Abstract: A phototherapy apparatus is disclosed including: a handpiece including a body member and a grip; a plurality of elongated light transmitting elements, each of the elements extending between a proximal end enclosed within the body member and a distal end located outside of and distal to the body member; an ultraviolet light source; a light collection element; and one or more optical coupling elements. The proximal ends of the light transmitting elements are located in close proximity to each other The light collection element is configured to collect at least a portion of the light emitted from the light source. The one or more optical coupling elements are configured to direct at least a portion of the collected light to the proximal ends of the light transmitting elements to couple at least portion of the collected light into the light transmitting elements The light coupled into each of the light transmitting elements is transmitted along the element and emitted from the distal end.

Abstract: A stereoscopic lens system for a stereo endoscope is disclosed, the stereoscopic lens system converting light propagated from an object and received at an objective end of the stereoscopic lens system to left and right optical images at an image plane end of the stereoscopic lens system. The system includes at least one linearly movable left optical element configured to selectably adjust the magnification and field of view of the left image in response to linear movement and at least one linearly movable right optical element configured to selectably adjust the magnification and field of view of the right image in response to linear movement. The at least one linearly movable left optical element and the at least one linearly movable right optical element are selectably movable in fixed relation to each other.

Abstract: A food supplement, either in the form of a snack bar or a beverage, which contains one or more cartilage enhancing supplements is provided. The cartilage supplements include chondroitin, glucosamine, and hyaluronic acid. The food supplement may additionally be fortified with cetyl myristoleate. The beverage is a mixture of a juice drink base which may include a water-based fruit flavored juice prepared using a pasteurization process at a relatively high temperature and a cartilage supplement solution which includes a cartilage supplement prepared at a relatively low temperature. The beverage may be carbonated, non-carbonated or concentrated. The preferred cartilage supplement is glucosamine, preferably associated with a counter ion, more preferably as glucosamine HCl. The supplement also contains vitamin C (ascorbic acid) and calcium hydroxide powder.

Abstract: A flare includes an air-tight rupturable capsule and an energy releasing material, contained within the air-tight rupturable capsule, such that the energy-releasing material releases energy in response to exposure to at least one component of air.

Abstract: A three dimensional (3D) discrete cosine transform (DCT) uses one dimensional DCT networks for transforming and inverse-transforming blocks of data, such as image data. The 3D DCT configuration uses DCT transform coding to remove both the spatial and temporal redundancy of a sequence of image frames to achieve high bandwidth compression.

Abstract: A charge domain vector-matrix product processing system. The system includes a charge coupled device tapped delay line, an array of digital parallel shift register memory devices, and a signal processor. A sampled analog signal is stored within the tapped delay line, and multiple vectors of m-bit words are stored within the digital memory device. The signal processor sucessively applies vectors from the digital memory device and charge packets from the tapped delay line to an array of digital-analog multipliers. The signal processor then sums the outputs of the digital-analog multipliers and produces an output charge packet corresponding to a respective element of the vector-matrix product.

Abstract: A full search block matching algorithm includes a charge-domain serial tapped delay line as an input buffer, and an array of charge domain signal processors. The delay line shifts and holds analog sampled data which are in the form of charge packets. At each stage of delay, the signals are nondestructively sensed and coupled to a corresponding signal processor, and the sampled data are transferred and subsequently processed in parallel. The processed data from all the processors can be read out either in a parallel or serial format through a parallel-in-serial-out output buffer. In this structure, only the serial input buffer has to be clocked at the system throughout rate; the internal clock rate of each processor is reduced by the number of parallel processors. Within each processor, all of the computation functions are performed in the charge domain, and local charge domain memories are included for storing the processed signal.

Abstract: A surface acoustic wave (SAW) device including a crystal substrate having two substantially planar surfaces and at least one SAW-to-plate mode coupler positioned on one of the surfaces. The SAW-to-plate mode coupler includes a plurality of parallel, linear surface perturbations. The surface perturbations are adapted to convert a portion of an incident SAW to a bulk acoustic wave (BAW). In addition, the coupler is adapted to convert a portion of an incident BAW (from the crystal bulk region) to a SAW at those surface perturbations. In addition, the planar surfaces of the crystal substrate are adapted to reflect portions of incident BAW's. The coupler is positioned with respect to the crystal characteristics so that SAW's and BAW's resonantly interact at the coupler. In alternative configurations, a second SAW-to-plate mode coupler is positioned on the second surface of the crystal substrate.

Abstract: A gas laser adapted to produce laser radiation in the far infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum, but adapted, as well, to produce radiation in the infrared, the near infrared, the millimeter and the microwave regions. The laser employs a zig-zag pumping scheme which serves to excite the gas uniformly and thus enhance transfer of pump energy into laser energy.

Abstract: Data storage and access apparatus for multi-dimensional data processing. The apparatus includes a storage shift register array (SSRA) to permit data storage and one or more storage/access shift register arrays (S/A SRA) to permit data storage and data access.

Abstract: An infrared radar system. The system includes an infrared laser and associated controller which are adapted to provide a succession of transmit pulses having a relatively high intensity spike portion followed by a relatively low intensity quasi-CW portion. An optical system directs the transmit pulses to a target scene and collects infrared radiation reflected from the scene. The collected radiation is imaged on a heterodyne detector array together with a locally generated reference infrared beam. A range network is responsive to signals from the detector array to provide signals representative of the range of objects in the target scene. A moving target indicator network is responsive to signals from the detector to provide signals representative of the velocity of objects in the target scene.

Abstract: A storage/logic array (SLA). In a programmable form (PSLA), the array includes a set of parallel, programmably segmentable column conductors and an orthogonal set of programmably segmentable row conductors. Each of a plurality of cell networks is associated with and coupled to a subset of the row conductors and a subset of the column conductors. At least one column conductor subset has an associated cell network which includes a storage element which is coupled to the associated column subset and row subset for that cell network. In a nonprogrammable form, the SLA is similar to the programmable form (PSLA) except that row and column conductors are segmented at predetermined locations, and cell networks are coupled to predetermined, associated subsets of the row and column conductors.

Abstract: A system for generating steady state confining current for a toroidal plasma fusion reactor providing steady-state generation of the thermonuclear power. A dense, hot toroidal plasma is initially prepared with a confining magnetic field with toroidal and poloidal components. Continuous wave RF energy is injected into said plasma to estalish a spectrum of traveling waves in the plasma, where the traveling waves have momentum components substantially either all parallel, or all anti-parallel to the confining magnetic field. The injected RF energy is phased to couple to said traveling waves with both a phase velocity component and a wave momentum component in the direction of the plasma traveling wave components. The injected RF energy has a predetermined spectrum selected so that said traveling waves couple to plasma electrons having velocities in a predetermined range .DELTA.. The velocities in the range are substantially greater than the thermal electron velocity of the plasma.

Abstract: A system for generating steady state confining current for a toroidal plasma fusion reactor providing steady-state generation of the thermonuclear power. A dense, hot toroidal plasma is initially prepared with a confining magnetic field with toroidal and poloidal components. Continuous wave RF energy is injected into said plasma to establish a spectrum of traveling waves in the plasma, where the traveling waves have momentum components substantially either all parallel, or all anti-parallel to the confining magnetic field. The injected RF energy is phased to couple to said traveling waves with both a phase velocity component and a wave momentum component in the direction of the plasma traveling wave components. The injected RF energy has a predetermined spectrum selected so that said traveling waves couple to plasma electrons having velocities in a predetermined range .DELTA.. The velocities in the range are substantially greater than the thermal electron velocity of the plasma.

Abstract: A surface acoustic wave (SAW) device including a crystal substrate having two substantially planar surfaces and at least one SAW-to-plate mode coupler positioned on one of the surfaces. The SAW-to-plate mode coupler includes a plurality of parallel, linear surface perturbations. The surface perturbations are adapted to convert a portion of an incident SAW to a bulk acoustic wave (BAW). In addition, the coupler is adapted to convert a portion of an incident BAW (from the crystal bulk region) to a SAW at those surface perturbations. In addition, the planar surfaces of the crystal substrate are adapted to reflect portions of incident BAW's. The coupler is positioned with respect to the crystal characteristics so that SAW's and BAW's resonantly interact at the coupler. In alternative configurations, a second SAW-to-plate mode coupler is positioned on the second surface of the crystal substrate.