junction region, forming a temporary layer comprising a doped oxide on the first insulating layer, removing a portion of the temporary layer by performing a selective etch of the oxide with a mask while leaving a plug portion of the temporary layer over the junction region, forming a second insulating layer comprising an undoped oxide in a region where the portion of the temporary layer is removed, removing the plug portion by performing a selective etch of the undoped oxide to form a contact hole, removing a portion of the first insulating layer at a bottom of the contact hole, and forming a conductive contact in the contact hole.

Nano-wires, preferably of less than 20 nm diameter, can be formed with minimized risk of narrowing and breaking that results from silicon atom migration during an annealing process step. This is accomplished by masking portion of the active layer where silicon atomer would otherwise agglomerate with a material such as silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, or other dielectric that eliminates or substantially reduces the silicon atom migration. Nano-wires, nanotubes, nano-rods, and other features can be formed and can optionally be incorporated into devices, such as by use as a channel region in a transistor device.

Described are computer-based methods and apparatuses, including computer program products, for statistical multiplexing of compressed video streams. A deadline of a packet of a compressed video stream is computed based on a program clock reference value of the packet. A plurality of packets, which includes the packet, is sorted based on deadlines corresponding to the packets. A next packet from the sorted plurality of packets is selected, the next packet having a corresponding deadline nearest to a system clock time. The next packet is transmitted.

The slide handler is an instrument that automatically transfers glass microscope slides from a cassette or magazine to a motorized microscope stage and then returns the slide back into the second cassette. The use of this instrument permits the unattended computer control, measurement and inspection of specimens mounted to the slides. Full modular integration of the system components allows for the slide handler instrument to be utilized with any microscope. The instrument system has a minimum of three components; namely a slide cassette indexer, an XY-stage, and a slide exchange arm. The indexer, the arm and the XY-stage are connected together and integrated into one unitary modular instrument that can be moved from one microscope to another.

Methods and devices for performing percutaneous and surgical interventions. The devices comprising a tubular portion and retractable mechanism at the distal end of the tubular portion. The retractable mechanism prevents the device from pulling out of an anatomical structure during complex interventions, for example, when switching from an antegrade to a retrograde approach within a blood vessel, enables the use of a single sheath when declotting AV hemodialysis fistulas and can provide occlusion of blood flow during interventions and means of removal of debris or clot from the blood vessel.

In a local stethoscope unit, acoustic auscultation sounds picked up by the stethoscope chest piece assembly of a local stethoscope unit are converted to analog electrical signals and then converted to digital signals. The digital signals are conveyed to a data communications system, having data communications device and a data communication channel. The digital signals are transmitted over the digital communications system to a remote stethoscope receiving unit. The remote stethoscope unit converts the digital signals back to the original analog signals suitable for listening.

An improved outlet tube device for a urinary drainage bag is disclosed wherein an outlet valve mechanism is contained with a rigid housing fixed securely to the drainage bag, rather than just being clamped to the outlet tubing, and thus cannot become separated from the bag. The outlet valve can be opened only by positive action on the part of the medical care personnel, thereby assuring that urine will be discharged only in a controlled manner. Further, because the valve mechanism does not require that a substantial length of tubing with a freely movable end be used in conjunction with the outlet port, there is no need to engage the free end of the tubing with a keeper. Thus the possibility of the tubing springing back to its straight configuration and flicking residual urine on the attending medical personnel is eliminated. In one embodiment the outlet tube device comprises a pinchcock-type valve which is fixedly mounted to the bag and which is normally operative to clamp off the outlet tube. In a second embodiment the outlet tube device comprises a syringetype fitting which is fixedly mounted to the bag. Depressing the syringe plunger closes the valve, and retracting the plunger opens the valve to permit fluid to be discharged through the outlet tube. In a third embodiment, a hose clamp is contained within a rigid housing and is selectively operative to clamp a hose to prevent fluid flow therethrough.