641 results about "Live organisms" patented technology

A physiological assessment system comprises a sensor and first and second processors. The sensor is adapted to generate a signal responsive to a living organism. The first processor is configured to derive a measured parameter from the sensor signal. The second processor is configured to analyze nonlinear dynamics of the measured parameter so as to provide a physiological assessment of the living organism.

A method and apparatus for authenticating an individual living organism by recognizing a unique internal electric and / or magnetic and / or acoustic characteristic, which comprises a biometric signature, involve presenting a body part to a sensing device that senses the signature. The sensed presented biometric signature is compared to a known biometric signature to authenticate the individual. This authentication can then be used to authorize any of a wide variety of actions by the individual, such as accessing equipment or an area, or to perform actions, such as conducting financial transactions. A card having sensors is used to sense the biometric signature which is read by a card reader and sent to a local or remote reader for biometric signature comparison.

An electrical current is created across an electrically conductive medium comprising a cell which may be part of a tissue of a living organism. A first electrical parameter which may be current, voltage, or electrical impedance is measured. A second electrical parameter which may be current, voltage or a combination of both is then adjusted and / or analyzed. Adjustments are carried out to facilitate analysis and / or obtain a desired degree of electroporation. Analysis is carried out to determine characteristics of the cell membrane and / or tissue.

An implantable, rechargeable assembly comprised of an implantable device disposed within a living organism, an electrical storage device connected to the implantable device, and a thermoelectric charging assembly operatively connected to the electrical storage device. The thermoelectric charging assembly has devices for transferring thermal energy between the living organism and a thermoelectric module, for generating an electrical current from the thermal energy, for charging the electrical storage device with the electrical current, for determining the extent to which the electrical storage device is being charged with the electrical current, and for generating a signal whenever the extent to which the electrical storage device is being charged with the electrical current falls below a specified value.

A biodegradable and biocompatible polyurethane composition synthesized by reacting isocyanate groups of at least one multifunctional isocyanate compound with at least one bioactive agent having at least one reactive group —X which is a hydroxyl group (—OH) or an amine group (—NH2). The polyurethane composition is biodegradable within a living organism to biocompatible degradation products including the bioactive agent. Preferably, the released bioactive agent affects at least one of biological activity or chemical activity in the host organism. A biodegradable polyurethane composition includes hard segments and soft segments. Each of the hard segments is preferably derived from a diurea diol or a diester diol and is preferably biodegradable into biomolecule degradation products or into biomolecule degradation products and a biocompatible diol. Another biodegradable polyurethane composition includes hard segments and soft segments. Each of the hard segments is derived from a diurethane diol and is biodegradable into biomolecule degradation products.

Disclosed are novel acyl-CoA synthetases and novel acyltransferases, nucleic acid molecules encoding the same, recombinant nucleic acid molecules and recombinant host cells comprising such nucleic acid molecules, genetically modified organisms (microorganisms and plants) comprising the same, and methods of making and using the same. Also disclosed are genetically modified organisms (e.g., plants, microorganisms) that have been genetically modified to express a PKS-like system for the production of PUFAs (a PUFA PKS system or PUFA synthase), wherein the organisms have been modified to express an acyl-CoA synthetase, to express an acyl transferase, to delete or inactivate a fatty acid synthase (FAS) expressed by the organism, to reduce competition for malonyl CoA with the PUFA synthase or to increase the level of malonyl CoA in the plant or plant cell, and in one aspect, to inhibit KASII or KASIII. Additional modifications, and methods to make and use such organisms, in addition to PUFAs and oils obtained from such organisms, are disclosed, alone with various products including such PUFAs and oils.

The invention provides a system for preparing an autologous solid-fibrin web suitable for regenerating tissue in a living organism. The system includes a sealed primary container containing a separation medium and a low-density high-viscosity liquid. The separation medium separates red blood cells from plasma when the container contains blood and is centrifuged, and the primary container has a first pressure. The system further includes a sealed secondary container containing a calcium-coagulation activator. The secondary container has a second pressure that is less than the first pressure. The system also comprises a transfer device including a cannula having a first end and a second end. The first and second ends puncture the sealed primary and secondary containers in order to provide fluid communication between the first and second containers. The low-density high-viscosity liquid of the primary container blocks flow through the cannula upon entering therein.

The present invention takes the form of a current limiting apparatus and method for limiting current flow, induced when the level of an external signal is greater than an external signal threshold signal level, in a conductive loop formed by a medical device implanted within a living organism having electrically excitable tissue. The system includes an implantable pulse generator (IPG) system having a housing, a signal generator disposed in the housing that generates an electrical signal, and at least one lead extending from the housing to convey electrical signal to the patient. To limit the induced current flow, the IPG includes current limiting componentry, an impedance increasing element, and / or alternating current blocking elements. These components provide an alternating current impedance path to the electrical ground from a lead coupled to the capacitive element. Also disclosed are techniques for reducing the effective surface area of the current inducing loop caused by the IPG system.

The present invention relates to novel fluorescent dyes, novel fluorogenic and fluorescent reporter molecules and new enzyme assay processes that can be used to detect the activity of caspases and other enzymes involved in apoptosis in whole cells, cell lines and tissue samples derived from any living organism or organ. The reporter molecules and assay processes can be used in drug screening procedures to identify compounds which act as inhibitors or inducers of the caspase cascade in whole cells or tissues. The reagents and assays described herein are also useful for determining the chemosensitivity of human cancer cells to treatment with chemotherapeutic drugs. The present invention also relates to novel fluorogenic and fluorescent reporter molecules and new enzyme assay processes that can be used to detect the activity of type 2 methionine aminopeptidase, dipeptidyl peptidase IV, calpain, aminopeptidase, HIV protease, adenovirus protease, HSV-1 protease, HCMV protease and HCV protease.

A physiological data measuring apparatus and a measuring strip are disclosed. The apparatus includes a measuring body and a measuring strip. The measuring body reads, displays and records a physiological signal. The measuring strip has a containing space for accommodating the measuring body and includes conducting metals for measuring and transmitting the physiological signal to the measuring body, wherein the conducting metals constitute a set of paired conducting metals that are wrapped by a soft material of the measuring strip. The soft material forms the containing space and two wings, and a pair of conducting metals are disposed at the bottom of the containing space and penetrates through the soft material to form two contact points, and another pair of conducting metals is disposed at the two wings outside the containing space to form a third contact point. The strip includes at least one adhesive for attaching a live organism.

The exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to an at least partially biodegradable implant suitable for implantation into a subject for repairing a bone or cartilage defect, comprising a matrix forming an open-celled structure having a plurality of interconnected spaces, whereas the channels of the matrix are substantially completely filled with metallic material particles, and wherein at least one of the metallic material or the matrix material is at least partially degradable in-vivo. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a method for repairing a bone or cartilage defect in a living organism, comprising implanting an implant according to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention into the defective bone or cartilage, or replacing the defective bone or cartilage at least partially.

A method and system for continually monitoring oxygenation levels in real-time in compartments of an animal limb, such as in a human leg or a human thigh or a forearm, can be used to assist in the diagnosis of a compartment syndrome. The method and system can include one or more near infrared compartment sensors in which each sensor can be provided with a compartment alignment mechanism and a central scan depth marker so that each sensor may be precisely positioned over a compartment of a living organism. The method and system may comprise hardware or software (or both) may adjust one or more algorithms based on whether tissue being monitored was traumatized or is healthy. The method and system can also monitor the relationship between blood pressure and oxygenation levels and activate alarms based on predetermined conditions relating to the oxygenation levels or blood pressure or both.

The present invention provides methods for the sequencing of all RNA species within an RNA sample, such as the RNA content obtained from a cell, a tissue, a living organism, or from an artificial source. RNA molecules within the samples are labeled in a RNA-specific manner prior to immobilization on a solid support. One label is used to mark the location of the RNA molecule on the solid support, whereas the second label is used to mark selectively the S′ end of full-length mRNA molecules. RNA molecules are sequenced while being bound to the solid support in one or more sequencing reactions, and sequences of individual RNA molecules can be forwarded to computational analysis for assembling sequence information from individual sequencing reads obtained from the same location on the solid support. Not only unsupervised expression profiling on a genome-wide scale, but also the direct analysis of RNA-RNA interactions become possible as revealed by the analysis of the sequencing information obtained along with genomic information.

A method and apparatus for the low temperature sterilization and disinfections to be applied to medical apparatus / instruments. This invention perfects the use of ultrasonic, UV, ozone in a liquid bath with at least one chemical reagent which can be either sterilant or disinfectant solution for reprocessing many classes of medical equipment / instruments especially those which do not withstand high temperature sterilization process and require sterilization or high level disinfections. The invented method can effectively remove and destroy contaminates, particularly living organisms, bacterial spores, virus, and organics from used or contaminated medical apparatus / instruments surface, inner hollow lumen tube, joints and crevices. Having greatest immediate application for the cleaning, disinfecting and sterilizing all in one simple process for reprocessing used or contaminated medical apparatus / instruments after treating patients.

A process for identifying and treating cells in a living organism. The cells are labeled, circulated within the organism, detected with an implanted detector, and then either isolated or ablated.

A device is disclosed which is therapeutically beneficial to the well-being of living organisms such as humans, animals, and / or plant life, using photon or light waves. The device is intended to lie against the skin or surface, near the skin / surface, and / or from a distance ranging up to several feet from the skin / surface. The device is intended to be used for: general relaxation and detoxification of an organism; stimulating the healing process in an organism which is ill, diseased or injured; aiding in the elimination of pain and inflammation in an organism; stimulating / sedating the acupressure meridian system of an organism and rebalancing the electromagnetic energy-field surrounding the organism.

An improved electrode for neural stimulation, including deep brain stimulation, cortical stimulation, muscle stimulation and other similar applications. The improvement of our invention over prior art consisting of the possibility of a larger number of electrode pads from where to originate the electrical stimulation, thereby offering the possibility of fine control of the location of the stimulating signal. Our invention discloses a system of address wires which controls switches and demultiplexers to select one of a plurality of wires and one of a plurality of electrode pads from where the electric stimulation starts, and latches that maintain some selected choices after the address buses go on to select other wires and other electrode tips. Our invention also discloses time delay lines which are used to keep the stimulating pulses for a pre-assigned time, after which the stimulating pulses stop until further instruction to start again.

The present invention relates to novel fluorescent dyes, novel fluorogenic and fluorescent reporter molecules and new enzyme assay processes that can be used to detect the activity of caspases and other enzymes involved in apoptosis in whole cells, cell lines and tissue samples derived from any living organism or organ. The reporter molecules and assay processes can be used in drug screening procedures to identify compounds which act as inhibitors or inducers of the caspase cascade in whole cells or tissues. The reagents and assays described herein are also useful for determining the chemosensitivity of human cancer cells to treatment with chemotherapeutic drugs. The present invention also relates to novel fluorogenic and fluorescent reporter molecules and new enzyme assay processes that can be used to detect the activity of type 2 methionine aminopeptidase, dipeptidyl peptidase IV, calpain, aminopeptidase, HIV protease, adenovirus protease, HSV-1 protease, HCMV protease and HCV protease.

This invention provides the use of conserved non-genic sequences so commonly found in most species of plants and animals for the detection of a disease and condition. The intimate and ultimately important link of the corresponding DNA sequences and expressed RNA sequences with their conserved non-genic sequence makes the detection possible. Apart from the diagnostic use, the combination of the conserved non-genic sequences with the corrected or designed DNA or RNA sequences makes treatment or improvement possible for living organisms.

A phototherapy or photobiomodulation process employing the application of electromagnetic radiation (EMR) to a living organism, typically a human being. The EMR is generated by one or more strings of LEDs and is programmed to emit one or more wavelengths, typically in the visible and infrared portions of the spectrum, the EMR in each wavelength being delivered in pulses having specified on-times, off-times, photoexcitation frequencies, duty factors, phase delays, and power amplitudes. A system for providing such EMR includes a microcontroller having a pattern library of algorithms, each of which defines a particular sequence of synthesized pulses, and an application pad, preferably flexible, containing the LED strings.

A method and system for continually monitoring oxygenation levels in real-time in compartments of an animal limb, such as in a human leg or a human thigh or a forearm, can be used to assist in the diagnosis of a compartment syndrome. The method and system can include one or more near infrared compartment sensors in which each sensor can be provided with a compartment alignment mechanism and a central scan depth marker so that each sensor may be precisely positioned over a compartment of a living organism. The method and system can include a device for displaying oxygenation levels corresponding to respective compartment sensors that are measuring oxygenation levels of a compartment of interest. The method and system can also monitor the relationship between blood pressure and oxygenation levels and activate alarms based on predetermined conditions relating to the oxygenation levels or blood pressure or both.

A process for identifying and treating cells in a living organism. The cells are labeled, circulated within the organism, detected with an implanted detector, and then either isolated or ablated.

The present invention relates to a system for measuring respiratory function of living organisms. More particularly, signals indicative of the change in lung volume, defined as active and passive work, required to breathe and the airflow through the respiratory system of the living organism are obtained and processed as waveforms to provide a signal indicative of the respiratory restriction. The methods of the present invention measure clinical forms of airway obstruction, airway reactivity and lung volume and may be used to continuously or intermittently monitor patients with compromised respiratory function. In a preferred embodiment, a head-out, breath in respiratory plethysmograph system provides the signals indicative of change in lung volume as related to pressure changes in a chamber. Further, flowmetric variables are generated that provide a characterization of airway obstructions.

A method and device for using topically applied acoustical vibrations to treat diseases and conditions in living organisms. This approach is non-invasive, and more specifically does not involve introducing chemicals or physically invading the organisms. One or more acoustical transducers are placed directly on the skin of the organism in certain locations, and specific vibration profiles designed to treat specific diseases and conditions are applied to the organism through the transducers. The treatment includes the regular application of various vibration pulse profiles that generally include sequences of pulses in which each pulse has a duration in the range of 0.5 to 10 seconds, is separated by rest periods in the range of 0.1 to 3 seconds, is modulated with an oscillatory signal in the frequency range of 1 Hz to 1,500 Hz, and has a pulse amplitude in the range of range from about 20 to 5000 microns.

A fluid pressure sensor for a lead or catheter intended for placement in a living organism, such as a human heart, includes a rigid annular or tubular supporting structure and a piezoelectric element disposed on at least a portion of the outer surface thereof. The piezoelectric element delivers an electrical signal when subjected to a pressure variation, and exhibits circumferential sensitivity. The rigidity of the sensor is defined to satisfy predetermined criteria to ensure that the sensor, when sensing pressure transferred to the sensor through an on-growth of tissue on the sensor, which is at least 90% of the signal which the sensor would emit without the on-growth.

A blood pressure monitoring system includes a blood pressure measurement device for measuring blood pressure using a cuff, a memory for storing an externally inputted pulse wave propagation time fluctuation threshold, a time interval detection reference point detection section for detecting a time interval detection reference point in a pulse wave on the side of aortae of a living organism, a pulse wave detection section for detecting a pulse wave on the side of peripheral blood vessels appearing with a time lag with respect to the pulse wave on the side of aortae, a pulse wave propagation time measurement section for measuring a pulse wave propagation time based on respective detected outputs from the time interval detection reference point detection section and the pulse wave detection section, an operation device for calculating a pulse wave propagation fluctuation from two measured pulse wave propagation times, a judgment device for judging whether or not the calculated pulse wave propagation time fluctuation exceeds the pulse wave propagation time fluctuation threshold read from the memory, and a control device for controlling the blood pressure measurement device based on an output of the judgment device so that the blood pressure of a subject is measured using the cuff.

The present invention relates to novel fluorescent dyes, novel fluorogenic and fluorescent reporter molecules and new enzyme assay processes that can be used to detect the activity of caspases and other enzymes involved in apoptosis in whole cells, cell lines and tissue samples derived from any living organism or organ. The reporter molecules and assay processes can be used in drug screening procedures to identify compounds which act as inhibitors or inducers of the caspase cascade in whole cells or tissues. The reagents and assays described herein are also useful for determining the chemosensitivity of human cancer cells to treatment with chemotherapeutic drugs. The present invention also relates to novel fluorogenic and fluorescent reporter molecules and new enzyme assay processes that can be used to detect the activity of type 2 methionine aminopeptidase, HIV protease, adenovirus protease, HSV-1 protease, HCMV protease and HCV protease.

Some embodiments of the invention provide an apparatus for achieving hemostasis in a puncture tract that is created during a medical procedure. The puncture typically extends from the epidermis to the vasculature in a living organism. In some embodiments, the apparatus includes (1) a plug for subcutaneous placement within the puncture tract, and (2) a delivery mechanism for delivering and maintaining the plug within the puncture tract until hemostasis is achieved. The apparatus also includes in some embodiments a lubricious sheath that is placed around the plug to facilitate the insertion of the plug into the puncture tract.

a biocompatible and biodegradable implant for a cavity in a bone of a living organism is made of a biocompatible and biodegradable granules which are selected from the group including biopolymers, bioglasses, bioceramics preferably calcium sulfate, calcium phosphate such as monocalcium phosphate monohydrate, monocalcium phosphate anhydrous, dicalcium phosphate dihydrate, dicalcium phosphate anhydrous, tetracalcium phosphate, calcium orthophosphate phosphate, α-tricalcium phosphate, β-tricalcium phosphate, apatite such as hydroxyapatite, or a mixture thereof. The biocompatible and biodegradable granules are provided with a coating, which comprises at least one layer of a biocompatible and biodegradable polymer which is selected from the group including poly((α-hydroxyesters), poly(orthoesters), polyanhydrides, poly(phosphazenes), poly(propylene fumarate), poly(ester amides), poly(ethylene fumarate), polylactide, polyglycolide, polycaprolactone, poly(glycolide-co-trimethylene carbonate), polydioxanone, co-polymers thereof and blends of those polymers. The biocompatible and biodegradable implants are obtained by fusing together the polymer-coated granules through polymer-linkage of the polymer coatings of neighboring granules.

The present invention realizes calculating a pulse rate accurately, even when a body movement component has no periodical characteristics, by surely removing the body movement component generated in a living organism from a pulse wave component. A pulse wave detecting section includes a pulse wave sensor and outputs a pulse wave detection signal to an MPU functioning as a body motion component removing section. A body motion sensor outputs a body motion detection signal corresponding to a body motion that affects the behavior of venous blood to the MPU. As a result, to the MPU removes the body motion component from the pulse wave detection signal based on the body motion detection signal. A pulse rate calculating section calculates the pulse rate based on the pulse wave detection signal from which the body motion component has been removed. The pulse rate is displayed on a liquid crystal display device.