12204 results about "Air bubble" patented technology

Methods, systems, and kits for extracorporeally circulating and processing blood are described. The systems include a pump, a processing unit, and blood drawn return lines for accessing a patient's vasculature. Blood flow through the return line is measured and pump speed controlled to maintain a desired blood flow rate. Alarm conditions can be initiated when expected pump performance differs from that needed to maintain the control point flow rate. By using a ultrasonic flow detector, gas bubbles in the blood flow can be detected.

Articles are provided that include an optical film and an optically clear pressure sensitive adhesive layer on at least one outer surface of the optical film. Additionally, articles are provided that include a pressure sensitive adhesive layer that resists bubble formation when adhered to an outgassing substrate. The pressure sensitive adhesive layer in the various articles contain a (meth)acrylate block copolymer.

An immersion lithographic apparatus includes a voltage generator or power source that applies a potential difference to an object in contact with the immersion liquid such that bubbles and / or particles in the immersion liquid are either attracted or repelled from that object due to the electrokinetic potential of the surface of the bubble in the immersion liquid.

Provided is a method of bonding a transparent plate or a touch panel to a flat display without allowing air bubbles to form. A fixed amount of liquid adhesive is applied in dots to a bonding surface around corners and at the center. More adhesive is applied to connect the dots of applied adhesive with lines. The bonding surface is then reversed, causing the adhesive to drip, and the dripping adhesive is brought into contact with an opposite bonding surface to fill a gap between the bonding surfaces with the adhesive. The adhesive is cured by irradiation with light incident from a transparent plate side. In short, after dots of adhesive are brought into contact with the opposite bonding surface and the adhesive flows into a pattern that does not let in air bubbles, the gap between the bonding surfaces is filled with the adhesive.

The present invention provides apparatuses and methods to safely and economically deliver infusion fluid to a patient during a medical procedure. The infusion fluid may be a sedative, analgesic, amnestic or other pharmaceutical agent (drug) for alleviating a patient's pain and anxiety before, during and / or after a medical or surgical procedure. In general the apparatus comprises a microprocessor-based controller that receives inputs from a plurality of physiological monitors attached to a patient. The system controller processes the data from the physiological monitors and based upon a fluid infusion algorithm delivers infusion fluid to a patient. The physiological monitors monitor the patient throughout the course of the procedure and depending upon the health of the patient, drug delivery may be adjusted to optimize the procedure while ensuring the patient's health is maintained. Functionality detectors such as an occlusion sensor, air-in-line sensor and a fluid detection sensor alert a clinician to such hazards as a pressure build up in the infusion line, air-bubbles in the infusion line, and the absence of fluid in the infusion line.

Method and medical devices for generating and stabilizing micro- or nano-bubbles, and systems and methods for therapeutic applications using the bubbles, are provided. The micro-bubbles may be used to enhance therapeutic benefits such as ultrasound-guided precision drug delivery and real-time verification, acoustic activation of large tumour masses, enhanced acoustic activation through longer retention of therapeutic agents at the point of interest, enhancement of high intensity focused ultrasound treatments, light activation of photodynamic drugs at a depth within a patient using extracorporeal light sources, probes, or sonoluminescence, and initiation of time reversal acoustics focused ultrasound to permit highly localized treatment.

Disclosed is an exposure apparatus which includes a projection optical system for projecting a pattern of a reticle onto a substrate, wherein the substrate is exposed through a liquid medium kept at least in a portion between the substrate and an optical element of the projection optical system which optical element is nearest to the substrate, a supplying system for supplying a liquid medium, a collecting system for collecting a liquid medium, and an exhausting system for removing a bubble in the liquid medium through a bubble removing material having such property that it passes a gas but it does not pass a liquid.

The present invention provides novel methods and devices for testing / verifying the configuration of one or more microfluidic elements in a microfluidic device. In particular the methods and devices of the invention are useful in testing for blockages or the presence of air bubbles in microfluidic elements. For example, a method for verifying the proper function of a microfluidic device is disclosed, which device comprises at least first, second and third fluidic openings, which fluidic openings are fluidly coupled to at least first, second and third microscale channel elements, respectively, the method comprising flowing an electrically conductive buffer through the first, second and third microscale channel elements; setting a known applied voltage potential (or current) between the first and second fluidic openings; setting a current in the third microscale channel element to be approximately zero; detecting a resulting voltage at the third fluidic opening; and, comparing the detected voltage at the third fluidic opening with a calculated target voltage expected at the third fluidic opening to determine whether there is a fault or problem (e.g., air bubble) in at least one of the first and second microscale channel elements. The above method can be repeated one or more times for the other fluidic openings in the microfluidic device to determine whether there is a fault in any one or more microscale elements of the device.

An electrosurgical system includes an electrosurgical device adapted to direct energy to tissue and a fluid path leading to the electrosurgical device. The system also includes an optical sensor unit operably associated with the fluid path. The optical sensor unit includes a light-emitting element to generate light output and a light-receiving element to collect light outputted from the light-emitting element. The light-emitting element and the light-receiving element are disposed such that light output from the light-emitting element passes through the fluid path to the light-receiving element. The optical sensor unit is capable of detecting an air bubble in the fluid path passing through the optical sensor unit using a sensed characteristic of light collected at the light-receiving element.

A method and device for blood treatments that use fluids such as dialysate and replacement fluid for renal replacement therapy. In an embodiment, fluid is passed either by pump or passively by gravity feed, through a microporous sterilization filter from a fluid source to a replacement fluid container. The latter forms a batch that may be used during treatment. The advantage of forming the batch before treatment is that the rate of filtering needn't match the rate of consumption during treatment. As a result, the sterilization filter can have a small capacity. In another embodiment, a filter is placed immediately prior to the point at which the sterile fluid is consumed by the treatment process. The latter may be used in combination with the former embodiment as a last-chance guarantee of sterility and / or that the fluid is free of air bubbles. It may also be used as the primary means of sterile-filtration.

An apparatus for treating a multi component liquid substrate while leaving particulate matter therein as a skein of hollow fiber filtering membranes immersed in the substrate which is contained in a non-pressurized reservoir. A pumping fluid communication with the lumens of the membranes draws a component of the substrate as permeate through the membranes by applying a section to the lumens of the membranes. In various embodiments, an aeration system as a gas distributor for discharging air directly into the substrate within the skein, upper and lower headers of the skein are spaced apart by a gas tube, and a gas distribution system has through passages through the lower header to discharge bubbles into the substrate above the lower header.