Abstract: The invention provides systems, methods for 14 treatment, and occlusion of the fallopian tube. An elongated catheter (22) is placed into the isthmic region (14) of the fallopian tube (16) in a trans-cervical trans-uterine fashion, and a mono-pole antenna (92) is disposed within a distal end of the catheter. The antenna radiates microwave energy in resonance to a drive frequency into tissue of the isthmic region without physical contact between the mono-pole antenna, and the tissue. This heating causes occlusion after a period of time. Typically, the catheter, and the mono-pole antenna are disposable after one treatment. In the preferred embodiment, the antenna is formed from an extension of the inner conductor of a coaxial cable coupled to a microwave generator. A power control section (24) can be used to control, and apply the appropriate microwave power to the fallopian tube tissue.

Abstract: An improved method and apparatus for microwave imaging of an inhomogeneous target, in particular of biological tissue, compensates for the interactions between active antennae and nonactive antennae. Measured electric field data are processed in magnitude and phase form so that unwrapped phase information may be used directly in the image reconstruction. Initial finite element measurements and calculations are used to determine the perimeter dimensions of the target being examined, resulting in more accurate image reconstructions. An improved regularization technique is a hybrid of a Marquardt regularization scheme with a spatial filtering technique and a Tikhonov regularization scheme. An improved switching matrix enables simultaneous sampling of electric field data from a plurality of receiving antennae.

Abstract: The invention includes system for modifying ice adhesion strength of ice adhered to an object. The system includes an electrode that is electrically insulated from the object and a DC source, e.g., a battery, coupled to the object and the electrode. The source generates a DC bias to an interface between the ice and the object when the ice completes the circuit. The object is conductive or is doped as a semiconductor so that the DC bias applies a voltage to the interface which modifies the ice adhesion strength selectively as compared to the ice adhesion strength with substantially zero bias voltage at the interface. The strength can be increased or decreased relative to its static state (i.e., the state without applied voltage). In this manner, ice such as ice on an aircraft wing can be removed with less work. The system preferably includes an electrically insulating material disposed between the object and the electrode; the insulating material is substantially conformal to the object and the electrode.

Abstract: A user can access a common database from a remote communications port, at any qualified location, to generate a map or other positional information which locates selected items of interest, e.g., businesses, stores, architectural sites, and the like. The database contains information representing the items of interest, including, for each of the items of interest, positional coordinates, a geographic vicinity, and a selected category. The positional coordinates discretely locate the vicinity, while the vicinity specifies the exact locations of the items of interest in the selected category. For example, a user in New York can select the display of sporting shops in the area surrounding Chicago O'Hara International Airport selectively. A user can also access a port and display locations of items of interest within the same vicinity as the user and relative to the user's position. The database can be modified from qualified remote locations to change, or add to, the information therein.

Abstract: The invention provides a golf feedback system. A mat is used to determine player foot position, and a 3D golf tracking system tracks golf balls hit from the mat to determine (a) a ground ball track and (b) a player orientation axis, based on the foot position and relative to the mat. The system further determines information indicative of how well the ground ball track correlated to the orientation axis. Preferably, a golfer using the system is led through a plurality of pin target locations in a simulated golf game. The system evaluates and stores information such as slice and hook, accuracy, player orientation axis and ball carry distance such that the player can evaluate his/her game individually or against one or more other players.

Abstract: A user can access a common database from a remote communications port, at any qualified location, to generate a map or other positional information which locates selected items of interest, e.g., businesses, stores, architectural sites, and the like. The database contains information representing the items of interest, including, for each of the items of interest, positional coordinates, a geographic vicinity, and a selected category. The positional coordinates discretely locate the vicinity, while the vicinity specifies the exact locations of the items of interest in the selected category. For example, a user in New York can select the display of sporting shops in the area surrounding Chicago O'Hara International Airport selectively. A user can also access a port and display locations of items of interest within the same vicinity as the user and relative to the user's position. The database can be modified from qualified remote locations to change, or add to, the information therein.

Abstract: A stacked array magnifier (SAM) forms a magnified, demagnified or unit image of an object. The SAM includes one or more non-refractive lenslet arrays and one or more refractive lenslet arrays to form a plurality of lenslet channels. Each lenslet channel has at least one refractive lenslet and at least one non-refractive lenslet. SAMs are combined and tiled to form a scaleable display of flat panel displays. Multiple SAMs are used to increase magnification selectively. Hybrid lenslet arrays of the invention are also useable for optical processing and non-imaging applications.

Abstract: A DC-to-DC converter generates an output voltage from an input voltage. The converter includes first and second inductive windings and a magnetic core. One end of the first winding is switched at about 180 degrees out of phase with one end of the second winding, between ground and the input voltage. The first winding is wound about the core in a first orientation, and the second winding is also wound about the core in the first orientation so as to increase coupling between windings and to reduce ripple current in the windings and other parts of the circuit. This version is a buck converter—versions that form boost, buck-boost and other converters are also provided. The invention also provides a multi-phase DC-to-DC converter for providing an output voltage from an input voltage. The converter has N (N≧2) inductive windings alternatively switched, again in the buck-converter version, between ground and the input voltage. Again, boost, buck-boost, or other versions are also provided.

Abstract: A jockey jacket actuates upon sensing a particular event, such as the jockey falling from the horse during a race. A series of air tracks are inflated by a gas generator to pump up a series of air-pockets, mini-airbags, and a collar protection region, preferably with a series of concentric circular cylinders which expand and provide resistance to motions that are transverse to the concentric axis. A plurality of caps are telescopically disposed within the tracks and are forced upwards by the injected gas. These caps form a column that, together with the other columns and a support member Within the jacket collar, forms an exoskeleton around the jockey's neck. A base webbing provides support for the columns. The jacket includes microelectronics to control the jacket actuation. The jacket is usable for other activities, such as motorcycling.

Abstract: The invention provides apparatus and methods for determining electric field properties of an inhomogeneous target. The electric property distribution on a coarse mesh discretization of the target is first estimated; and then the electric field on a fine mesh discretization of the target is computed. The fine mesh has finer discretization than the coarse mesh and is overlapping with the coarse mesh. The electric field is then measured at preselected measurement sites within a homogeneous region external to the target. A Jacobian matrix is also calculated which represents a sensitivity calculation relative to a change in the electric field at selected measurement sites due to a perturbation in the electric property distribution on the coarse mesh. A difference vector is formed between the computed electric field and the measured electric field, and an update vector is added to the electrical property distribution as a function of the difference vector and the Jacobian matrix.

Abstract: The invention provides apparatus and methods for measuring oxygen tensions in biological systems utilizing physiologically acceptable paramagnetic material, such as India ink or carbon black, and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) oximetry. India ink is introduced to the biological system and exposed to a magnetic field and an electromagnetic field in the 1-2 GHz range. The EPR spectra is then measured at the biological system to determine oxygen concentration. The EPR spectra is determined by an EPR spectrometer that adjusts the resonator to a single resonator frequency to compensate for movements of the biological system, such as a human or animal. The biological system can also include other in vivo tissues, cells, and cell cultures to directly measure pO.sub.2 non-destructively.

Abstract: A grease recovery system includes a basin with an inlet port to connect the system to a waste disposal network, e.g., a sink in a restaurant, and to an outlet port for draining substantially grease-free water into a sewer network. A grease outlet port provides for recovering grease from the system. The basin holds waste water to a level corresponding to the height of the outlet port above a floor of the basin. The inlet port is above that level so that incoming waste water drains into the basin. An inlet baffle is arranged within the basin and adjacent to the inlet port to force waste water entering the inlet port downwards toward the floor. A first blocking baffle, mounted to the floor, reduces waste water flow along the floor after the waste water passes through the inlet baffle, so that grease rises to the water level downstream of the inlet baffle. A motorized belt sub-system is mounted within the basin to rotate a belt which attracts grease to the belt's surface and along the water level.

Abstract: A thermocouple is provided which measures the temperatures of structures at high RF potential, such as an RF electrode within a plasma CVD or plasma etch reactor. The thermocouple includes an outer conductive sheath that connects to the RF electrode at a first location, and a wire pair, connected to a second location of the RF electrode, that is used to sense the RF electrode temperature. The sheath--or a conductive member connected in circuit with the sheath--is wound into a coil to form an inductor with an impedance much greater than the impedance of the RF electrode. A large capacitor grounds the coil so that the thermocouple wires, extending through the sheath, and through and out of the coil, are available for diagnostic purposes. While RF current flows through the sheath, the wires experience the same magnetic field generated by the inductive coil, substantially grounding the thermocouple. Preferably, signal conditioning electronics remove any remaining DC bias voltages.

Abstract: The invention monitors the driving range and tracks golf balls from users at the driving range and informs those users of characteristics such as driving distance. A solid state camera images the range, and preferably one or more tee-off positions, and collects frames of image data to track a ball's motion through space. Simulation routines augment that track and assist in isolating the start location as well as where the ball lands, or would have landed had it not been obstructed (e.g., by a net). Preferably, the invention also determines the ball's position in 3-D to increase the accuracy. In one technique, two or more solid state cameras are used, and synchronized, to specify stereoscopic imaging. In another technique, the ball's energy or physical extent is used to determine an absolute distance between the camera and the ball. A computer at the club house monitors the entire system and further manages a network including an array of displays at the several tee off positions.

Abstract: A toilet seat includes a substantially rigid lid coupled to a pliant top. The seat seals against the rim of the standard toilet bowl and forms a pressure-adjustable cavity with the bowl and the surface of the water. Once sealed, the seat is pumped to inject air into the cavity, thereby increasing the pressure in the cavity to cause a flush operation. The lid and top each have one way pressure valves permitting air to flow into the cavity as the top is pumped. In another embodiment, the toilet has a standard toilet seat and is connected to a vacuum source via a selectively operable valve. The valve is selectively operable between an open state and a closed state, the open state creating a fluid communication path between the vacuum source and the void volume, the closed state providing a substantially airtight seal between the void volume and the vacuum source.

Abstract: A hand-held slit lamp instrument has a substantially elongated handle that houses one or more batteries and that connects to a line filament lamp. A front knob is threaded to the handle so that it is rotatable about the elongated axis of the handle. The front knob has an internal hollow section that houses one or more imaging elements to generate a slit image of the line filament out through an aperture in the front knob and away from the instrument. The rotation of the front knob axially displaces the imaging elements relative to the lamp to control the magnification and distance of the slit image. A rear knob also threads to the handle and rotates about the axis to provide an electrical switch. The rotation of the rear knob displaces the rear knob relative to the handle and between a first "ON" position and a second "OFF" position. A retaining ring, e.g.

Abstract: An intraoral camera connects to a shade analyzer subsystem, e.g., a digital video processor, and a color display monitor. The camera captures a digital color image of the patient's tooth and the subsystem compares that image to a stored plurality of tooth shades. Each tooth shade is represented in a block of data, including color image data, a tooth shade digital word, and a manufacturer type. The patient's tooth image includes an RGB chromaticity representation that is scanned and compared with the several tooth shades stored in memory, and a match is determined and communicated to a user of the system. The methodology includes the specification of fractional tooth shades, if needed, corresponding to a plurality of porcelain films for manufacturing a reconstructed tooth.

Abstract: Copyrighted electronic media are packaged in a secure electronic format, and registered on associated registration server, which serves to provide on-line licensing and copyright management for that media. Users are connected to the server, e.g., through a computer network or the Internet, to enable data transfers and to transact licenses to utilize the media. Packaged electronic media are typically created by an author or derivative user of the work. Once the packaged media is registered on the server, the media is made available for limited use and possible license through an authorization server. This limited use is specified within the minimum permissions data set assigned to each packaged media. Without a license, users are typically permitted to view the packaged media--through a system which unpackages the media--but cannot save or otherwise transfer the media without obtaining auxiliary permissions to do so from the authorization server.

Abstract: A lotion such as a sunscreen includes a pH indicator which colorizes the lotion until the lotion is applied to the human skin, whereinafter the colored lotion turns clear. A physiologically compatible pH indicator such as phenolphthalein is used which has a red appearance from pH 7.5+ and which has a clear appearance from about pH 7.0 to 7.5, the general pH range of the skin. The invention is suitable for use in any lotion, gel, mousse or medication that is best applied in an even and uniform manner to the skin. Accordingly, one preferred use of the invention is in UV-protecting sunscreens so that a user can ensure even distribution of the sunscreen on the body. In certain aspects of the invention, a cap houses the pH indicator and attaches to a container of the lotion, e.g., a sunscreen. The pH indicator mixes with the lotion as it is applied to the skin.

Abstract: The invention provides apparatus and methods for measuring oxygen tensions in biological systems utilizing physiologically acceptable paramagnetic material, such as India ink or carbon black, and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) oximetry. India ink is introduced to the biological system and exposed to a magnetic field and an electromagnetic field in the 1-2 GHz range. The EPR spectra is then measured at the biological system to determine oxygen concentration. The EPR spectra is determined by an EPR spectrometer that adjusts the resonator to a single resonator frequency to compensate for movements of the biological system, such as a human or animal. The biological system can also include other in vivo tissues, cells, and cell cultures to directly measure pO.sub.2 non-destructively. The paramagnetic material can be used non-invasively or invasively depending on the goals of the pO2 measurement.