Abstract: An apparatus for detecting a surgical implement in human or animal tissue has structure for defining a transmitting zone encompassing a surgical wound in the tissue. A battery powered marker is secured to a surgical implement positioned within the wound. Field generating structure is provided for generating within the transmitting zone an electromagnetic field having a predetermined frequency band. A signal generator generates a signal having a predetermined frequency band. The signal generator is operative to cause the field generating structure to generate the electromagnetic field, providing the marker with signal identity. A detector having an antenna located within the transmitting zone of the marker detects the marker signal irrespective of the marker's orientation therewithin.

Abstract: An apparatus for detecting a surgical implement in human or animal tissue comprises a battery powdered marker. The marker is secured to the surgical implement and positioned within a surgical wound. A detection means has an antenna disposed in close proximity of the tissue. Means are provided for capacitance coupling of both the marker and the antenna to the tissue. A field generating means generates an electromagnetic field having a predetermined frequency band within the tissue and a signal generating means generates a signal having a predetermined frequency band ranging from about 10 MHz to 1 GHz. The signal generated by the signal generating means causes the field generating means to generate the electromagnetic field providing the marker with signal identity.

Abstract: A system for invasive measuring of blood gas parameters, such as pH, pO.sub.2 or pCO.sub.

Abstract: To deterine glucose or other constituents of the human or animal body, near-infrared radiation containing two alternating wavelengths that have equal extinction coefficients in the tissue is directed onto a sample area of the body. The intensity relation of the two different wavelengths is adjusted so as to balance the two wavelength detected signals. The extracellular-to-intracellular fluid ratio of the tissue is changed or is allowed to change, and the alternating component of the transmitted beam power is measured. The amplitude of the alternating-current (AC) signal given by the detector represents glucose concentration or the difference from a preset reference concentration.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for analyzing an electro-encephalogram (EEG) are described. EEGs from the left and right sides of the head are analyzed substantially simultaneously by detecting bursts of activity having amplitudes which exceed a threshold voltage. Each burst of activity is determined to have ended, i.e. the amplitude is below the threshold voltage, when it is followed by a quiescent interval having a duration of, for example, at least six seconds. The total time of all quiescent intervals occurring within a time period, e.g. ten minutes, is then calculated and displayed. The apparatus includes a digital computer for effecting statistical analysis of total times for many consecutive time periods. The computer may also be used in generating total times. A graphical output representing total times may be generated allowing rapid access of patient progress.

Abstract: A polyurethane coated nylon sheet is folded medially to form the pressure cuff. The urethane coated surface forms the inner surface of the inflation chamber of the cuff. A hook and loop fastener assembly for securing the cuff about the patient's limb is secured to the cuff. The hook and loop sheets are both provided with fusable polymer back coatings. The hook and loop sheets are fused to the polyurethane coated surfaces on the cuff. The hooks and loops are accessible on opposite sides of the cuff. An inflation fitting is also fused to the interior of the pressure chamber and projects through an opening in the cuff.

Abstract: An apparatus and method are disclosed for determining a level of a constituent such as glucose in a body fluid such as blood. The apparatus and method utilize a light generator for generating a testing light of known intensity with the testing light including a wavelength absorbable by the constituent being measured. The light generator also generates a reference light of known intensity having a wavelength not absorbable by the constituent being measured. The testing light and reference light are directed toward a fluid containing an unknown concentration of a constituent. A light detector is provided for measuring the intensity of the testing light and reference light being spectrally modified by the fluid. A light path distance measurer is provided for measuring a distance of a light path traveled by the testing light and reference light.

Abstract: To determine glucose or other constituents of the human or animal body, a stabilized near-infrared radiation beam containing two alternating wavelengths that have approximately equal extinction coefficients in the tissue, is directed onto the sample area, the transmitted signal alternating component is zeroed by tuning one of the wavelengths, the extracellular-to-intracellular fluid ratio of the tissue is changed by exerting varying mechanical pressure on the tissue, or the ratio is allowed to change as a result of the natural pulsation. The alternating component of the transmitted beam power is measured in the changed fluid ratio state. The amplitude of the alternating-current (AC) signal given by the detector, is taken to represent glucose concentration or the difference from a preset reference concentration.

Abstract: A surgical instrument having a handpiece; a vibration source within the handpiece for generating mechanical vibrations in response to current supplied thereto; an elongated tool operatively associated with the vibration source and attached to the handpiece at a point where essentially no vibrational motion occurs; the tool extending away from the handpiece to a work site, whereby vibration of the working tip of the tool causes disintegration of hydrated biological material; a motor oberatively associated with the vibration source for rotating the tool and its working tip about its circumference through at least one revolution; a support structure located within the handpiece for mounting said vibration source and capable of independent longitudinal movement relative to the handpiece; a fingergrip for longitudinally reciprocating the support structure and tool towards and away from the work site independently of moving the handpiece; an open portion for irrigating the work site with fluid to assist in withdraw

Abstract: A pulse wave detecting apparatus, including a pulse wave sensor having a press surface on which a plurality of pressure sensing elements are provided in an array, a main device receiving an electric signal from each of the pressure sensing elements, a determining device determining a correlation between a distribution of magnitudes of the electric signals as taken along the array of pressure sensing elements, and each of a plurality of predetermined reference distributions which is indicative of a corresponding one of a plurality of different relative positions of the array of pressure sensing elements with respect to the blood vessel, a selecting device selecting one of the reference distributions which provides the greatest correlation of all the correlations determined by the determined device, and a transmitting device transmitting to the main device the electric signals generated from the pressure sensing elements in a portion of the array of pressure sensing elements which portion corresponds to the rel

Abstract: A surgical apparatus having a handpiece, a vibration source with the handpiece for generating mechanical vibrations in response to current supplied thereto, and elongated hollow tool operatively associated with the vibration source and attached to the handpiece at a point where essentially no vibrational motion occurs, the tool extending away from the handpiece to the cement to be removed. A method removing cement using the surgical apparatus by applying the tool to the cement and thereby applying mechanical vibration to the cement causing the cement to melt. Removing the cement by suction through the hollow elongated tool. Additional alternate method steps include rotating the tool to apply shear forces to the cement being removed, cooling and damping lateral vibrations at the tool end, and irrigating the cement while melting and removing it.

Abstract: A gas jet shooting device for use with a non-contact tonometer, having a hollow head (19) with a nozzle (27) secured thereto, a cylinder (10) which communicates with the head, and a piston (11) reciprocatably mounted in the cylinder and defining a compression chamber (14) in the cylinder, and a linear d.c. motor (31) for driving the piston (11) for compressing the gas in the cylinder (10), the compressed gas being allowed to issue through the nozzle. The cylinder (10) is fed with the gas through a passage which opens into the chamber (14) and which does not include the nozzle. The gas may be air, and drawn into or pushed into the chamber through a filter (F). It may also be a gas other than air, harmless to the eye, supplied from a reservoir through a filter. Such arrangement ensures that air-born dust or tear drops scattered by the air jet will not be drawn into the chamber, and the device can therefore be maintained hygienic.

Abstract: A calibration system for a continuous blood pressure monitoring system using a tonometric sensor for continuously detecting a pulse wave comprises a digital cuff adapted to be placed around a digit of the patient for applying a calibration pressure to the digit; a pressure source coupled to the digital cuff for supplying the calibration pressure; a calibration sensor for measuring an actual blood pressure in the digit; and a microprocessor for determining a calibration factor for the tonometric sensor based on the actual blood pressure measured by the calibration system. The digital cuff is located on the patient such that the cuff is downstream of the artery over which the tonometer sensor is located. According to one aspect of the invention, a digital cuff pressure sensor is connected to the pressure source for determining the magnitude of the calibration pressure and a pulsatile component indicative of blood pressure in the digit.

Abstract: A sensor assembly for a combination infusion fluid delivery system and blood chemistry analysis system includes a sensor assembly with each of the assembly electrodes mounted in an electrode cavity in the assembly. Each electrode cavity includes a circular ridge that defines a cylindrical inner cavity and a ring-shaped outer cavity. The circular ridge prevents the water soluble gel from wicking into the surrounding selectively-permeable membrane, and thereby provides easier manufacture, higher yield rates, and longer shelf life. A helical groove increases turbulence in the assembly, reducing the purge volume needed to flush the assembly after each sample measurement. The system includes provision for delivering the infusion fluid and measuring blood chemistry during reinfusion of the blood at approximately the same flow rates.

Abstract: A method for analyzing muscle function including the steps of: (a) locating in a human control subject a predetermined muscle group activatable to produce a given torque; (b) fixing over each of a plurality of individual muscles in the group an electrode adapted to detect myoelectric signals generated therein; (c) activating of the muscles to generate myoelectric signals therein; (d) processing the myoelectric signals to determine a plurality of predetermined values thereof; (e) repeating steps (a), (b), (c) and (d) for each of a plurality of other control subjects; (f) determining a normative range of the predetermined values determined in steps (d) and (e); (g) repeating steps (a), (b), (c) and (d) for a human test subject; and (h) comparing the predetermined values determined in step (g) with the normative range determined in step (f). Dysfunction in the muscle group of the test subject can be determined by comparison of the processed myoelectric signal values.

Abstract: An infant warmer is provided with a heating element for directing radiant heat onto an infant support surface and a temperature sensing probe attachable to the skin of an infant. A heater control which, in an automatic mode, supplies a control signal to a heater power control which includes a component responsive to the difference between the actual temperature and a set temperature and a component which is added or subtracted in incremental amounts depending on whether the actual temperature is above or below the set point. The control also operates to reduce the power to the heater when the total energy supplied to the heater exceeds a maximum amount over a predetermined time interval. In manual mode, the power level is reduced when a preset temperature is reached or if the temperature is not reached after a predetermined time has elapsed. In addition, the heater power is interrupted whenever the control signal or the current to the heater exist independent of the other.

Abstract: A noncontact infrared tympanic thermometer which does not require environmental stabilization or waveguide temperature control because it utilizes an optically stabilized infrared detector for detecting the infrared energy emitted by the tympanic membrane. The optical stabilization renders the instrument insensitive to ambient temperature effects and allows it to read true tympanic membrane temperatures unaffected by the temperature of the side walls of the detector package. This selectivity is accomplished by locating a neutral density filter over half of the optical aperture of the detector package such that the neutral density filter "shadows" only one of two thermopile channels for detecting the infrared energy emitted by the tympanic membrane. The two thermopile channels are connected in series opposition such that any optical signal equally present in both channels will yield a zero net output.

Abstract: A tissue contact stress sensing system incorporates a semiconductor assembly and a continuous diaphragm to noninvasively determine the intra-arterial blood pressure of a patient. The system comprises a continuous diaphragm placed against a patient's tissue which covers an underlying artery. The semiconductor assembly is placed in close proximity to and spaced apart from the diaphragm for directly irradiating the diaphragm with electromagnetic radiation and receiving a portion of the electromagnetic radiation which is reflected from the continuous diaphragm. The disclosed system also utilizes a technique for minimizing the system errors associated with temperature drift and aging of the sensor.

Abstract: In a method and an arrangement for depicting structures IR light sources and receivers are disposed in one plane, and are guided as area radiators and area receivers in the x-y-z direction to the object. The area radiator radiates with a particular radiation cross section and a particular intensity. IR diodes used for radiation are triggered with a peak current preferably up to 1 amp and with a pulse frequency of preferably up to 100 kHz and the backscatter being detected. IR attenuation gradient profiles of the volume elements, determined in real time, as well as the arrangement of the area radiator-receiver sensor, enable an exact spatial assignment of the volume elements in the micrometer to centimeter range and a contrasting representation of certain structures.

Abstract: A Dual-Finger Vital Signs Monitor is disclosed. The present invention overcomes problems suffered by previous patient monitors by providing a simultaneous and continuous measurement of three primary vital signs: ECG and heart rate, blood pressure, and blood oxygen saturation. The invention employs a pair of finger cuffs that each include an electro-cardiographic electrode, a first LED and detector pair for blood pressure measurement, and a second LED and detector pair for blood oxygenation measurement. The electrodes are connected to a voltmeter which displays an electrocardiogram. The first LED and detector in each cuff function as a finger-photoplethysmographic pressure sensor. A pair of gas lines connect each finger cuff to a pair of pressure controllers, which each include a fluid reservoir. One of the servos is linked to a blood pressure meter. The second LED and detector pair in each cuff are each connected to a pair of oximeters. All the sensors operate independently.