14920 results about "Contamination" patented technology

The present disclosure describes a device and methods for safely and accurately placing screws into bones with a powered driving device. By employing multiple layers of fail-safe features and image-guidance systems, the powered driving device provides safe, accurate, and efficient screw placement. That is, the powered driving device may continuously monitor a screw advancement and placement and may automatically shutdown when improper placement is detected. Monitoring placement may be conducted by a microcurrent-monitoring system, by an image-guidance system, or by any other appropriate sensory system. Additionally, upon detecting that screw insertion is complete, the powered driving device may be automatically shutdown. As screw placement is continuously simulated by image-guidance in real time, multiple redundant verification steps are eliminated, providing highly accurate screw placement while decreasing clinician error, device contamination, and surgical time, the decreased surgical time associated with decreased patient-recovery time and associated medical costs.

Current phacoemulsification handpieces require rigorous cleaning after each procedure because the aspiration and irrigation pathways for fluids are integral to the handpiece. According to the present invention, a removable horn extension and nosecone may be used with a phacoemulsification handpiece to allow for disposable fluid pathways exterior to the handpiece. This will reduce the cleaning time and effort, reduce cross-contamination, and increase the lifespan of the handpiece. Furthermore, the current invention allows different horn extensions to be used to excite different motions at the tip of the handpiece, depending on the preference of the surgeon.

A sensor cover according to embodiments of the disclosure is capable of being used with a non-invasive physiological sensor, such as a pulse oximetry sensor. Certain embodiments of the sensor cover reduce or eliminate false readings from the sensor when the sensor is not in use, for example, by blocking a light detecting component of a pulse oximeter sensor when the pulse oximeter sensor is active but not in use. Further, embodiments of the sensor cover can prevent damage to the sensor. Additionally, embodiments of the sensor cover prevent contamination of the sensor.

A heat-shrinkable anti-fomitic device in the form of a bag or tube forms a cover for an object which prevents cross-infection by bacteria and other pathogens that may reside on the object. The heat-shrinkable anti-fomitic device can have a sterile interior that is sealed or stored flat during manufacture to maintain sterility. Therefore, no outer wrapping for the anti-fomitic device is required. The anti-fomitic device is inverted when used to cover the object and results in an ultimate outer surface that is initially sterile. A plurality of such devices can be heat shrunk to an object such that removal of the outer layer will prevent cross contamination. Heat shrink film materials for the coverings / bags serve as a barrier to the transmission of pathogens.

A semiconductor processing apparatus includes a reaction chamber, a loading chamber, a movable support, a drive mechanism, and a control system. The reaction chamber includes a baseplate. The baseplate includes an opening. The movable support is configured to hold a workpiece. The drive mechanism is configured to move a workpiece held on the support towards the opening of the baseplate into a processing position. The control system is configured to create a positive pressure gradient between the reaction chamber and the loading chamber while the workpiece support is in motion. Purge gases flow from the reaction chamber into the loading chamber while the workpiece support is in motion. The control system is configured to create a negative pressure gradient between the reaction chamber and the loading chamber while the workpiece is being processed. Purge gases can flow from the loading chamber into the reaction chamber while the workpiece support is in the processing position, unless the reaction chamber is sealed from the loading chamber in the processing position.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for conducting a variety of assays for the determination of analytes in liquid samples, and relates to the methods for such assays. In particular, the invention relates to a single-use cartridge designed to be adaptable to a variety of real-time assay protocols, preferably assays for the determination of analytes in biological samples using immunosensors or other ligand / ligand receptor-based biosensor embodiments. The cartridge provides novel features for processing a metered portion of a sample, for precise and flexible control of the movement of a sample or second fluid within the cartridge, for the amending of solutions with additional compounds during an assay, and for the construction of immunosensors capable of adaptation to diverse analyte measurements. The disclosed device and methods of use enjoy substantial benefits over the prior art, including simplicity of use by an operator, rapid in situ determinations of one or more analytes, and single-use methodology that minimizes the risk of contamination of both operator and patient. The disclosed invention is adaptable to the point-of-care clinical diagnostic field, including use in accident sites, emergency rooms, surgery, nursing homes, intensive care units, and non-medical environments.

An atomic layer deposition method is used to deposit a TiN or TiSiN film having a thickness of about 50 nm or less on a substrat. A titanium precursor which is tetrakis(dimethylamido)titanium (TDMAT), tetrakis(diethylamido)titanium (TDEAT), or Ti{OCH(CH3)2}4 avoids halide contamination from a titanium halide precursor and is safer to handle than a titanium nitrate. After a monolayer of the titanium precursor is deposited on a substrate, a nitrogen containing reactant is introduced to form a TiN monolayer which is followed by a second purge. For TiSiN, a silicon source gas is fed into the process chamber after the TiN monolayer formation. The process is repeated several times to produce a composite layer comprised of a plurality of monolayers that fills a contact hole. The ALD method is cost effective and affords an interconnect with lower impurity levels and better step coverage than conventional PECVD or CVD processes.

A thermal processing system has a processing vessel 4, a support post 30 stood on the bottom wall of the processing vessel 4, and a support table 32 internally provided with a heating means 38 and supported on the support post 30. A workpiece W is placed on the upper surface of the support table 32 and is subjected to a predetermined thermal process. The upper, the side and the lower surface of the support table 32 are covered with heat-resistant covering members 72, 74 and 76 to prevent the thermal diffusion of metal atoms causative of contamination from the support table 32. thus, various types of contamination, such as metal and organic contamination, can be prevented.