57results about How to "Improve functioning" patented technology

The present invention provides a sensor head for use in an implantable device that measures the concentration of an analyte in a biological fluid which includes: a non-conductive body; a working electrode, a reference electrode and a counter electrode, wherein the electrodes pass through the non-conductive body forming an electrochemically reactive surface at one location on the body and forming an electronic connection at another location on the body, further wherein the electrochemically reactive surface of the counter electrode is greater than the surface area of the working electrode; and a multi-region membrane affixed to the nonconductive body and covering the working electrode, reference electrode and counter electrode. In addition, the present invention provides an implantable device including at least one of the sensor heads of the invention and methods of monitoring glucose levels in a host utilizing the implantable device of the invention.

An integrated optical assembly including a light management component with an entry surface and a light delivery component having an exit surface attached to the entry surface of the light management component is disclosed The light management component and the light delivery component are attached together in a manner that defines voids between the entry surface of the light management component and the exit surface of the light delivery component. The voids between the light management component and the light delivery component may provide an air interface over substantial portions of the entry surface of the light management component.

A linearly expanding spine cage has a minimized diameter in its unexpanded state that is equal to the diameter of an insertion groove cut into adjacent vertebral bodies. The cage conformably engages between the endplates of adjacent vertebrae to effectively distract the disc space, widen neuroforamina, stabilize the motion segments and eliminate pathologic spine motion. Angular deformities can be corrected, and natural curvatures maintained. The cage enhances spinal arthrodesis by creating a rigid spine segment. Expanding linearly (vertically, along the vertical axis of the adjacent spine) rather than uniformly, the cage height increases and holds the vertebrae with fixation forces greater than adjacent bone and soft tissue failure forces. Stability is thus achieved immediately, enabling patient function by eliminating painful motion. The cage width remains stable, so as to decrease impingement upon a second cage, or upon soft tissue structures in the immediate vicinity, including neural or vascular elements.

A system for automation of laboratory analyzers that utilizes radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and radio frequency identification (RFID) readers to identify containers and vessels, and the contents thereof, that are employed in the system. Radio frequency identification tags, conforming to the guidelines of ISO 18000 and either of ISO 14443 or ISO 15693, are positioned on the items of interest, such as, for example, reagent containers, sample containers, and microplates. These tags can be read by and written to by a stationary antenna connected to a radio frequency identification reader. Reading of radio frequency identification tags and writing to radio frequency identification tags are controlled by software.

A parking brake device having a bistable parking brake valve, a relay valve, a spring brake and electrically actuable valves, the electrically actuable valves being selectively connectable to the parking brake valve to supply pressure or atmospheric pressure, an outlet of the parking brake valve controls the relay valve, and the relay valve controls the spring brake, in which the parking brake valve has a movable piston, which is loaded by a spring and has two coaxial piston faces which delimit a first space and a second space, in which supply pressure, atmospheric pressure or a pressure which lies between them and which can be fed to the outlet of the parking brake valve can be supplied to the first space in accordance with the position of the piston, and in which the second space can be selectively connected to supply pressure or atmospheric pressure by an electrically actuable valve.

The present invention provides a motorized foot caring and massage device(MFCMD), comprising a container provided in a housing, the container having a bottom portion and used for containing water; an air pump, heating means, a vibration assembly and a motorized driven system being provided under the bottom portion of the container; and a function selection switch provided on the housing, in which an upwardly raised peninsular foot seat is provided at a central portion of the container, a combination of stone massage means and raised nodes is provided at a front end of a top portion of the foot seat, and replaceable rotatable massage attachments are provided at a rear end of the top portion of the foot seat; a double safety system is provided under the bottom portion of the container, including a sealing system and a drainage system, the sealing system is used for maintaining the rotation of the output shaft and sealing under normal condition, the drainage system is used for preventing water contained in the container from leaking and entering into the means provided under the bottom of the container in case of failure of the sealing system. The foot caring and massage device of the present invention perfects the functions and guarantees safe and reliable operation.

A system and method that allows pen input and touch input to better co-exist during writing on a touch screen device, such as a tablet device. If the pen / stylus is detected as present and is pointed at the surface, inputs initiated by a user's finger (or other) touch are rejected and pen inputs are allowed. If the pen is detected as present, but is pointed away from the writing surface of the touch screen, stylus / pen inputs are rejected and touch inputs are allowed. If pen is not detected as present, the system ignores all pen inputs. Erasing functions are also provided. The size of the eraser can be made proportional to the pressure level, contact size or signal level of the pen or the user's finger performing the erasing.

Disclosed is a method and a system for controlling charging of a hybrid vehicle which controls engine idle by using a starting / generating motor when a battery is charged. The method includes: determining a target charging to be charged in the battery by the starting / generating motor and a target torque of the starting / generating motor for generating the target charging amount based on a state of charge (SOC) of the battery and power consumption of a load of an electric device when the engine is idle; driving the engine by applying a command of torque corresponding to the target torque to the engine; detecting torque actually output from the starting / generating motor; calculating an error between the actual torque and the target torque; calculating an engine torque compensation value based on the calculated error; and feedback controlling an idle speed of the engine by adding the engine torque compensation value to the command of torque of the engine.

A touch panel device in which a support portion is provided to include an actuator for generating vibration giving an excellent sense of touch without the need for a separate mounting space. To this end, the touch panel device having a front cover portion, a touch sensor unit divided into an upper transparent electrode layer and a lower transparent electrode layer, and a substrate provided under the touch sensor portion includes an actuator for delivering vibration to the front cover portion, a reinforcing portion having the actuator attached thereto to attach the actuator to the touch sensor unit, and a support portion formed on the substrate to provide an opening in a first side thereof and a closed second side, such that the actuator is inserted into and coupled to the opening and the support portion supports the actuator to deliver the vibration of the actuator to the front cover portion.

Cardiomyopathy may be treated by distributing space-occupying agent within the myocardium in a pattern about one or more chambers of the heart, such that the space-modifying agent integrates into and thickens at least part of the cardiac wall about the chamber so as globally to reduce wall stress and stabilize or even reduce chamber size. Some patterns also cause a beneficial global reshaping of the chamber. These changes occur quickly and are sustainable, and have a rapid and sustainable therapeutic effect on cardiac function. Over time the relief of wall stress reduces oxygen consumption and promotes healing. Moreover, various long-term therapeutic effects may be realized depending on the properties of the space-occupying agent, including combinations with other therapeutic materials. Specific cardiac conditions treatable by these systems and methods include, for example, dilated cardiomyopathy (with or without overt aneurismal formations), congestive heart failure, and ventricular arrhythmias. Patterns of distribution of space-occupying agent within the myocardium for global resizing may also be used or augmented to treat localized conditions such as myocardial infarctions, overt aneurysm of the ventricular wall as typically forms in response to large transmural myocardial infarctions, and mitral regurgitation due to a noncompliant mitral valve. These techniques may also be used to treat localized conditions that may not yet have progressed to cardiomyopathy.

A mobile terminal having detachably mounted thereon a recording medium in which user-specific information is written, and besides the recording medium, having terminal-specific information recorded thereon, the mobile terminal performing radio communication with the recording medium mounted thereon, including: a locking instruction determination section which determines whether or not announcement information transmitted to unspecified mobile terminals by radio communication is locking instruction information containing terminal-specific information to instruct locking of a mobile terminal specified by the terminal-specific information; a coincidence determination section which determines whether or not terminal-specific information contained in the locking instruction information coincides with that recorded on the mobile terminal; and a locking section which locks the mobile terminal to disable at least part of functions of the mobile terminal.

A method and system for distributed power management with individual IEDs in a substation are disclosed. An exemplary technique can include providing multiple IEDs in a power network in the substation and integrating an intrinsic load shedding function in each IED. The technique can include identifying a power imbalance state at an individual IED and load shedding the individual IED using an intrinsic load shedding function when a power imbalance state is identified in a coordinated manner to achieve distributed power management in the substation.

Disclosed is a functional food composition, which is effective in relieving alcohol-induced hangover symptoms and improving liver function. The composition includes 6-18% by dry weight of Polygonati Rhizoma, 10-40% by dry weight of Astragalus membranaceus Bge., 5-15% by dry weight of Artemisiae Scopariae Herba, 10-30% by dry weight of White Hoelen, 5-25% by dry weight of Atractylodes rhizome white, 4-12% by dry weight of Rehmanniae Radix, 2-10% by dry weight of Mentha arvensis, 2-10% by dry weight of Curcuma longa, and 2-10% by dry weight of Puerariae Radix, based on the total dry weight of the composition. The composition, including herbal components known to have no side effects, is effective in relieving hangover symptoms and improving liver function by removing or neutralizing factors responsible for hangover symptoms, such as alcohol absorbed in the body or acetaldehyde, the oxidation product of alcohol.

A sensor device (50) for sensing particles (15) of a sample, the sensor device (50) comprising a sensing unit (11, 20) adapted for sensing a detection signal indicative of the presence of the particles (15), a viscosity measurement unit (11, 17, 20) adapted for measuring the viscosity of the sample, and a correction unit (20, 30) adapted for correcting the detection signal based on the measured viscosity.

A mouse includes a lighting unit, a sensing unit, and a control unit. The lighting unit is used for generating a light output to shine onto a contact surface. The sensing unit is connected with the lighting unit, and forms an image for generating an image signal from the reflection of the light upon the contact surface. The controller unit is connected with the sensing unit, and is for controlling the light output of the lighting unit according to a reference value. In addition to calculating the movement of the mouse according to the image signal, the control unit also directly outputs the image signal to an application system with an image analysis function. Therein, the application system is for analyzing the image signal and outputting a correcting value to the control unit; and the control unit is for adjusting the reference value according to the correcting value.

A medical device is disclosed that reinforces weakened or degenerated areas of at least a portion of a leaflet (24) of the heart valve. Function of a heart valve is thus improved. The medical device comprises at least a first partly flexible leaflet reinforcement patch (30) having an extension between an inner section (34) and an outer section (32), wherein said outer section (32) is configured to be oriented towards said annulus, and said inner section (34) is configured to be oriented towards said inner section of said valve tissue, and at least a portion of said inner section (34) of said flexible leaflet reinforcement patch (32) having at least one of said plurality of leaflets (24) in juxtaposition to said portion of said inner section (34), and said portion of said inner section (34) being positioned to provide reinforcement to said plurality of leaflets (24).

An aerial ladder roller assembly to improve the function of the ladder during extension and retraction of sections of a multiple-section aerial ladder. One embodiment has a plurality of aligned apertures for rotatably mounting and a roller that is rotatably mounted in a housing. The housing has a roller pad and an aperture through which a roller extends. The housing is adapted for pivotal mounting at a point approximately central to the length of the axis. A roller is rotatably mounted in the housing on each side of the pivotal mounting point. A pair of rollers is rotatably mounted in the housing on each side of the pivotal mounting point. Also provided is a multiple-section ladder, having at least two nested sections with a housing having at least one roller is rotatably and pivotally mounted extending through an aperture. The slide plate of the second section juxtaposes the roller assembly.

The subject of the invention is a process for removal or separation of agents from dynamic process systems, particularly when the agent may be hazardous. Its primary embodiment lies in the removal of mercury from the exhaust from fossil fired heating systems, however, it can be seen as also applicable to many other types of separation processes. The process uses a regenerable and recyclable magnetic substrate having a sorbent attached thereto. The combination of the magnetic substrate and sorbent is referred to as a magnetic carrier.

According to at least one aspect, systems and methods for distributed license plate review, at one or more crowd source analysis provider, are provided. In one example, a system for license plate review includes an interface configured to receive at least a roadside image of a vehicle license plate, and at least one processor configured to partition the roadside image of the vehicle license plate into one or more segments, and assign the one or more segments to one or more crowd source analysis provider, the one or more crowd source analysis provider being configured to review and recognize at least one character of the vehicle license plate included within an individual segment of the roadside image. In an example, the crowd source analysis provider may allow a reviewer to interact with the individual segment and recognize the at least one character within that segment.

A manufacturing method of the volume hologram includes a step of hologram recording for recording information to a hologram recording layer and a pressing step of the hologram recording layer for pressing at least a portion of the hologram recording layer recorded with the information. In the step of pressing the hologram recording layer, the hologram recording layer recorded with information may change.

The invention relates to an injection nozzle for an internal combustion engine having a nozzle needle or needle unit for controlling an injection of fuel through at least one injection orifice and an actuator for driving a coupling piston. The nozzle needle or needle unit has a control surface that at least partially delimits a control chamber which communicates with a coupling chamber that is at least partially delimited by the coupling piston. The control surface is situated at the end of the nozzle needle or nozzle unit oriented away from the at least one injection orifice and the actuator drives the coupling piston to open the nozzle needle in such a way that a volume of the coupling chamber increases.

The capsule holder intended to be used with a capsule for preparing a beverage, for example coffee, comprises at least one receptacle for containing a capsule, said capsule holder being moved in relation to the capsule in order to move it into said receptacle by way of actuator means, said actuator means comprising weakening means that are able to limit the forces to which said actuator means can be subjected.

A photolysis-assisted electrolysis device comprises at least one fluidized bed disposed in the device's housing wherein the fluidized bed comprises a reaction medium and photolysis-catalyzing nanoparticles suspended in the reaction medium. When the fluidized bed is exposed to light, the nanoparticles catalyze the photolysis of the reaction medium to form donor electrons. The donor electrons promote reduction of the reaction medium during an electrolysis reaction, for example, the reduction of water to form hydrogen gas.

The present invention relates to a microorganism Lactobacillus plantarum strain Inducia DSM 21379 as probiotic, its functional properties, food product (e.g. cheese) and composition comprising said microorganism and use of said microorganism for production of medicine for enhancing cellular immunity. L. plantarum Inducia produces polyamines from ornithine and glutamate, nitric mono-oxide (NO) from arginine, possesses antioxidative activity and with produced polyamines, nitric mono-oxide and antioxidative compounds improves the intestinal barrier function, increases number of immunocytes in blood and induces cytokine production for enhancement of organisms' natural defense.

The present invention includes compositions and methods of treating and preventing prostate and urinary problems in human males. Additionally, methods of digestive system improvement, blood circulation system improvement, liver and kidney system improvement and urinary system improvement are included.

An article having a visual code that can visually and directly convey a message to a human and accurately and indirectly convey information through an apparatus with an optical reading function. Visual code 1 is attached to an article. In visual code 1, symbol arrangement pattern 13, which indicates a message that can be visually recognized by a human, is formed by forming code space 11 by arranged multiple regions 12 in a grid, selecting one or more than one region 12 from among multiple regions 12 in code space 11, and placing pattern element 15 in each of selected regions 12. Each region 12 where pattern element 15 is placed so as to form symbol arrangement pattern 13 among multiple regions 12 in code space 11 indicates ON; each region 12 where pattern element 15 is not placed indicates OFF.

An exhaust system for a motorcycle provides enhanced steering stability and improved function for purifying exhaust gas. Front exhaust pipes connected with front cylinders of a V-type engine are joined to a front part of an exhaust chamber. Rear exhaust pipes connected with rear cylinders of the engine are joined to an upper part of the exhaust chamber. Exhaust gases discharged from both the front and rear exhaust pipes are unified within the exhaust chamber, and a catalyst is disposed in the vicinity of the unifying section. The length of the rear exhaust pipes is shorter than the length of the front exhaust pipes. High-temperature exhaust gas is introduced to the catalyst contained within the exhaust chamber via the rear exhaust pipes.