58results about How to "Testing is superfluous" patented technology

A lancing device and a removable and replaceable multi-lancet cartridge for use in connection therewith are disclosed. The multi-lancet cartridge is advanced through sequential lancets, and anti-reverse features prevent reverse advancement of the cartridge. Interlocks are provided to prevent double-cocking the device, to reduce the likelihood of jamming of the mechanism. Improved trigger mechanisms and depth control mechanisms are provided.

A method is provided for determining the level of an analyte in the blood of an individual by measuring the level of the analyte in an interstitial fluid or in any other non blood fluid which does not contain red blood cells and adjusting the measurement value by the concentration of at least one reference analyte.

A method and device for automatically assessing loss of hearing sensitivity and compression (recruitment) with user defined frequency resolution by means of extrapolated DPOAE I / O functions and ABRs as well as for automatically fitting hearing aids without any cooperation of the subject tested using a device having a display screen attached to a handheld device generating and collecting otoacoustic emission signals and brain stem response signals into a programmed with a clinical audiogram with fitting parameters for hearing aids calculated on the basis of assessed hearing threshold and compression and identifying the type of hearing required for the individual.

A method of controlling a milking implement for automatically milking a dairy animal with an udder, such as a cow, which milking implement includes a camera and a teat cup. More particularly, the method includes attaching the teat cup to a teat of the udder, followed by producing by the camera an image of at least a part of the udder and of at least a part of the teat cup, making an analysis of the image of the udder with the teat cup, and performing at least one control action by the milking implement, based on the analysis.

Automated test equipment capable of performing a high-speed test of semiconductor devices is presented. The automated test equipment comprises a system controller for controlling a test program, wherein the system controller is coupled to a bus. The tester system further comprises a plurality of modules also coupled to the bus, where each module is operable to test a plurality of DUTs. Each of the modules comprises a tester processor coupled to the bus and a plurality of configurable blocks communicatively coupled to the tester processor. Each of the configurable blocks is operable to communicate with an associated DUT and further operable to be programmed with a communication protocol for communicating test data to and from said associated device under test.

An apparatus and method for pumping and optionally mixing of small quantities of biological fluid wherein the pumping mechanism is segregated from the biological fluid being pumped. The micro-pump pushes the biological fluid by compressing a cartridge housing the blood and reagents with collapsible walls with a roller or ball bearing, synchronized perpendicular plungers, or an acutely-angled member to push the biological fluid by collapsing the walls of the cartridge in the direction of flow.

The currently used method for immunological diagnosis of tuberculosis infection, the tuberculin skin test, is problematic for a number of reasons; it has low specificity in BCG vaccinated individuals, a high interobserver variance and requires skill to be read and interpreted. Furthermore it requires an extra visit to the clinic to have the test read. Both people vaccinated with BCG and those exposed to non-tuberculosis mycobacteria give a positive skin test result similar to that seen in a TB infected individual. This also applies for purified protein derivative (PPD) when used in a blood cell based test. The present invention discloses the development of an immunological TB diagnostic tool based on a combination of epitopes from proteins encoded by regions of the M. Tuberculosis (M. tub.) genome, that are not present in the BCG vaccine strain or in the most common non-tuberculosis mycobacteria. Four recently characterized proteins with this diagnostic potential were selected. Peptides from these proteins were tested one by one with peripheral blood mononuclear cells from microscopy or culture confirmed TB patients as well as from healthy BCG vaccinated controls. Some combinations of peptides showed a sensitivity level comparable to the level seen with the two wellknown M. tuberculosisspecific proteins ESAT 6 and CFP 10. An epitope combination with these peptides combined with ESAT 6 and CFP 10 gave a sensitivity of 93%, representing a raise in sensitivity of about 26-33% compared to using ESAT6 or CFP 10 alone. The results from a panel of TB patients, using a collection of the new specific epitopes clearly demonstrates, that addition of other specific epitopes to the already known specific antigens, increases the sensitivity of a diagnostic assay based on cell mediated immune response.

System and method for conducting a hearing test that is accessible to a mass market of individuals with potential hearing loss. The hearing test is stored on a centrally located computer (140) that is accessible via communications device (121). The system provides step-by-step guidance on the next steps to be taken if hearing loss is found, and provides a means to store and organize the user test data to create a means for reuse of the data.

A method and device for automatically assessing loss of hearing sensitivity and compression (recruitment) with user defined frequency resolution by means of extrapolated DPOAE I / O functions and ABRs as well as for automatically fitting hearing aids without any cooperation of the subject tested using a device having a display screen attached to a handheld device generating and collecting otoacoustic emission signals and brain stem response signals into a programmed with a clinical audiogram with fitting parameters for hearing aids calculated on the basis of assessed hearing threshold and compression and identifying the type of hearing required for the individual.

A method of testing an animal for pregnancy or sex identification comprising the steps of first, providing a first vessel containing a liquid and having a removable surface wherein said removable surface is at least partially coated with an antibody and then introducing a bodily fluid from the female animal into said first vessel so that said bodily fluid contacts the liquid and then manipulating the first vessel so that the liquid contacts the antibody. Then, a second vessel containing a reporter hormone solution is provided and the removable surface from the first vessel is displaced to the second vessel and manipulating the second vessel so that the reporter hormone solution contacts the removable surface. Then, a third vessel containing an indicating solution which has an appearance which is related to the amount of the reporter hormone contacted is provided, and the removable surface is displaced from the second vessel to the third vessel. The third vessel is manipulated so that the indicating solution contacts the removable surface. Then, a determination is made regarding the pregnancy or sex of the animal based on the appearance of the indicating solution.

Method of controlling a milking implement for automatically milking a dairy animal with an udder, such as a cow, which milking implement comprises a camera and a teat cup, which method comprises the following steps:attaching the teat cup to a teat of the udder, followed byproducing by means of the camera an image of at least a part of the udder and of at least a part of the teat cup,making an analysis of the image of the udder with the teat cup, and performing at least one control action by means of the milking implement, based on the analysis.

An Analog / mixed signal automatic test system includes a software architecture that creates a virtual composite instruments through novel software dynamic allocation of low level resources. These virtual composite instruments provide backwards and forwards compatibility to a variety of automatic test equipment, known or available on the market. The virtual composite instruments are free from the normal constraints imposed by hardware implementations. Creation of the virtual composite instruments allows a single piece of automatic test equipment system to emulate many implementations of automatic test equipment, providing higher utilization, and therefore a lower cost test solution for device manufacturers. The test instruments are preferably object controls and are preferably instantiated and controlled by the test system server. This allows multiple users to control the tester simultaneously across, for example, the Internet.

Automated test equipment (ATE) capable of performing a test of semiconductor devices is presented. The ATE comprises a computer system comprising a system controller communicatively coupled to a tester processor. The system controller is operable to transmit instructions to the processor and the processor is operable to generate commands and data from the instructions for coordinating testing of a plurality of devices under test (DUTs). The ATE further comprises a plurality of FPGA components communicatively coupled to the processor via a bus. Each of the FPGA components comprises at least one hardware accelerator circuit operable to internally generate commands and data transparently from the processor for testing one of the DUTs. Additionally, the tester processor is configured to operate in one of several functional modes, wherein the functional modes are configured to allocate functionality for generating commands and data between the processor and the FPGA components.

A semiconductor memory device with a built-in self test circuit includes a semiconductor substrate, a memory cell array formed on the semiconductor substrate, an input buffer provided on the semiconductor substrate to receive externally applied data, a test circuit coupled to the memory cell array and the input buffer on the semiconductor substrate to store a program received through the input buffer to generate test data of the memory cell array according to the stored program to carry out testing of the memory cell array, and a select circuit selectively applying to the memory cell array test data applied from the test circuit and data applied from the input buffer depending upon a test operation and a normal operation.

System and method for diagnosing hearing loss in an individual using a self-executable, interactive electronic hearing loss diagnosis apparatus including a data storage media and a media player for accessing data on the media. The diagnostic apparatus provides hearing loss diagnostic data to the individual in the form of coded data. A hearing loss professional can use the coded data to further diagnose the hearing loss of the individual.

A method of testing an animal for pregnancy or identifying the sex of the animal comprising the steps of first, providing a first vessel containing a liquid and having a removable surface wherein said removable surface is at least partially coated with an antibody and then introducing a bodily fluid from the female animal into said first vessel so that said bodily fluid contacts the liquid and then manipulating the first vessel so that the liquid contacts the antibody. Then, a second vessel containing a reporter hormone solution is provided and the removable surface from the first vessel is displaced to the second vessel and manipulating the second vessel so that the reporter hormone solution contacts the removable surface. Then, a third vessel containing an indicating solution which has an appearance which is related to the amount of the reporter hormone contacted is provided, and the removable surface is displaced from the second vessel to the third vessel. The third vessel is manipulated so that the indicating solution contacts the removable surface. Then, a determination is made regarding the pregnancy or sex based on the appearance of the indicating solution.

A magnetic encoder for use in a vehicle axle for generating pulse code by magnetic force. A magnetic ring is attached with an adhesive to a reinforcing ring fixed on the vehicle axle and then S and N poles are alternately magnetized thereon in a circumferential manner. Further the edge of the reinforcing ring is folded to fix the magnetic ring by caulking into the reinforcing ring.

A software testing system and method is disclosed for a production system and production database. The method includes creating a test system for testing aspects of the production system; initializing a test database; processing program statements in the test system using the test database; not changing the production database when processing statements in the test system; and when the program statement in the test system acts upon a targeted database record, copying the targeted record from the production to the test database only if necessary. When the program statement is a select or update statement, the method can include checking if the test database includes the targeted record, if so processing the statement using the record in the test database; and if not copying the targeted record from the production to the test database, and processing the statement using the record in the test database.

A universal system for testing different semiconductor devices provides a probe head with a probe pattern that may be used to test different test patterns formed on different semiconductor devices. Each of a plurality of bumps or pads of the test pattern contacts a corresponding probe of the probe head to enable the semiconductor device to be tested. The universal probe head may additionally or alternatively include a substrate design on the probe head that provides a pattern on the substrate of the probe head that may be used in conjunction with different patterns formed on a plurality of different printed circuit boards for testing different semiconductor devices.

A dynamically reconfigurable interface for an automatic test equipment is disclosed where one or more synthetic instruments transmit the high speed signals as well as receive the high speed signals from a device under test so that testing can be performed at speeds higher than the ATE was originally designed to accommodate. Synthetic instruments are implemented on a field programmable gate array (FPGA) that operate at higher speeds than COTS instruments and can reach the frequencies that high speed I / O buses use. SIs can be created by configuring the FPGA, with different configurations creating different SIs. A single FPGA can house a number of SIs.

A method and device for automatically assessing loss of hearing sensitivity and compression (recruitment) with user defined frequency resolution by means of extrapolated DPOAE I / O functions and ABRs as well as for automatically fitting hearing aids without any cooperation of the subject tested using a device having a display screen attached to a handheld device generating and collecting otoacoustic emission signals and brain stem response signals into a programmed with a clinical audiogram with fitting parameters for hearing aids calculated on the basis of assessed hearing threshold and compression and identifying the type of hearing required for the individual.

The currently used method for immunological diagnosis of tuberculosis infection, the tuberculin skin test, is problematic for a number of reasons; it has low specificity in BCG vaccinated individuals, a high interobserver variance and requires skill to be read and interpreted. Furthermore it requires an extra visit to the clinic to have the test read. Both people vaccinated with BCG and those exposed to non-tuberculosis mycobacteria give a positive skin test result similar to that seen in a TB infected individual. This also applies for purified protein derivative (PPD) when used in a blood cell based test. The present invention discloses the development of an immunological TB diagnostic tool based on a combination of epitopes from proteins encoded by regions of the M. tuberculosis (M. tub.) genome, that are not present in the BCG vaccine strain or in the most common non-tuberculosis mycobacteria.

An apparatus and method for screening combinatorial libraries of materials by measuring the response of individual library members to mechanical perturbations is described. The apparatus generally includes a sample holder for containing the library members, an array of probes for mechanically perturbing individual library members, and an array of sensors for measuring the response of each of the library members to the mechanical perturbations. Library members undergoing screening make up a sample array, and individual library members constitute elements of the sample array that are confined to specific locations on the sample holder. During screening, the apparatus mechanically perturbs individual library members by displacing the sample array (sample holder) and the array of probes. Typically, all of the elements of the sample array are perturbed simultaneously, but the apparatus also can also perturb individual or groups of sample array elements sequentially. The flexible apparatus and method can screen libraries of materials based on many different bulk physical properties, including Young's modulus (flexure, uniaxial extension, biaxial compression, and shear); hardness (indentation), failure (stress and strain at failure, toughness), adhesion (tack, loop tack), and flow (viscosity, melt flow indexing, and rheology), among others.

An analytical device for analysis of chemical or biological samples, a method of using such a device, based on rotation of the device, integrated sample dosing and optical detection, and a system comprising such a device are disclosed. The analytical device comprises a device body having a liquid processing unit. The liquid processing unit comprises a mixing chamber for mixing a sample with a reagent, a sample dosing chamber for delivering a defined volume of the sample to the mixing chamber, and a reagent channel for delivering the reagent to be mixed with the sample, wherein the mixing chamber also serves as a detection chamber.

A retaining clip for retaining reagent test slides in a stacked arrangement includes a first assembly having a first cover plate and at least two parallel, co-planar rails extending transversely from an inner surface of the first cover plate. A second assembly includes a second cover plate, and a rail receiving platform extending transversely from an inner surface of the second cover plate. The first cover plate and the second cover plate define between them a space for receiving the plurality of reagent test slides. The rails of the first assembly include ratchet teeth, and the rail receiving platform of the second assembly includes pawls. The pawls engage the ratchet teeth to prevent the separation of the first assembly and the second assembly and to securely but removably hold the plurality of reagent test slides in a stacked arrangement between the first and second cover plates.

A method is provided in a small cell base station comprising multiple antennas of controlling reception pattern by selecting a subset of the antennas for use. The method comprises determining a ranking value for each of subsets of the antennas dependent upon measurements of received signal quality, and choosing the subset of the antennas for use that provides the highest ranking value