Abstract: A controlled access anesthesia cart has at least one drawer or compartment for storing general-use anesthesia items, and at least one drawer or compartment for storing controlled substances, e.g., narcotics. A key card reader on the cart is sensitive to an authorization code to unlock the compartments in the cart for access. The anesthesiologist needs to enter a pass code for access to the controlled substances compartment(s). The compartments then remain unlocked so long as the anesthesiologist remains present. A sonic sensor, e.g., an ultrasonic rangefinder device, communicates with the computer of the cart, and when the anesthesiologist is outside a given beam volume in front of the cart, the cart automatically re-locks the compartments either immediately or after a predetermined short delay period.

Abstract: A controlled access file cabinet permits an authorized user access only to one file drawer or one locked compartment at a time. The cabinet has at least one pull-out drawer with a lock mechanism that self-locks when the drawer is pushed in and closed, and has an electro-mechanical servo to release the drawer for authorized access. One or more drawers may be divided into a row of locked compartments. Slide bar lock mechanisms interact with with lock pins on hinged lids or covers for the compartments. Only one compartment can be opened at a time. A control board within the cabinet ensures that all drawers are closed and latched before any can be released. The secure cabinet may be connected with a network, or by i2c or daisy chain to other secure file cabinets, including cabinets retro-fitted with a bolt-on lock mechanism. Computer software limits access to certain areas of the cabinet to specific authorized users, and maintains inventory and audit trail over multiple cabinets.

Abstract: A controlled access pharmaceutical storage cabinet has at least one pull-out drawer that is divided into a number of locked compartments, arranged in rows. A slide bar lock is positioned between rows of the compartments, and has a series of slots along each edge which align with lock pins on hinged lids or covers for the compartments. Only one compartment can be opened at a time. A gear-motor is provided for each slide bar to move the slide bar to a position for access to a given compartment.

Abstract: A self-sterilizing pass-through medications cabinet is built into a wall of a hospital room and can be accessed from the room interior or from the hallway. A frame mounted in the wall supports a rack or box containing patient drawers or bins, arranged in a vertical stack parallel to the wall or in a horizontal row. A hall-side door can be opened by pharmacy staff to place pre-loaded bins into respective compartments, and one or more room-side doors or drawers are opened by nurse staff for administering the medications to patients. The hallway door and room doors interlock to prevent their being opened at the same time to safeguard patient privacy. An ultraviolet germicidal illumination system bathes each bin in sterilizing radiation to destroy pathogens that may be present from handling or transport of the bins.

Abstract: A pass-through medications cabinet is built into a wall of a hospital room and can be accessed from the room interior or from the hallway. A frame mounted in the wall supports a rack or box containing patient drawers or bins, arranged in a vertical stack parallel to the wall or in a horizontal row. There is a hall-side door that can be opened by pharmacy staff to place pre-loaded bins into respective compartments, and one or more room-side doors or drawers that may be opened by nurse staff for administering the medications to patients. The hallway door and room doors interlock to prevent their being opened at the same time to safeguard patient privacy. The system maintains an audit trail of access to the bins.

Abstract: An ergonomic radiology work station has front and back tables or work platforms that can be raised or lowered electrically to adjust for optimum posture and comfort of the user. Video monitors on the rear platform displays medical images. Interface equipment, e.g., keyboard and mouse, are situated on the front work platform. A pull-out sanitizer hood irradiates the keyboard and other interface devices with ultraviolet radiation after a radiology work session. An interlock arrangement ensures that the work platforms cannot be moved up or down when the hood is pulled out, and ensures that UV lamps in the hood are disabled when the hood is pushed back in to its home or withdrawn position. The hood with slide(s) and interlock(s) may be provided as a kit to retrofit an existing work station.

Abstract: An automated supplies cabinet dispenses supply items that are stored in a rack of drawers within a locking cabinet. A robotic transfer mechanism fetches the drawer containing the desired supply items, and brings it to an access portal at the front of the cabinet. A sliding door opens automatically to provide access. The supply articles can be RFID tagged and an RFID reader provides for automatic inventory updating when the articles are taken. The racks can take the form of carts that wheel into place in the cabinet. A light curtain disposed at the access portal can block movement of the door and of the transfer mechanism if it detects a hand reaching in. The cabinet provides an audit trail and facilitates inventory control and patient billing.

Abstract: A wall-mounted medications cabinet has at least one, and preferably up to four locking drawers, each with a removable bin holding the medications for a given patient. The drawers are each independently openable electronically. This can be accomplished using an incorporated PC with a touch screen monitor, or authorized access can be obtained via a network. The cabinet may be connected using USB or ethernet interface. A key lock can provide access in the event of a power failure.

Abstract: A remotely or locally actuable refrigerator door lock has a body portion that is attached to the cabinet and a door portion that is attached to an edge of the door. A latch in the body portion engages a strike plate in the door portion and can be lifted out of engagement to open the refrigerator. The door lock assembly may be connected to a touch-screen device or via a USB or ethernet connection to a remote host computer. The host computer keeps an audit trail of the times and personnel accessing each refrigerator, and a temperature audit trail. The system may be used in hospital for controlling access to pharmaceuticals or may be used in a weight loss program. Temperature and humidity sensors are positioned within the refrigerator cabinet. The door lock may have battery power for portable or mobile applications.

Abstract: A wall-mounted medications cabinet has at least one, and preferably up to four locking drawers, each with a removable bin holding the medications for a given patient. The drawers are each independently openable electronically. This can be accomplished using an incorporated PC with a touch screen monitor, or authorized access can be obtained via a network. The cabinet may be connected using USB or ethernet interface. A key lock can provide access in the event of a power failure.

Abstract: A monitor device is attached onto or inside a shipping crate for pharmaceutical shipments and monitors the temperature and/or humidity within the crate in transit to identify whether the contents are safe or compromised. A keyboard/display on the device provides an ID code that the recipient enters into a computer web page to communicate this ID code to the shipper or to a third-party agency. If the ID code represents a safe shipment, the shipper or third-party returns an acceptance message. If there has been a compromise, a different ID code is presented, and the web page instead returns a message to return the crate. A return envelope can be included for the recipient to return the monitor device to the shipper.

Abstract: A prescription drug storage and dispensing arrangement allows prescriptions stored, as they are filled, in a cabinet for customer pickup. The prescriptions are placed into receptacles such as pharmacy envelopes and placed on carriers, e.g., hanger bars, that are transported on a conveyor within the cabinet. The conveyor brings one carrier at a time to an access opening for loading or retrieving of a pharmacy envelope. In one embodiment the hanger bars are rods with spaced annular recesses defining bag positions. Scissors-action arms may be used to suspend the hanger rods from the conveyor webs. The identity of each pharmacy envelope and the location of the respective bar on said conveyor and the bag position are stored in a computer, with information identifying the customer order. When the customer arrives to pick up the prescription, the customer data is entered and the conveyor automatically moves to position the respective hanger bar at the access opening.

Abstract: A high resolution sheet metal scanner employs machine vision to check a sheet metal part or the like for accuracy of punched or drilled holes or other structure. A high-resolution line-scanning camera mounted to an X-Y table, located in an environmentally sealed lower assembly. The sheet metal part is placed upon a transparent support plate. The line-scan camera is precision focused on the top surface of the glass support plate. An elongated linear illuminator is situated above the glass plate. The illuminator extends in the X direction and moves in the Y direction. The camera is transported in the X and Y directions on a carriage of the X-Y table. A computer control may be used for controlling the camera and the X-Y table. The drive for the camera and for the illuminator are mechanically independent.

Abstract: A reusable flat radiolucent compression cushion is placed on one or both compression surfaces of a mammography machine. The cushion has a cover or enclosure of a radiolucent bio-compatible plastic film, e.g., polyurethane film, and a flat core of a radiolucent plastic foam material, e.g., cross-linked polyethylene foam. The plastic foam material and the film of the enclosure are substantially free of visible artifacts at the low radiological energies used during mammography, so that the breast tissues image clearly. Outside the imaging area, there are fastener strips or patches, e.g., Velcro, for removably attaching the cushion to the associated compressive surface. The mammography compression cushions are light weight and can be easily stored in a convenient shelf or drawer near the mammography machine. The cushions can be easily cleaned with a mild soap and water, and may be disinfected using any standard hospital disinfecting solution.

Abstract: A medication dispensing cart has a pull-out drawer, and a conveyor that transports a number of removable medication bins within the cart, one at a time, to the position of the drawer. An on-board processor controls operation of the bin conveyor mechanism whose pathway can be a serpentine (folded) loop. The drawer slide engages the bin located at the drawer position, and the bin can be pulled forward from said conveyor and pushed back onto the conveyor. The bins can be lifted out when the drawer is opened. A 2-D bar code symbol or other machine-readable code, positioned on the bin, contains data identifying the contents of the bin and the associated patient. A reader device reads the coded symbol and transfers data for that bin to an on-board processor. The processor keeps track of the bins on the conveyor, as well as their contents. Pusher arms on the drawer assist in pushing the bin out when the drawer is opened and in returning the bin onto its carrier when the drawer is closed.

Abstract: A medication dispensing cart has a pull-out drawer, and a conveyor that transports a number of removable medication bins within the cart, one at a time, to the position of the drawer. An on-board processor controls operation of the bin conveyor mechanism whose pathway can be a serpentine (folded) loop. The drawer slide engages the bin located at the drawer position, and the bin can be pulled forward from said conveyor and pushed back onto the conveyor. The bins can be lifted out when the drawer is opened. A 2-D bar code symbol or other machine-readable code, positioned on the bin, contains data identifying the contents of the bin and the associated patient. A reader device reads the coded symbol and transfers data for that bin to an on-board processor. The processor keeps track of the bins on the conveyor, as well as their contents. Pusher arms on the drawer assist in pushing the bin out when the drawer is opened and in returning the bin onto its carrier when the drawer is closed.

Abstract: A scrubs returns cabinet for hospital workers to return surgical garment tops and bottoms. A cabinet housing has a door, drawer or similar port through which the customer places the soiled scrub suit after entering customer identification information. There are first and second belts in the housing that unwind from respective back and front reels or drums, and wind over a series of rollers or idlers onto a lower collecting drum. The scrubs fall onto one of the belts, and then are captured between the belts. The scrubs are compressed onto the collecting drum. The direction of travel of the belts is reversed to expel the soiled scrubs from the cabinet. These can be discharged directly into a laundry bin, so that the laundry attendant does not have to reach into the cabinet to retrieve the scrubs. The cabinet can be configured for the return of towels or other articles, or for dispensing such articles.

Abstract: A high resolution sheet metal scanner employs machine vision to check a sheet metal part or the like for accuracy of punched or drilled holes or other structure. A high-resolution line-scanning camera mounted to an X-Y table, located in an environmentally sealed lower assembly. The sheet metal part is placed upon a transparent support plate. The line-scan camera is precision focused on the top surface of the glass support plate. An elongated linear illuminator is situated above the glass plate. The illuminator extends in the X direction and moves in the Y direction. The camera is transported in the X and Y directions on a carriage of the X-Y table. A computer control may be used for controlling the camera and the X-Y table. The drive for the camera and for the illuminator are mechanically independent.

Abstract: A compensator filter is used to adjust the radiation therapy beam of a linear accelerator device to compensate for tissue that may have been removed surgically. The compensator filter is formed of a plastic material having a density of about one to two times that of the patient's tissue, and is disposed in the filter tray of the linear accelerator for selectively attenuating the radiotherapy beam to compensate for the missing tissue. Preferably, the filter can be made from a blank cast of polyurethane filled with glass microspheres, such that the filter is substantially free of heavy metal substances and toxic materials. The blank can be milled in a compensator filter milling machine of the type that is found in radiotherapy clinics.

Abstract: An x-ray illuminator achieves uniform illumination intensity across the front glass diffuser screen. The reflectance of the reflector is varied over its surface, the transmissivity of the screen can be varied over its extent, or both. The internal reflector can have a reflectance that is reduced at positions directly behind centers of the fluorescent tubes and which gradually increases to maximum reflectance at positions at ends of the tubes and at positions away from centerlines of the tubes.