Abstract: This invention relates to segmental spinal instrumentation, specifically metal spinal hooks and rods used for the correction of spinal deformities such as idiopathic scoliosis. It includes an apparatus for use in retaining a longitudinally extending member in position relative to a spinal column. The apparatus is comprised of a body having an open ended recess which extends through the body and is open along one side to enable the longitudinally extending member, spinal rod, to be moved into the recess. The recess having a side opening, a first end opening formed in a first side of the body and intersecting the side opening, and a second end opening formed in a second side of the body opposite from the first side and intersecting the side opening to enable the longitudinally extending member to be moved into the recess through the side opening and to extend from the first and second sides of the body through the first and second end openings.

Abstract: An apparatus for draining cerebrospinal fluid from the ventricle of a brain includes an inner rigid tube and an outer flexible, elastic tube. The proximal end of the flexible tube has perforations to admit fluid into the elastic tube lumen in which the fluid is conducted to the distal end where the fluid exits into the remainder of a drain system, such as a ventriculoperitoneal shunt. The rigid tube contains an elbow bend intermediate the ends. In one form of the apparatus, the rigid tube has a first tubing nipple near one end and a second nipple intermediate the first nipple and the elbow bend. The first nipple extends outside and beyond the distal end of the flexible tube. The second nipple can be used to fasten the flexible tube to the rigid tube. The fastening method can employ a circumferential ligature as with suture thread or with a novel non-elastically deformable sleeve type of compression fitting.

Abstract: A process for placing an ultra thin layer of a non-porous gas permeable polymer continuously over an entire filter surface area allows the fabrication of compact, high flux, fouling resistant gas filters. The process involves contacting a dilute coating solution of gas permeable polymer in a solvent with one side of a microporous substrate. The pore size of the substrate is chosen for its ability to effectively filter the gas permeable polymer from the coating solution. Solvent of the coating solution is made to flow through the microporous substrate which causes an ultra thin layer of polymer to build up on the side of substrate. When a desired thickness of polymer is built up, the solution and solvent is removed and residual solvent is evaporated, preferably by passing a gas at high rate over the surface of the polymer layer.This process can be used to coat flat sheet and hollow fiber substrates.

Abstract: A method of adding or removing a gas to or from a solution of the gas in a liquid involves transferring the gas between the liquid and another fluid through a membrane unit. The membrane unit includes a membrane which is (i) substantially impermeable to the solvent and having a permeability to oxygen of at least 100 barrers; (ii) formed from an amorphous copolymer of perfluoro-2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxole; and (iii) is maintained at a temperature below the glass transition temperature of the copolymer. The fluid can be another liquid or a gas. The novel method provides very high rates of gas transmission between liquids and permits gasifying liquids without resort to sparging bubbles through the liquid. The method thus can gasify liquid with superior efficiency and without excessive agitation due to bubbling.

Abstract: A guidewire useful for feeding a medical catheter through a body duct network to a distant target site within the body has a flexible distal portion. The distal portion facilitates threading the guidewire in a tortuous path through acute bends at branch junctions in the duct network. The guidewire end is able to feed into very delicate vessels such as ventricles of the brain and the spinal canal without puncturing the walls or damaging organs.The novel guidewire includes beads displaced longitudinally at the distal end of a core wire. The beads are separated by a gap distance. The core wire can flex at points within the gaps between beads which allows the dial end of the guidewire to bend at branch junctions and to conform to the curvature in the vessel duct. The beads can be fixed to the core wire or they can move freely along the distal portion.

Abstract: An in-line roller skate has a wheel assembly that is easily removable from and re-attachable to a boot. The boot can be attached by simply stepping into wheel assembly and buckling a strap.

Abstract: A method of adding or removing a gas to or from a solution of the gas in a liquid involves transferring the gas between the liquid and another fluid through a membrane unit. The membrane unit includes a membrane which is (i) substantially impermeable to the solvent and having a permeability to oxygen of at least 100 barrers; (ii) formed from an amorphous copolymer of perfluoro-2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxole; and (iii) is maintained at a temperature below the glass transition temperature of the copolymer. The fluid can be another liquid or a gas. The novel method provides very high rates of gas transmission between liquids and permits gasifying liquids without resort to sparging bubbles through the liquid. The method thus can gasify liquid with superior efficiency and without excessive agitation due to bubbling.

Abstract: A sliding member operating system is disclosed which includes a adjustable pressure regulator (18)fluid control valves (15), (40), (50), (30), (80), (20), and (70) and an operating cylinder (60) which is mounted to the sliding element of a door or window (66) and its adjacent frame (62) for the purpose of opening and closing and holding said sliding element. This system utilizes the fluid being exhausted from cylinder (60) during the closing cycle to hold open valve (30) insuring that a door or window in motion will continue to stay in motion but that the power being supplied to a moving door or window, once halted by any means, will cease. An additional series of valves is utilized to pressurize cylinder 60 for the purpose of holding a door or window in the closed position. The rate of fluid bleed at valve 50 is adjustable to control closing speed and the sensitivity at which the sliding element will stop if an object is encountered during the closing cycle or if the door/window closes completely.

Abstract: A method for securing the connection of a medical tube to a port of a fluid transfer instrument. The method provides connections with superior resistance to unexpected disconnection, and thus is particularly beneficial for joining elastic tubes which are implanted within the body for conducting body fluid from one internal location to another or between the body and an external location. The novel method includes inserting a rigid nipple on the port into the lumen of an elastically deformable tube to be joined to the port, placing an initially loose fitting, nonelastically deformable sleeve around the tube on the nipple, and deforming the sleeve radially toward the nipple to clamp the tube between the sleeve and nipple. The extent of deformation is controlled to prevent damaging the tube.A tool for clamping the sleeve to a controlled extent of deformation is also provided.

Abstract: A sample container and a fluid collection apparatus are disclosed for withdrawing samples for fluid analysis purposes of unpressurized body fluid from an internal body cavity. The container and apparatus are primarily useful for sampling cerebrospinal fluid obtained through a lumbar puncture or shunt tap. The container and apparatus provide a completely enclosed sample environment which protects the sample from external contamination during the sample-taking process. The enclosed environment also protects sample-taking personnel against direct contact with the fluid. The novel sample container includes an inflatable pouch with a balloon that expands on filling without significantly raising back pressure on the fluid draining from the patient. The pouch is affixed within a transparent, rigid sheath by an inlet port. The apparatus includes a needle assembly with an internal rubber septum.

Abstract: A headrest which can be used on an operating table to maintain the head of a supine, unconscious patient in steady position for the surgeon to conduct an operation is described. The headrest has a low profile to provide maximum unobstructed access to the top, forehead, sides and face of the head. The headrest includes two, tapered, elongated lobes rigidly spaced apart in a V-shape configuration which allows one headrest to fit many different size heads. In use, the patient's head is wedged at points of tangency between the lobes. The V-shape configuration also permits the surgeon to easily adjust the head position to a new, steady position with only minor head movement, and therefore, reduced risk of dislodging the patient's breathing tube.

Abstract: An apparatus is disclosed for draining cerebrospinal fluid from within a patient's body to a location outside the patient's body. The novel apparatus features a fluid accumulator located serially between the ventricular catheter and the external location. The accumulator holds an amount of fluid which can flow bidirectionally between the patient and the accumulator so as to replenish any excess fluid that surges from the patient due to sudden, unexpected movements, such as sneezing, coughing, suddenly changing from recumbent to upright position and systolic contractions. The accumulator serves to maintain the height of the fluid column in the apparatus at a steady level, despite the sudden movements. Thus the hydrostatic pressure exerted on the cerebrospinal spaces by the fluid, which controls intracranial pressure, remains substantially constant.

Abstract: Coating compositions of silver flake suspended in predominantly aqueous vehicle is disclosed for laying down a coating of electrically conductive metal on resistive or dielectric substrates useful in the electronics industry. The coating compositions provide an ideal combination of high silver loading and low viscosity for spray painting desired thickness coatings at high speed in a single pass. The novel compositions include the three basic components: silver flake, water soluble polymer binder, water. Up to about 10 wt % of a substantially completely water soluble, organic co-solvent can be an optional, additional ingredient. The coating compositions have good green strength after drying and may be used to apply an electrically conductive base to enable electroplating plastic or elastomer parts. Optional sintering adhesives can be added to allow high temperature, permanent bonding of the silver to a ceramic substrate. The compositions can include surfactants, defoamers and antisettling agents.

Abstract: A platform shaker for stirring liquid chemical compositions provides a swirling motion in three dimensions. The magnitude of the three dimensional motion can be continuously adjusted while the shaker is in operation. Additionally, the platform of the shaker returns to the horizontal orientation after stirring is halted so as to maintain liquid samples well within the container placed on the platform. The novel platform shaker is useful for various analytical procedures such as DNA extractions, hybridizations, and gel staining in genetics, biology, and molecular biology. It is particularly appropriate for DNA extractions because the tilt angle of the platform as well as the swirl rate can adjust according to characteristics of the DNA, for example, to provide for a small tilt angle and a fast swirl rate for a short chain DNA, and for a large angle and a slow swirl rate for a long chain DNA.

Abstract: A prosthesis and method are disclosed for patching openings in body membranes such as the dura mater. The novel prosthesis includes patch comprising a patch flange and a suture flange extending circumferentially around the patch. The patch is implanted inside the membrane such that the patch completely covers the opening to be closed. The lip of the opening laps the suture flange and is secured by sewing sutures through the suture flange and the lip, but not through the patch. Accordingly, the tissue underlying the patch is shielded from the suture threads and perforations by the patch flange. The patch is of lubricious and biologically inert materials that is effectively nonadhesive to scar growth which forms on healing wounds. Thus, the novel prosthesis reduces the potential for adhesion between the underlying tissues and the membrane due to scar formation following surgery, particularly surgery on the central nervous system.

Abstract: A valve for preventing excessive cerebrospinal fluid flow in ventriculoperitoneal shunt, known as "siphoning", which occurs when a patient rapidly moves from a recumbent to an upright position, is described. The valve includes at least one valve unit containing within a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-filled cavity, a freely moveable float which is buoyant in CSF. The valve is subcutaneously implanted in the patient in an upright orientation in which the entrance port of the valve unit is elevated higher than the cavity while the patient is upright. In this orientation, the float rises to the top of the CSF-filled cavity where it seals against a seat of the entrance port. The float thus stops flow until intracranial pressure sufficiently exceeds the buoyant force. The casing generally has a contoured sectional profile. When the patient reclines, the valve orients so that the float rises to a high region of the casing which is away from the entrance seat thereby allowing CSF to flow through.

Abstract: A method of treating skeletal muscle fibrosis in mammals. The novel method is effective for reducing the extent of skeletal muscle fibrosis in an individual who suffers from a disorder which targets skeletal muscle tissue, such as Duchenne's and Becker's muscular dystrophy and denervation atrophy induced by either trauma or neuromuscular disease. The treatment includes administering to the individual an effective amount of a metalloporphyrin compound, especially hemin, heme arginate, cobalt protoporphyrin IX chloride and cobalt protoporphyrin IX arginate.

Abstract: A headrest which can be used on an operating table to maintain the head of a supine, unconscious patient in steady position for the surgeon to conduct an operation is described. The headrest has a low profile to provide maximum unobstructed access to the top, forehead, sides and face of the head. The headrest includes two, tapered, elongated lobes rigidly spaced apart in a V-shape configuration which allows one headrest to fit many different size heads. In use, the patient's head is wedged at points of tangency between the lobes. The V-shape configuration also permits the surgeon to easily adjust the head position to a new, steady position with only minor head movement, and therefore, reduced risk of dislodging the patient's breathing tube.

Abstract: A hanger for suspending a boat fender alongside the hull of a boat to prevent damage from collision with another boat, a dock or other object near which the protected boat is to be tied or berthed. The boat fender hanger is hung from a suspension cable on the protected boat, such as a guard rail or lifeline, and a suspension line attached to the fender is secured to the hanger. The hanger can be transported easily from one position to another on the cable and it has an anti-detachment feature which reduces the risk of accidentally losing the hanger and fender overboard. The hanger provides the ability to move the hanger from place to place on the suspension cable and to adjust the vertical elevation of the fender using only one hand. The novel hanger has an elongated body separated from a back plate by a channel which receives the suspension cable for hanging the hanger.

Abstract: Coating compositions of silver flake suspended in predominantly aqueous vehicle is disclosed for laying down a coating of electrically conductive metal on resistive or dielectric substrates useful in the electronics industry. The coating compositions provide an ideal combination of high silver loading and low viscosity for spray painting desired thickness coatings at high speed in a single pass. The novel compositions include silver flake, water soluble polymer binder, water and a substantially completely water soluble, organic co-solvent. The coating compositions have good green strength after drying and may be used to apply an electrically conductive base to enable electroplating plastic or elastomer parts. Optional sintering adhesives can be added to allow high temperature, permanent bonding of the silver to a ceramic substrate. The coating compositions have excellent storage stability such that settled solids can be redispersed readily with brief and/or mild agitation.