Abstract: The present invention includes an embolic protection device comprising a catheter having a self-expanding embolic filter that is disposed around the catheter proximal to a distal portion, wherein the embolic filter comprises a frame, and the frame defines an opening of the embolic filter that faces the distal end of the catheter; a deployment mechanism that is disposed around at least a portion of the catheter, wherein the deployment mechanism is longitudinally movable with respect to the catheter, the deployment mechanism is configured to contain the embolic filter in a collapsed configuration, and the embolic filter is configured to self-expand upon the longitudinal retraction of the deployment mechanism; and a wire coupled to the frame for expanding the size or diameter of the embolic filter opening.

Abstract: A rugged SPME system and method for up-taking analytes, allowing injection of liquid samples in the field, providing better quantitation and reproducibility, and having higher capacity than other SPME devices that use a fiber, wherein the embodiments include a SPME stainless steel coiled wire sampler that may wick a liquid sample into the coil to thereby deliver a consistent quantity of liquid to an analyzer.

Abstract: A method and system for optimizing routing traffic to a destination when multiple routes are available. A performance monitoring and inference component measures the performance of the available paths to a large set of subnetworks, and uses those measurements to infer the performance of all available paths to an even larger set of subnetworks. A routing optimization component uses a cost function that assigns a cost to a routing table based on information from the performance monitoring and inference component, as well as other path characteristics, and further uses a minimization methodology to find a routing table with a very low cost, as defined by the cost function. A BGP bridge takes the routing table generated by the routing optimization component and communicates that information to the routers using BGP, thereby ensuring that the routers will route traffic in accordance with the routing table.