Abstract: Implantable cardiac monitoring and stimulation methods and devices with epicardial leads having sensor feedback. A fixed or extendable/retractable sensor may be displaceable within the lead's lumen and configured to sense the presence of an anatomical feature or physiological parameter of cardiac tissue in proximity with the lead body's distal end. The sensor may include an ultrasonic sensing element, a perfusion sensor, a photoplethysmographic sensor, or a blood oximetry sensor. Methods of determining suitability for implanting a lead involve the steps of accessing an epicardial surface of the heart, and moving the cardiac lead to an implant site at the epicardial surface. A transmitted signal is directed at the implant site. A reflected signal is received, indicative of the presence of a blood vessel at the implant site. A determination may be made to determine whether the implant site is suitable or unsuitable based on the reflected signal.

Abstract: A recording medium having a substrate, a first soft magnetic underlayer, a second soft magnetic underlayer and a perpendicular magnetic recording layer without a spacer layer between the first and second soft magnetic underlayers is disclosed.

Abstract: A device with a front face such as an operating face, including elements of the user interface of the device is provided. A major part of the front face is concave so that the front face is retracted and thereby protected from being scratched.

Abstract: Systems and methods provide for ambulatorily sensing pulmonary artery pressure from within a patient, and producing a pulmonary artery pressure measurement from the sensed pulmonary artery pressure. Power is ambulatorily provided within the patient to facilitate sensing of the pulmonary artery pressure and producing of the pulmonary artery pressure measurement. Acute pulmonary embolism is detected based on a change or rate of change in the pulmonary artery pressure measurement. An alert is preferably generated in response to detecting pulmonary embolism.

Abstract: The present invention proposes a methodology implementable in form of a hardware or software module for coding and decoding a frame number. Firstly a method for encoding an original frame number for synchronization of communication between electronic devices resulting in an encoded compact frame number is provided. Additionally the corresponding decoding method is provided. Further devices and modules adapted to execute the steps of said methods are provided.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method for arranging use of configurations in a device with multiple configuration data sets manageable by one or more external managing entities. The device comprises access control information originated and/or controlled by an external managing entity for defining a right to access a configuration data set. The access control information is checked in response to an indication from an application requiring access to a configuration data set. If the application is, on the basis of the access control information, entitled to access the configuration data set, access to the configuration data set is arranged for the application.

Abstract: Some embodiments of the invention concern HDD in an automatic drilling mode. Such embodiments can include maintaining a constant output parameter while performing a drilling operation using an HDD rig (20) having a thrust pump, generating hydraulic fluid pressure measurements from one or more pumps of the HDD rig, comparing the hydraulic fluid pressure measurements to a variable pressure limit, calculating a derivative value using the measured hydraulic fluid pressure measurements, comparing the derivative value to a derivative threshold, decreasing the variable pressure limit when the derivative value exceeds the derivative threshold, wherein the amount that the variable pressure limit is decreased is based on one or more of the hydraulic fluid pressure measurements, and reducing output of the thrust pump when the comparison of the hydraulic fluid pressure measurements to the variable pressure limit indicates that one or more of the hydraulic fluid pressure measurements exceed the variable pressure limit.

Abstract: Cardiac treatment methods and devices providing templates representative of past tachyarrhythmia events, each template associated with a therapy. A cardiac waveform is detected, and if it corresponds to a particular template associated with a previous therapy that was satisfactory in terminating a past event, the previous therapy is delivered again. If unsatisfactory, the previous therapy is eliminated as an option. If, for example, the previous therapy was an antitachycardia pacing therapy unsatisfactory in terminating the past tachyarrhythmia event, delivery of the antitachycardia pacing therapy is eliminated as an option. Instead of ATP therapy, one or more of a cardioversion, defibrillation, or alternate anti-tachycardia pacing therapy may be associated with the particular template.

Abstract: Systems, apparatuses and methods for timing access to a shared communications bus by a plurality of devices. Each of a plurality of nodes is successively provided an opportunity to gain access to a shared bus according to a time slot allocation referenced from a time reference. The successive time slot allocation occurs until one of the nodes has a message to send via the shared bus. The node that has the message to send transmits a frame onto the bus. A new time reference is established at each of the nodes based on an indication provided by the transmitted frame, whereby each of the nodes can then be afforded a new opportunity to gain access to the shared bus according to the time slot allocation referenced from the new time reference.

Abstract: A method includes writing data to a bit-patterned media at times determined by a clock having a period that is offset from a bit island period by a fixed offset to create one insertion or one deletion approximately within a predetermined number of bit islands, reading the data, and correcting the read data using error correction. An apparatus that implements the method is also provided.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a storage card having selectable contact elements a terminal capable of receiving said storage card and method of its operation. The storage card with selectable contact elements, comprises an interface having a plurality of contact elements, a storage card controller, being connected to at least a subset of said contact elements, a storage memory device, being connected to said storage card controller, a switching unit, that is connected to said storage card controller and to at least one of said contact elements of said interface, wherein said storage card controller is connected to said switching unit to controllably select said at least one contact element.

Abstract: A guide catheter includes an outer guide having an open lumen and a longitudinal pre-stress line extending between a distal end and a proximal end of the outer guide. The outer guide has a longitudinal stiffness that facilitates transmission of forces and prevention of kinking during steering of the outer guide within cardiac vasculature and structures. An inner guide has an open lumen and is movably displaceable within the open lumen of the outer guide. At least a distal end of the outer guide and inner guide are dimensioned for passage into the patient's coronary sinus. A guide handle is connected to the proximal end of the outer guide and includes a longitudinal pre-stress line separable into at least two sections such that guide handle separation splits the outer guide along the longitudinal pre-stress line at the proximal end of the outer guide.

Abstract: An apparatus with a central housing, a top housing slidably movable relative to the central housing and a bottom housing slidably movable relative to the central housing is provided. The central housing is provided with an area for user input. A first portion of the area for user input is concealed by the top housing when it is in its retracted position and a second portion of the area for user input is concealed by the bottom housing when it is in its retracted position. The first portion of the area for user input is unconcealed when the top housing is in its extended position and the second portion of the area for user input is unconcealed when the bottom housing is in its extended position. The top housing and the optimum housing move in unison between their retracted and extended positions.

Abstract: A magnetic recording medium having a substrate, a first magnetic layer and a second magnetic layer, in this order, wherein an exchange coupling in the first magnetic layer is lower than an exchange coupling in the second magnetic layer, and the first and second magnetic layers are in a film stack so that magnetic grains in the first magnetic layer are exchange coupled by a pathway through the second magnetic layer is disclosed. A method of manufacturing a magnetic recording medium by obtaining a substrate, depositing a first magnetic layer at a first sputter gas pressure and depositing a second magnetic layer at a second sputter gas pressure, in this order, wherein the first sputter gas pressure is higher than the second sputter gas pressure, and an exchange coupling in the first magnetic layer is lower than an exchange coupling in the second magnetic layer is also disclosed.

Abstract: A method and system for characterizing one beat of a patient's supraventricular rhythm are described. A plurality of templates is provided and updated using a plurality of qualified beats. Updating occurs by temporally aligning the shock channel waveforms of the template beats using rate channel fiducial points. The template beats are combined by point-by-point addition of the shock channel waveforms. The resultant updated template characterizes one of the patient's supraventricular conducted cardiac beats.

Abstract: A tunable optical cavity can be tuned by relative movement between two reflection surfaces, such as by deforming elastomer spacers connected between mirrors or other light-reflective components that include the reflection surfaces. The optical cavity structure includes an analyte region in its light-transmissive region, and presence of analyte in the analyte region affects output light when the optical cavity is tuned to a set of positions. Electrodes that cause deformation of the spacers can also be used to capacitively sense the distance between them. Control circuitry that provides tuning signals can cause continuous movement across a range of positions, allowing continuous photosensing of analyte-affected output light by a detector.

Abstract: Cardiac monitoring and stimulation methods and systems provide audio playback of cardiac events and transthoracic monitoring and therapy. A medical system includes a housing and electrodes configured for sensing cardiac electrical activity. Another sensor may be configured to sense heart movement and produce a signal in response, such as an audio signal. Memory stores the audio signal and the cardiac electrical signal. A controller and communications circuitry telemeter the cardiac electrical signal and the audio signal to a patient-external device. Energy delivery circuitry may deliver cardiac therapy. The device may further include a patient actuatable trigger configured to communicate to the controller via the communications circuitry. The controller may initiate storing of the cardiac electrical signal and the audio signal in response to the trigger. The patient-external device may further include a storage media.

Abstract: Cardiac monitoring and/or stimulation methods and systems that provide one or more of monitoring, diagnosing, defibrillation, and pacing. Cardiac signal separation is employed for automatic capture verification using cardiac activation sequence information. Devices and methods sense composite cardiac signals using implantable electrodes. A source separation is performed using the composite signals. One or more signal vectors are produced that are associated with all or a portion of one or more cardiac activation sequences based on the source separation. A cardiac response to the pacing pulses is classified using characteristics associated with cardiac signal vectors and the signals associated with the vectors. Further embodiments may involve classifying the cardiac response as capture or non-capture, fusion or intrinsic cardiac activity. The characteristics may include an angle or an angle change of the cardiac signal vectors, such as a predetermined range of angles of the one or more cardiac signal vectors.

Abstract: Multi-chamber pacing may result in capture of one chamber, capture of multiple chambers, fusion, or non-capture. Approaches for detecting various capture conditions during multi-chamber pacing are described. Pacing pulses are delivered to left and right heart chambers during a cardiac cycle. A cardiac electrogram signal is sensed following the delivery of the pacing pulses. Left chamber capture only, right chamber capture only, and bi-chamber capture may be distinguished based on characteristics of the cardiac electrogram signal. Multi-chamber capture detection may be implemented using detection windows having dimensions of time and amplitude. The detection windows are associated with expected features, such as expected signal peaks, under a particular capture condition. The cardiac electrogram signal features are compared to detection windows to determine the capture condition.

Abstract: Perpendicular magnetic recording media having a magnetic capping layer that is exchange coupled to an underlying perpendicular magnetic recording layer. The magnetic coupling layer is a granular layer having a high saturation magnetization (Ms). The perpendicular magnetic recording layer can include magnetic grains separated by an oxide grain boundary phase.