365537results about How to "Extended service life" patented technology

A sensor is disclosed, for implantation within a blood vessel to monitor an analyte in blood. In one embodiment, the analyte is glucose. A signal indicative of glucose level is transmitted to an external receiver. The signal may also be used to drive an internal or externally worn insulin pump. Methods are also disclosed.

A powered handle for a surgical instrument includes a processor and a component. The component has a usage limit and is configured to transmit a signature to the processor when the component is in proximity to its usage limit. The signature is configured to provide indicia directly to a user that the component is in proximity to its usage limit before the handle is used

A system, method, and apparatus are disclosed for dressing a wound. The apparatus comprises a liquid and gas permeable transmission layer, an absorbent layer for absorbing wound exudate, the absorbent layer overlying the transmission layer, a gas impermeable cover layer overlying the absorbent layer and comprising a first orifice, wherein the cover layer is moisture vapor permeable.

A patient interface in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention is configured to be at least partially carried by a patient and to receive gas exhaled by the patient. The patient interface includes first and second cannula tubes each having a first end and a second end, the first ends are configured to be inserted into the nostrils of a patient, the first and second cannula tubes are configured to direct exhaled gas from the patient from the first ends to said second ends. The patient interface also includes first and second sensors positioned near the second ends, and the first and second sensors are configured to provide first and second signals based upon the gas, wherein the first and second signals are indicative of a physiological parameter of the patient. The patient interface also includes a communications link configured to provide the signal to a physiological monitor.

A sensor is disclosed, for implantation within a blood vessel to monitor a substance in or property of blood. In one embodiment, the sensor detects nitric oxide or a nitric oxide metabolite. In another embodiment, other substances such as glutamate, aspartate, arginine, citrulline, acetylcholine, calcium, potassium, or dopamine are monitored. The sensor may be attached to a support structure such as a stent, guidewire, or catheter. In a further embodiment, a catheter is disclosed that extracts patient fluid to a sensor outside the body for monitoring a substance or property of the patient fluid. Methods are also disclosed.

The invention relates to a process for producing a hydrocarbon component of biological origin. The process comprises at least two steps, the first one of which is a HDO step and the second one is an isomerization step operated using the counter-current flow principle. A biological raw material containing fatty acids and / or fatty acid esters serves as the feed stock.

An electro-optic display comprises first and second substrates and a lamination adhesive layer and a layer of a solid electro-optic material disposed between the first and second substrates, the lamination adhesive layer having a volume resistivity, measured at 10° C., which does not change by a factor of more than about 3 after being held at 25° C. and 45 percent relative humidity for 1000 hours. The electro-optic material is preferably an encapsulated electrophoretic material. Other desirable characteristics of lamination adhesives for use in electro-optic displays are also described.

Arrangement for monitoring an asset including an interior sensor system arranged on the asset to obtain information about contents in the interior of the asset, a location determining system arranged on the asset to monitor the location of the asset and a communication system arranged on the asset and coupled to the interior sensor system and the location determining system. The communication system operatively transmits the information about the contents in the interior of the asset and the location of the asset to a remote facility. The interior sensor system may include at least one wave transmitter arranged to transmit waves into the interior of the asset and at least one wave receiver arranged to receive waves from the interior of the asset. A processor may be provided to compare waves received by the wave receiver(s) at different times or analyze the waves received by the wave receiver(s).

Ultrasound catheter devices and methods of the present invention generally provide for ablation and / or disruption of vascular occlusions. An ultrasound transmission member, such as a wire, transmits vibrational energy from an ultrasound transducer to a distal head of the catheter to disrupt vascular occlusions. At least one absorber member is disposed on or around the ultrasound transmission wire at a location adjacent the sonic connector of the catheter. The absorber member absorbs heat, vibrations, and / or the like from the ultrasound transmission wire at or near the area where the transmission wire is coupled with the sonic connector. The absorptive function typically slows the process of wear and tear on the transmission wire, thus extending the useful life of the ultrasound catheter.

An orthopedic surgical device with compound ultrasound vibration that comprises a handpiece, a surgical cutter fixed on the anterior top of the handpiece, and an ultrasound signal generator. Inside the outer casing of said handpiece, there are provided: an ultrasound transducer for transforming the ultrasound signals from said ultrasound signal generator into ultrasound mechanical waves; a horn (or amplitude transformer) for amplifying vibration amplitude of ultrasound mechanical waves generated from said transducer and then transmitting the amplified ultrasound mechanical waves to said surgical cutter to lead to longitudinal vibration of the surgical cutter; a driving motor fixed in the back end of said handpiece for driving said ultrasound transducer and horn to accomplish the movement of swing and rotation; an adapter provided between said driving motor and said transducer for supplying ultrasonic electrical signals generated by said ultrasound signal generator to said ultrasound transducer.

A sensor is disclosed, for implantation within a blood vessel to monitor an analyte in blood. In one embodiment, the analyte is glucose. A signal indicative of glucose level is transmitted to an external receiver. The signal may also be used to drive an internal or externally worn insulin pump. Methods are also disclosed.

A light source apparatus which is improved in the efficiency of light emission thus to increase the operating life and the mechanical strength and a method of producing the same are provided. The light source apparatus 1 comprises a radiator plate 3 having thermally conductive properties, an insulating member 4 coupled to at least one side of the radiator plate 3 and having a through hole 6 provided in the side thereof facing the radiator plate 3, an LED chip 2 installed and thermally coupled to an exposed portion of the radiator plate 3 facing the through hole 6, an extension 4a inwardly projecting at the hole 6 from the radiator plate 3 end of the insulating member 4, a wiring pattern 8 provided on the insulating member 4 and electrically isolated by the insulating member 4 from the radiator plate 3, bonding wires 9 electrically connecting between portions of the wiring pattern 8 extended to the extension 4a and the electrodes of the LED chip 2, and a light-transmissive sealing material 10 filled in the through hole 6 for entirely encapsulating the LED chip 2 and the bonding wires 9.

A semiconductor light emitting element of nitride compound semiconductors excellent in cleavability, heat radiation and resistance to leakage is made by epitaxially grow a nitride compound semiconductor layers on a substrate of sapphire, for example, and thereafter separating the substrate. For separating the substrate, there are a technique using a abruption mechanism susceptible to a stress such as a "lift-off layer" and a recesses on a substrate. A technique using laser light to cause a local dense heat stress at the abruption mechanism is effective. A nitride compound semiconductor obtained by separating the substrate may be used as a new substrate to epitaxially grow high-quality nitride compound semiconductors thereon.

A mass storage system made of flash electrically erasable and programmable read only memory (“EEPROM”) cells organized into blocks, the blocks in turn being grouped into memory banks, is managed to even out the numbers of erase and rewrite cycles experienced by the memory banks in order to extend the service lifetime of the memory system. Since this type of memory cell becomes unusable after a finite number of erase and rewrite cycles, although in the tens of thousands of cycles, uneven use of the memory banks is avoided so that the entire memory does not become inoperative because one of its banks has reached its end of life while others of the banks are little used. Relative use of the memory banks is monitored and, in response to detection of uneven use, have their physical addresses periodically swapped for each other in order to even out their use over the lifetime of the memory.

A corrosion resistant component of semiconductor processing equipment such as a plasma chamber includes a diamond containing surface and process for manufacture thereof.

The present invention relates to a heat emitting body comprising a transparent board, a bus bar, a power supply connected to the bus bar, a heat emitting pattern line provided on the transparent board and electrically connected to the bus bar, and a non-heat emitting pattern line provided on the transparent board and not electrically connected to the bus bar, and a method for manufacturing the same.

An electronic device (e.g., computer system, etc.) employing dynamic power management of the present invention adjusts power consumption in accordance with an analysis of parameters and events occurring over one or more time-periods. Preferably, the electronic device monitors microprocessor, operating system, peripheral and / or device-level events and adjusts run-time parameters, such as microprocessor clock frequency and voltage, to reduce power consumption with minimal perceived degradation in performance.

A corrosion resistant component of semiconductor processing equipment such as a plasma chamber includes a carbonitride containing surface and process for manufacture thereof.

A system that facilitates device and / or machinery diagnostics, prognostics and control by way of condition sensing, such as sensing the condition of the device and / or a fluid of the device (e.g., fluid health indicators). The system can employ a plurality of sensors to determine a current state and estimate a future state of the fluid and / or device, as well as providing control of the device, e.g., in order to increase the remaining useful life of the fluid and / or operation of the device. The sensors can communicate wirelessly with each other, with the device, and / or with a central control system that provides, e.g., sensor fusion, prognostics and control integration. In addition, the sensors can be powered locally based upon the physical or chemical properties of the environment.

A device for sensing analyte concentration, and in particular glucose concentration, in vivo or in vitro is disclosed. A sensing element is attached to the distal end of an optical conduit, and comprises at least one binding protein adapted to bind with at least one target analyte. The sensing element further comprises at least one reporter group that undergoes a luminescence change with changing analyte concentrations. Optionally, the optical conduit and sensing element may be housed within a cannulated bevel.

It is provided a dielectric barrier discharge lamp (10) for providing ultraviolet light, comprising an outer tube (12) filled with a discharge gas for providing ultraviolet light, an inner tube (14) arranged at least partially inside the outer tube (12), an outer electrode (16) electrically connected to the outer tube (12) and an inner electrode (18) electrically connected to the inner tube (14), wherein the inner electrode (18) comprises a conductor (20) and a plurality of an conductive granulated material (22) for providing an electrical contact between the conductor (20) and the inner tube (14). Due to the conductive granulated material (22) an electrical contact between the conductor (20) and the inner tube (14) is safeguarded and different thermal expansions of the inner electrode (18) and the inner tube (14) are compensated at the same time without applying mechanical stress to the inner tube (14). This leads to a dielectric barrier discharge lamp (10), which comprises an increased life time without the need for external cooling.

Disclosed is an organic electroluminescence device in which an organic thin film which is composed of one or more layers including at least a light-emitting layer is interposed between a cathode and an anode. Since at least one layer of the organic thin film contains a novel aromatic amine derivative, which has an asymmetric structure wherein two different amine units are bonded through a linking group, by itself or as a component of a mixture, molecules of the organic electroluminescence device. This organic electroluminescence device has a long life.

A medical catheter assembly including a removable inner sleeve. In one embodiment, the assembly is a low profile percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) device and comprises a body, a clamp, a feeding tube, a cap and an inner sleeve assembly. The body includes a base portion and a sleeve portion, the base portion being dimensioned to engage the skin of a patient and having a transverse bore, the sleeve portion extending upwardly from the base portion and having a longitudinal slot aligned with the transverse bore and a transverse slot intersecting the longitudinal bore. The clamp, which is slidably mounted on the base portion and across the transverse slot of the sleeve, comprises a plate having a transverse opening. The transverse opening has a wide region and a narrow region, the two regions being alternately alignable with the longitudinal bore to open and to close, respectively, the feeding tube. The feeding tube has a distal end adapted to be anchored to the inside of a patient and a proximal end inserted up through the base portion and the sleeve portion, including the transverse opening of the clamp situated within the sleeve, and then inverted over the top edge of the sleeve. The cap is then mounted on top of the sleeve so as to secure the inverted end of the catheter to the exterior of the sleeve. The cap is provided with an opening through which access to the catheter may be gained. An inner sleeve, sized to engage the inside surface of the feeding tube, is removably inserted through the cap and the feeding tube, the inner sleeve having a proximal end to which a tubular fitting is secured. Food and / or medications are dispensed to the patient through the fitting and the inner sleeve and, in this manner, prevent clogging of the feeding tube.

A photo-therapy device emits photo-therapeutic radiation to treat. living tissue. The device incorporates an array of emitters, the photo emissions of which is dependent on their temperature. Temperature feedback is provided to a voltage supply that supplies current to the emitters, to regulate the voltage supply level and the temperature of the emitters. Additionally, the wavelength of the radiation is dependent on the temperature of the emitters, so the wavelength is moved closer to an optimum wavelength for absorption by the tissue by controlling the temperature of the emitters. Furthermore, the useful life of the emitters is extended by pulsing the emitters on and off by sequentially applying an activation signal to one group of emitters at a time. Also, the device can operate on a wide range of voltage input levels since it utilizes a switching regulator, which can convert a voltage level in the range to the level required to drive the array of emitters. The photo-therapeutic infrared light may be used to treat insect bites and to relieve headaches in human beings. The infrared light emitters may be incorporated into a mouthpiece for treating gum tissues.

The present invention provides a ceramic-glass composite electrode and a fluorescent lamp having the same. The ceramic-glass composite electrode according to the present invention is a ceramic-glass composite, which is disposed at the ends of a glass tube of the fluorescent lamp. A stopper is disposed at the end of the glass tube for pushing against the ceramic-glass composite electrode and limiting the position of the ceramic-glass composite electrode slipped on the glass tube. Thereby, flowing of adhesives into the glass tube is avoided when the adhesives are used for gluing the glass tube and the ceramic-glass composite electrode, and hence extending the lifetime of the fluorescent lamp.

A sensor is disclosed, for implantation within a blood vessel to monitor an analyte in blood. In one embodiment, the sensor is retrievable. In another embodiment, the sensor is an immunosensor. A signal representative of a reaction between an analyte and an antigen of the analyte is transmitted to an external receiver. Methods are also disclosed.

The invention provides control systems and methodologies for controlling a process having computer-controlled equipment, which provide for optimized process performance according to one or more performance criteria, such as efficiency, component life expectancy, safety, emissions, noise, vibration, operational cost, or the like. More particularly, the subject invention provides for employing machine diagnostic and / or prognostic information in connection with optimizing an overall business operation over a time horizon.

A stacked organic electroluminescent device and a method of making such device is disclosed. The device comprises an anode, a cathode, at least two organic electroluminescent units disposed between the anode and the cathode, and a doped organic connector disposed between each adjacent organic electroluminescent unit wherein the organic electroluminescent unit comprises at least one organic hole-transporting layer and one organic electron-transporting layer. The doped organic connector comprises at least one n-type doped organic layer or one p-type doped organic layer, or combinations of layers thereof.