Abstract: The subcutaneously implantable vascular access port has two parts including a body and a wing. The body supports a chamber covered by a septum, with a septum held in place over the chamber by a collar. The chamber is coupleable to a vascular structure, such as through tubing extending from the body, for delivery of medical preparations. The body is preferably elongate in form. The wing is configured to be adjustable in width. In one embodiment the wing rotates relative to the body and has an elongate form similar to that of the body. When the wing is rotated it extends laterally from the body and enhances a stability of the body. In another embodiment, the wing is provided as a deformable wing which can expand laterally out of side openings of a cavern in the body into which the deformable wing is inserted.

Abstract: The lift is attachable to a foot end of a bed beneath a mattress. Elongate arms extend up from a base portion of the lift. A rod can join the upper ends of the arms, sheets or other bed covers supported above an upper end of the elongate arms and the rod to define a clearance space beneath the upper ends of the elongate arms and the rod. The arms are moved from a lowered position to a raised position by action of a driver. The driver preferably is powered by an electric motor. When the arms are raised the clearance space keeps the bed covers off of feet of a user resting on the bed.

Abstract: A bottle support is shown in the form of a double bottle enclosure, a single bottle enclosure and a triple bottle enclosure. Each enclosure embodiment includes an outer box having an orthorhombic shape. A lower retainer fits within a lower portion of the outer box. The lower retainer includes a top deck with holes therein to receive lower ends of bottles spaced from walls of the outer box. An upper retainer also fits within the outer box near an upper end of the outer box. The upper retainer includes a main panel with holes therein which are sized to receive necks of bottles passing therethrough. The main panel keeps the necks of the bottles from impacting the upper end of the box and centered within the outer box. The retainers are preferably formed of planar panels of rigid material, such as corrugated paperboard, cut and folded to form the retainers.

Abstract: An ion injection spray apparatus and method are provided for coupling a liquid chromatograph or other liquid flow device to a mass spectrometer. The ion injection spray assembly is composed in part of a chamber for voltage and gas input, a metal union for a liquid voltage junction, a gas distribution assembly, a vacuum seal and an ion spray needle. The position of the ion spray needle within this assembly is directly coupled to the outlet of the upstream liquid flow device through the metal union. The vacuum of the mass spectrometer pulls gas at atmospheric pressure though the gas distribution assembly to focus the sample liquid at the spray needle outlet and create a centrifugal gas funnel which helps to desolvate the sample ions and sweep them into the mass spectrometer over a wide range of flow rates.

Abstract: An implantable medical device is provided which has a housing of an elongate form to minimize a size of an incision required for implantation. A stabilizing element is associated with the elongated form housing for the medical device. The stabilizing element transitions from a low profile initial form to a higher width final form to provide the medical device with a stabilized footprint after implantation. The stabilizing element is in the form of a rotating wing in one embodiment. In another embodiment, the stabilizing element is in the form of an expanding loop that can bend to extend out of side openings of a cavity within the housing, to provide such stabilization at the implantation site. The medical device can be in the form of a pacemaker, infusion pump, vascular access port or other subcutaneously implanted medical device.

Abstract: The T-bar includes an elongate rigid spine extending between terminal ends including either a fixed anchor or adjustable anchor for attachment to adjacent T-bars or other supports. An upper heat sink is provided on an upper portion of the spine to enhance heat transfer from the T-bar to air surrounding upper portions of the T-bar. A light housing is provided on a lower portion of the T-bar which is configured to support a lighting module therein, such as a light emitting diode (LED) light. A lower heat sink is provided above this light housing and integrated into a rest shelf which supports ceiling tiles adjacent the T-bar. A power supply is provided which can be removably attached to the T-bar and provide appropriately conditioned power for the lighting module.

Abstract: The cushion includes a seat and a back separated from each other by a seat-sacral hinge to define two separate air fillable spaces. Separate fill port tubes are provided for filling and adjusting level of fill within the seat and back of the cushion. Weld lines are provided within the seat to define separate chambers within the seat but which are joined together by a common manifold. Weld lines within the back of the cushion divide the back into a sacral/hip space and a sacral/lumbar/kidney space, as well as various back chambers above the sacral/lumbar/kidney space. The cushion includes webs that support dowel pockets that receive dowels for removable attachment of the cushion to an underlying chair. As an alternative, the cushion can be built into the chair.

Abstract: The housing is attachable to a high pressure fluid containing structure. A piston is provided within the housing, with the piston having a closed position and an open position. The closed position blocks an outlet vent of the relief device, with the open position allowing high pressure fluid to escape through the vent. The piston is biased toward the open position by the high pressure fluid, but is held in the closed position by a slide. The slide has a first position and a second position, with the first position holding the piston in the closed position. A spring biases the slide toward a second position, with a eutectic mass resisting movement of the slide to the second position. The eutectic mass is selected to have a melting point matching a maximum design temperature for the high pressure fluid containing structure. Should the eutectic mass melt, the high pressure fluid escapes.

Abstract: A headgear assembly is provided with an integrated music or other sound player supportable therein. The headgear assembly includes a headband or cap with pouches therein for various portions of the music player. In particular, a left speaker pouch is provided for a left speaker, a right speaker pouch is provided for a right speaker and a player pouch is provided for a sound player. A wire harness is also provided to preferably removably attach the speakers to the sound player. The headband or cap with the pouches therein holds the player and speakers directly adjacent a head of the user, and with the speakers directly over ears of the user. Controls on the player are accessed through a window in an outer panel of the headband or cap to allow user access. The player, wire harness and speakers are all substantially concealed within the headgear assembly.

Abstract: The instrument utilizes at least one electromagnetic signal transmitter and at least one electromagnetic signal receiver with the receiver detecting a receiver signal responsive to the transmitter signal and indicative of subterranean details adjacent to the instrument. The instrument is attachable to a tow vehicle for transport and includes a GPS antenna and tags data gathered by the instrument with GPS position information. The instrument is formed in modular sections which can be removably attached for collapsing into a smaller space and to allow for flexible configuration of the instrument in various different ways. A wheeled carriage is provided to carry the instrument over the ground. Antennas for the transmitter and receiver, as well as circuitry and cooling systems are all provided to supply the instrument with high resolution and a clear signal indicative of the position and characteristics of subterranean details of interest.

Abstract: An implant assembly is provided for surgical implantation into an intervertebral space, such as for stabilization of vertebrae adjacent the intervertebral space during a spinal fusion procedure. The implant assembly includes a primary segment separate from a secondary segment. These segments are elongate and of sufficiently small cross-section that they can be implanted posteriorly in a minimally invasive manner. The primary segment preferably includes a tunnel and the secondary segment preferably includes a neck with the tunnel and neck sized complementally so that the segments stabilize each other where they intersect with the neck within the tunnel. The entire implant assembly is thus provided which both widens and supports the intervertebral space and is sufficiently rigid to provide adequate support for the intervertebral space as the vertebrae are fusing together.

Abstract: A vascular access port is described that is elongate in form. A distal end is coupled to a tube which leads into a body lumen. A proximal end has a head thereon with a septum which can be repeatedly penetrated by a needle and reseal, for repeated administration of medications or other compositions through the port and into the body of the patient. A wing is attached to the body that has two positions including a streamlined first position for implantation and a wider second position for stabilization of the port after implantation. A stay is preferably also provided to abut the wing when in the second position to keep the wing in the second position when fully deployed.

Abstract: The system includes at least one sampler including a body having a hollow interior accessed through holes in the body and optionally a slide which can selectively cover and expose the holes in the body. A stand is provided made of a base and a floor. The base includes at least one recess therein. The recess is configured to support the sampler therein so that the sampler can be held by the stand while sampling an airspace at a particular location. The floor can be separated at least partially from the base in a removably attachable fashion to provide selective access to a hollow inside. A sampler can be placed within this hollow inside space and resealed so that the stand doubles as a shipping container for the sampler after collection of an air sample.

Abstract: An airship includes a substantially rigid keel with a balloon suspended from a fore of the keel and a balloon suspended from the aft of the keel. Motor booms extend laterally from the keel between the fore and the aft. Motors with propellers thereon are coupled to the end of each motor boom. The balloons are preferably coupled to the keel through cradles which support portions of the balloon above the keel and restrain the balloons to pivoting motion in a fore and aft pitching direction. A deployment system is disclosed including filing of the balloons within balloon deployment bags on the ground, and then opening the bags at time of launch. The keel and other structural elements can be in the form of a truss, rigid hollow cylindrical tubes, or air beams and stressed skin sheets, or combinations thereof. The airship achieves high altitude controlled flight above the stratosphere.

Abstract: An artificial Christmas tree includes a central trunk broken into at least two separate portions including a fixed trunk portion and at least one rotating trunk portion. The fixed trunk extends up from an underlying base. Rotating trunks rotatably attach at midpoints thereof at least indirectly to an upper end of the fixed trunk. Limbs are pivotably attached to the rotating trunks with optional lights coupled thereto. These limbs pivot between a perpendicular orientation extending from the rotating trunks and a collapsed configuration closer to a centerline of the rotating trunks. The rotating trunks can be pivoted from a first collapsed configuration with a first end above a second end to a deployed configuration with the second end above the first end. During such pivoting, the limbs attached to the rotating trunk transition between a collapsed to a deployed configuration automatically. A wheeled base and cover further facilitate storage and deployment.

Abstract: An undergarment for wearing about the torso of a woman. The undergarment includes a central spacer of elongate form which is sized to reside between the breasts and keep them spaced from each other, particularly when the woman is lying down. A lower band girds the torso of the woman and supports a lower end of the central spacer. Shoulder straps extend from the upper end of the central spacer which are of adjustable length to help keep the central spacer firmly in position against the skin of the woman between the breasts. A central pad can also be provided, such as by being removably attachable, over a cleavage area between and above the breasts to press directly against the skin to prevent wrinkle formation and to eliminate wrinkles from the chest of the woman.

Abstract: Methods and devices are provided for shunting fluid to treat hydrocephalous, and in particular for treating normal pressure hydrocephalous, or Alzheimer's, Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH), or any other condition in which it is necessary to drain and/or cleanse CSF. The methods and devices utilize a shunt having an inlet port, and outlet port, and a flow control component for controlling fluid flow from the inlet port to the outlet port. The shunt can be implanted at a location along or within a patient's spinal column. In one exemplary embodiment, an inlet port of a shunt can be implanted within the subarachnoid space, and an outlet port of a shunt can be implanted at a drainage site. In certain exemplary embodiments, the cerebrospinal fluid is drained into the epidural space.

Abstract: A gun sight system featuring point-to-point visual alignment is provided. A front sight coupled to a forward end of a gun includes a top sighting point and optionally lateral sighting points. A rear sight coupled to a rearward end of the gun includes a pair of spaced apart rear lateral sighting points each visually alignable with and visually touching one of the front lateral sighting points or the top sighting point for visually touching the top sighting point with a target while simultaneously visually aligning at least one of the rear lateral sighting points with a point on the front sight.