317results about How to "Assisted movement" patented technology

An embodiment of the present invention may be made by the following steps: providing a mixture comprising a plurality of fibers, a lubricant, and a suspension fluid, with the suspension fluid filling a void space between said fibers and subjecting said mixture to at least one compressive force. The compressive force causes the migration and alignment of said fibers; and may remove substantially all of the suspension fluid from said mixture. The mixture may further comprise a biologically active agent, or a reinforcing agent.

A crossbar lever of a surgical tool has a bridge portion which extends forward and a transverse portion. The bridge portion is retained between the second and third fingers of the surgeon's hand, and this retention establishes greater control and stability of the surgical tool. The crossbar lever pivots relative to a handgrip of a handle assembly and a shaft assembly extends from the handle assembly. Tissue contacting or manipulating devices such as jaws are located at the forward end of the shaft assembly. The surgical tool is particularly useful in performing minimally invasive surgical procedures.

A surgical robotic system is disclosed that provides a combination of a programmed control, such as active control or passive control, when a high degree of accuracy is required and manual control when a high degree of accuracy is not required, such as during the removal of osteophytes, irregular bone growth and / or soft tissue. Manual resection may be completed by switching from the programmed control mode to the manual control mode and allowing the surgeon free control of the cutting tool. The manual resection may be carried out using some navigational features of the robotic system such as allowing the surgeon to visualize the position of the cutting tool thereby allowing accurate resection of osteophytes, irregular bone and tissue while having the unrestricted freedom to move the cutting tool. The programmed control mode may be reserved for procedures that require a high degree of accuracy, for example, the reaming of a bone and placement of an implant onto the bone.

The disclosed apparatus is a stand alone integrated smart card circuit chip card vending machine. It accepts bills in $1, $5, $10, $20 and $50 denominations and / or credit cards and issues stored value smart cards for the value requested. It can also telephone a center to validate credit card transactions or send diagnostic and statistical reports. This invention has the capability to read and write to a card while it is in the dispenser stack, therefore the card has no value while in the dispenser and is not released until payment is received, that is, the cards are encoded in real time before they are issued.

Tools and methods are provided for removing biological units from a body surface utilizing a removal tool. The tools may incorporate retention members and mechanisms configured to impede movement of the biological unit in the direction of a distal end of the tool and to improve retention of the biological unit in the tool. Some of the retention members are stationary and some are movable within the lumen of the biological unit removal tools. The distal tips of the tools are desirably configured to reduce the chance of transection of a biological unit, such as by including both cutting segments and blunt relief segments. A number of dual concentric tube embodiments permit a division of removal functions. Distal fluid or gas delivery may supplement a vacuum in a luminal space to help extract biological units from surrounding tissue.

An interventional catheter assembly comprises an operating head for removing obstructive material from a target site in a body lumen or cavity and at least one aspiration port located proximal to the operating head and penetrating the catheter assembly, the aspiration port being in communication with a sealed lumen that communicates with a vacuum system for withdrawing aspirate fluid and obstructive material from the target site. A rotatable member is positioned inside the catheter assembly at the site of the aspiration port and rotates during operation of the vacuum system. The rotatable member is provided with at least one upstanding bar that is sized to cooperate with the walls of the aspiration port and the inner surface of the catheter assembly to macerate debris that is drawn into the aspiration port.

An interventional catheter assembly comprises an operating head for removing obstructive material from a target site in a body lumen or cavity and at least one aspiration port located proximal to the operating head and penetrating the catheter assembly, the aspiration port being in communication with a sealed lumen that communicates with a vacuum system for withdrawing aspirate fluid and obstructive material from the target site. The interventional catheter incorporates an elongated guidewire lumen bushing extending proximally from a distal region of the operating head to reduce the clearance between the guidewire and the internal surface of the guidewire lumen during operation of the interventional catheter. This feature restricts entry of fluid and debris into the guidewire lumen and promotes maintenance of consistent and high aspiration pressure and volume during operation of the aspiration system and interventional catheter assembly.

An embodiment of the present invention may be made by the following steps: providing a mixture comprising a plurality of fibers, a lubricant, and a suspension fluid, with the suspension fluid filling a void space between said fibers and subjecting said mixture to at least one compressive force. The compressive force causes the migration and alignment of said fibers; and may remove substantially all of the suspension fluid from said mixture. The mixture may further comprise a biologically active agent, or a reinforcing agent.

A wearable digital video camera (10) is equipped with wireless connection protocol and global navigation and location positioning system technology to provide remote image acquisition control and viewing. The Bluetooth® packet-based open wireless technology standard protocol (400) is preferred for use in providing control signals or streaming data to the digital video camera and for accessing image content stored on or streaming from the digital video camera. The GPS technology (402) is preferred for use in tracking of the location of the digital video camera as it records image information. A rotating mount (300) with a locking member (330) on the camera housing (22) allows adjustment of the pointing angle of the wearable digital video camera when it is attached to a mounting surface.

A method for assisting a user of a fingerprint sensing system includes sensing a position of a user's finger relative to a swiped fingerprint image sensor, and providing to the user, in response to the sensed finger position, an indication of finger placement relative to the fingerprint image sensor. The indication of finger placement may include a display on a computer monitor of actual finger placement and desired finger placement. The fingerprint sensing system may include an image sensor to sense a fingerprint on a swiped finger, a finger position sensor to sense the position of the finger relative to the image sensor, and processing apparatus to provide the indication of finger placement to the user.

A method and apparatus are disclosed for the direct and safe teaching of a robot. The apparatus consists of a plurality of tactile sensors and electronic circuitry encapsulated in a compact enclosure, and a handle protruding from the enclosure. The handle provides an easy means for an operator to apply an external force and to act on the sensors that generate electronic signals to the robot controller. The signals, proportional to the applied force, carry information that sets boundaries for safe operations, thus protecting the operator from any harm and the robot from damage.While in the teaching mode the operator guides the robot with the apparatus to the predetermined work positions that are recorded in the controller memory. The work position recording can be handled by either activating a pushbutton or by a voice command. The recorded positions are played back when the robot operates in the work mode.

An exercise assisting instrument assists the user's knee-bending exercise, and lightens a burden and maintains safety of the user. It has a base 10, supporting columns 20, lifting mechanisms 30 consisting of lifting arms, lever arms 40, and a chair 50. A three-member linkage system is formed by the supporting columns 20 and the lifting mechanisms 30, so that the chair 50 may move upward and downward. Further, it is equipped with an upward movement assisting device 33, which provides a force in the raising direction to the hinge point 30a of the lifting arms, so that stand-up movement of the user is assisted and lightening the user's burden is possible. Moreover, a locking device 11 and a stopper 13 are equipped, so the user's safety may be improved.

A method for assisting a user of a fingerprint sensing system includes sensing a position of a user's finger relative to a swiped fingerprint image sensor, and providing to the user, in response to the sensed finger position, an indication of finger placement relative to the fingerprint image sensor. The indication of finger placement may include a display on a computer monitor of actual finger placement and desired finger placement. The fingerprint sensing system may include an image sensor to sense a fingerprint on a swiped finger, a finger position sensor to sense the position of the finger relative to the image sensor, and processing apparatus to provide the indication of finger placement to the user.

A system for treating an occlusive region of a blood vessel comprises: a catheter outer tube forming a lumen for inflation of a centering balloon; a catheter inner tube lined with either internal spiral threads or point slots to assist controlled guidewire movement; and a rotatable guidewire that may be solid or hollow. The guidewire comprises a rotatable body and a proximal shaft. The rotatable body has two components: a distal rotating head and a proximal rotating shaft, wherein these components are of equal length and the rotating shaft resides within the proximal shaft. Linear force applied to the proximal shaft will result in the rotational guidewire tip puncturing cutting through an occlusion. In an alternative embodiment, the guidewire rotatable body comprises two mechanical rings and a compression spring, wherein when the spring is released via depression of a button, the guidewire tip drills through an occlusion.

This invention provides a substrate processing method including a step of covering in advance the surface of a substrate W with water (28), a step of holding the substrate W generally horizontally with the surface facing upward and rotating it in a horizontal plane (10), and a step of blowing to the substrate top surface drying gas flow that is thin in area in comparison with the substrate W surface (30, 40), in which the water is removed from the substrate top surface by the rotation in the horizontal plane while blowing the drying gas flow, a substrate processing apparatus for implementing the above method, and a control program for use with the above method and apparatus. With this invention, it is possible to dry a cleaned substrate without locally leaving water droplets.

The positioning apparatus has a first magnetic component, a second magnetic component, and a third magnetic component. The first magnetic component and the second magnetic component are of a first magnetic polarity, and the third magnetic component is of a second magnetic polarity. The first magnetic component and the second magnetic component are configured together on a device body or a slide cover, and these two magnetic components are located at two different places along with a sliding direction of the slide cover. The third magnetic component is oppositely configured on the slide cover or the device body, which lacks the first and the second magnetic components.

A method of harvesting crop material includes gathering the crop material and separating chaff material, and subjecting the chaff material to fragmentation in a cage mill to destroy unwanted seed material contained therein. Also provided is a mobile agricultural apparatus which travels with a harvesting machine during a harvesting operation to receive chaff material produced during the harvesting operation. At least one cage mill having rotors for fragmentation of the chaff material is included with the mobile apparatus, to destroy unwanted seed material contained therein. Such a cage mill includes at least a casing defining a milling zone, a rotor for performing milling, an inlet for introducing material for reduction into the milling zone, an outlet for removal of material from the milling zone, and an airflow through the milling zone to assist movement of the material through the milling zone from the inlet to the outlet.

A system and a method for its use are provided to cool a cryotip at the distal end of a probe for a cryosurgical procedure. In particular, the cryotip is cooled by a liquid refrigerant to cryogenic temperatures in order to perform a cryosurgical procedure on biological tissue. The system is closed-loop, and during transit of the liquid refrigerant through the entire system, the liquid refrigerant always remains in a liquid state at a relatively low pressure.

The present invention relates to a prosthetic foot comprising a rear foot portion having an attachment platform and a heel strike, and a front foot portion having a momentum interrupter and a toe plate. As the foot approaches toe-off, the toe plate flexibly deflects upwards and the momentum interrupter compresses. The amount of returned energy at toe-off is comprised from stored flexural energy of the toe plate and stored expansive energy of the momentum interrupter. The toe plate of the present invention can have a split toe design. Further, mechanically adjustable stiffeners can be incorporated into the design if desired.

The invented vehicle includes a chassis, a cabin mounted on a first side of the chassis on a forward portion thereof, and a plurality of wheels coupled to the chassis to movably support the chassis. The vehicle also includes a boom unit, a tool coupled to an end of the boom unit, and turntable unit mounted to the chassis at a central portion thereof, the turntable unit coupled to and supporting the boom unit for rotation relative to the chassis. The turntable unit is capable of moving the boom unit and the tool over a second side of the chassis opposite the first side between a first position at which the tool is positioned forward of the chassis to pick up the load and a second position at which the tool is positioned over the dump body to dump the load into the dump body. The vehicle also includes a dump body mounted to a rear portion of the chassis. The dump body can be tilted to the rear or either side of the vehicle. The tool attached to the boom unit can be a dipper bucket, a loader bucket, a mower, thresher or auger, for example. An accessory tool such as a mower can also be attached to the rear of the vehicle.

A rake retractor for use in minimally invasive medical procedures such as laparoscopic surgery includes a handle shaft, rake prongs, and end configurations that can be used to move elements within a body cavity. The prongs of the rake retractor are biased to an open position such that when the rake prongs extend out of the needle they open, and they are closed by relative movement of the needle over them. The end configurations are offset so that they may be compactly brought together within the narrow space of a needle having a diameter typically not greater than 2.5 mm.

A garment, such as a sports uniform, may provide visibility zones and / or flicker zones to enhance the ability of teammates to perceive the wearer. Different zones on a garment may have different sets of visual properties that may contrast with one another and / or a visual background. A denier differential between layers of a garment may facilitate moisture transport across the layers of the garment. Flicker zones may be discrete from or combined with visibility zones. One or more zones of a garment may also be substantially non-reflective at wavelengths associated with the visual background encountered while wearing the garment.

Methods and devices are provided for the continuous production of a network of nanotubes or other nanoscale fibers. The method includes making a suspension of nanoscale fibers dispersed in a liquid medium, optionally with surfactant and / or sonication, and filtering the suspension by moving a filter membrane through the suspension, such that the nanoscale fibers are deposited directly on the filter membrane as the fluid medium flows through the filter membrane, thereby forming a continuous membrane of the nanoscale fibers. The deposition of the nanoscale fibers can occur when and where the filter membrane moves into contact with a static, porous filter element or a dynamic, porous filter element. The filtering can be conducted within a magnetic field effective to align the nanoscale fibers, and / or with the aid of vacuum to pull water through the filter membrane, applied pressure to press water though the filter membrane, or a combination thereof.

This invention is related to a mechanism for use in a rocker recliner chair that reduces the complexity and links of typical linkage mechanisms. The rocker recliner chair includes a base, a rocker cam assembly mounted on the base, a seat, a footrest, a backrest and a pair of linkage mechanisms mounted on opposite sides of the chair. Each of the linkage mechanisms includes a recliner mechanism, a drive mechanism, and a footrest mechanism. The recliner mechanism is coupled to the base. The drive mechanism includes an ottoman drive bell crank and an ottoman drive link. The ottoman drive bell crank is coupled to a rear portion of the recliner mechanism. The ottoman drive link couples the ottoman drive bell crank to the footrest mechanism. The footrest mechanism is connected to the recliner mechanism by a footrest extension linkage. The footrest extension linkage serves to unlock the footrest mechanism thereby allowing the weight of the user, along with the drive mechanism, to move the chair from the chair position to the recliner position.

The following relates generally to systems, methods and devices for rehabilitation of patients with motor impairment. Electrical signals of a patient may be sensed using electrodes. From the electrical signals, an intent to move or focus level may be determined. Based on the electrical signals, neuromuscular stimulation is delivered to the patient. The stimulation may be delivered through a neuromuscular stimulation sleeve.

A lower extremity orthosis is configured to be coupled to across at least one joint of a person for gait assistance and can incorporate knee, thigh, hip and ankle / foot assistive orthotic devices which can be used in various combinations to aid in the rehabilitation and restoration of muscular function in patients with impaired muscular function or control.

A field serviceable assembly includes a frame with a first and second side assembly hingedly mounted on opposite sides to define a cavity. The first side assembly includes a transparent layer positioned in front of an electronic display to define a first channel. A second channel is located behind the electronic display. A second side assembly includes a cover located in front of a plate to define a third channel. A closed loop pathway for circulating gas is formed by the first channel and the cavity. Open loop pathways for ambient air are formed by the second and third channels.

A lancing device formed from a main body and a cap. The main body is configured from a lower housing, an upper housing extending over a portion of the lower housing, and an actuator operatively engaged to the upper and lower housings with the actuator extending along the portion of the lower housing not covered by the upper housing. The upper housing further includes an actuator button, wherein a lancet may be placed within the body such that movement of the actuator from a first position to a second position away from said endcap cocks the lancet for firing, which is achieved by depressing the actuator button. Conveniently, the lancing device is configured for tactile recognition in the palm of a human hand and may preferably be operated one handed and without visual observation.

A pipe handling apparatus for raising and lowering pipe to and from a raised derrick work floor. The apparatus comprises a longitudinally-extending base, with a longitudinally-extending cavity therein. An elongate, longitudinally-extending boom member is provided, which is adapted for raising out of and nestable positioning in such cavity. The boom member has a longitudinally-extending trough therein on an upperside surface thereof, adapted to receive at least one section of pipe. At least one arm member is coupled to the boom member for raising a proximal end of such boom member. A carriage member, slidably coupled to the boom member, is moveable longitudinally along the boom in the trough. The carriage member is adapted to engage and slidably transport one end of the pipe along the trough. Motive means are provided to permit powered movement of the carriage member along the boom.

A field serviceable apparatus includes a first and second display assembly hingedly mounted to a frame in a back to back arrangement. At least one of the display assemblies has a transparent layer, an electronic display, a first channel that receives circulating gas, and a second channel that receives ambient air. A cavity is located in the space between the rear surfaces of the display assemblies and the frame and contains a fixed plate for receiving electronic components. The cavity and the first channel are part of a closed loop pathway, while the second channel is part of an open loop pathway.