Abstract: An apparatus for injecting a material comprising an injector barrel in communication with a delivery needle and a plunger, wherein at least a portion of the plunger is slidably disposed within a proximal portion of the injector barrel, and a proximal end of the delivery needle is in communication with a distal end of the injector barrel, and a thermal jacket surrounding at least a portion of the length of the injector barrel is disclosed. The thermal jacket may be used to regulate the temperature of the material to be delivered.
Abstract: Compositions and methods for treating, preventing, or reducing alcoholism, in particular methods for increasing patient compliance with therapies that require the intake of an ALDH inhibitor comprising the step of administering a monoamine oxidase B inhibitor.
Abstract: A medical device for implantation into vessels or luminal structures within the body is provided, which stimulates positive blood vessel remodeling. The medical device, such as a stent and a synthetic graft, is provided with a coating with a pharmaceutical composition containing a controlled-release matrix and one or more pharmaceutical substances for direct delivery of drugs to surrounding tissues. The coating on the medical device further comprises one or more barrier layers, and a ligand such as a peptide, an antibody or a small molecule for capturing progenitor endothelial cells in the blood contacting surface of the device for restoring an endothelium at the site of injury. In particular, the drug-coated stents are for use, for example, in balloon angioplasty procedures for preventing or inhibiting restenosis.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
November 15, 2006
Date of Patent:
January 3, 2012
Assignee:
OrbusNeich Medical, Inc.
Inventors:
Robert John Cottone, Jr., Margaret Yoklavich, Sherry Parker
Abstract: A variable valve actuation system to actuate and control the seating velocity of an internal combustion engine valve is disclosed. The system may comprise a rocker arm that includes first, second and third contact surfaces. The first contact surface may contact the engine valve. A hydraulic lost motion system may contact the rocker arm at the second contact surface, and a mechanical valve train element may contact the rocker arm at the third contact surface. The lost motion system may include a slave piston with a valve seating device incorporated therein. The lost motion system and the mechanical valve train element may be provided side by side at the end of the rocker arm opposite that of the engine valve.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
May 30, 2008
Date of Patent:
January 3, 2012
Assignee:
Jacobs Vehicle Systems, Inc.
Inventors:
Bruce A. Swanbon, Brian L. Ruggiero, Richard E Vanderpoel
Abstract: An automated, highly sensitive, specific and potentially quantitative detection method using an automated microscope for identifying and enumerating rare cancer cells in blood and other fluids.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
November 13, 2008
Date of Patent:
January 3, 2012
Assignee:
Ikonisys, Inc.
Inventors:
Sir Walter Bodmer, Triantafyllos Tafas, Michael Kilpatrick, Petros Tsipouras, Xiuzhong Wang, Youngmin Kim, Michael Thomas, Antti Seppo, Triantafyllia Ntouroupi, Changhua Yu, Charles Climer
Abstract: A variable valve actuation system to actuate and control the seating velocity of an internal combustion engine valve is disclosed. The system comprises: a housing having a bore formed therein; an outer piston slidably disposed in the bore, said outer piston having an internal hydraulic passage, an internal chamber defined by an outer piston side wall, and an internal orifice connecting the internal hydraulic passage and the internal chamber; a catch piston slidably disposed in the outer piston; and a cone-shaped extension extending from the inner piston, wherein the cone-shaped extension is adapted to provide a variable flow area through the outer piston orifice to provide improved engine valve seating.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
September 18, 2008
Date of Patent:
December 20, 2011
Assignee:
Jacobs Vehicle Systems, Inc.
Inventors:
John A. Schwoerer, Zhou Yang, Ryan C. Noss, Brian L. Ruggiero, Neil E. Fuchs
Abstract: Methods combine speech recognition with telephonic sales order processing, in order to automate and improve the efficiency of telephone sales orders, by responding appropriately to vocalizations, pausing for interruption, repeating responses when appropriate, automatically transferring calls to human agents or different automated systems at appropriate points in a transaction, and collecting information. A method accepts incoming sales order calls and appropriately handles order processing. A method connects outgoing calls to customers who have disconnected before completing sales order calls, and appropriately handles sales and order processing.
Abstract: An embodiment is disclosed for performing the image processing for analyzing the results of a fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) microscopic automated sample analysis to determine specific chromosomal characteristics.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
August 2, 2007
Date of Patent:
August 16, 2011
Assignee:
IKONISYS, Inc.
Inventors:
Yanning Zhu, Triantafyllos Tafas, Youngmin Kim, Xiuzhong Wang
Abstract: A method for recognizing an object in an image is disclosed wherein a fractal map of the image is generated by estimating the fractal dimension of each pixel in the image. The fractal map may be segmented by thresholding and locations of candidate objects are determined. The pixel value of the image pixel corresponding to the same location where the candidate object is found in the fractal map may be compared to a threshold value. If the pixel value is greater than the threshold value, the candidate object is recognized as a valid object.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
February 7, 2011
Date of Patent:
August 2, 2011
Assignee:
Ikonisys Inc.
Inventors:
Triantafyllos P. Tafas, Michael Kilpatrick, Petros Tsipouras
Abstract: A lost motion valve actuation system includes an engine brake housing and one or more hydraulic fluid supply passages extending through the housing. Master and slave pistons are slidably disposed corresponding bores in the housing. The master and slave pistons are used to provide selective actuation to one or more engine valves. An engine brake rocker arm disposed adjacent to the housing includes a master piston contact surface and a bias mechanism contact surface. A bias mechanism is disposed in the housing and includes a bias piston which extends from the housing. The bias piston biases the rocker arm out of contact with an engine cam during select engine operation modes, such as during a positive power mode of operation. The bias piston may be mechanically or hydraulically repositioned to permit the rocker arm to contact the engine cam during a second mode of engine operation, such as an engine braking mode.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
July 31, 2009
Date of Patent:
July 5, 2011
Assignee:
Jacobs Vehicle Systems, Inc.
Inventors:
Zdenek S. Meistrick, Joseph A. Bonfatto
Abstract: A process for the conversion of hydrocarbons that are solid or have a high boiling temperature and may be laden with metals, sulfur or sediments, into liquids (gasolines, gas oil, fuels) with the help of a jet of gas properly superheated between 600 and 800° C. The process comprises preheating a feed 5 in a heater 8 to a temperature below the selected temperature of a reactor 10. This feed is injected by injectors 4 into the empty reactor 10 (i.e., without catalyst.) The feed is treated with a jet of gas or superheated steam from superheater 2 to activate the feed. The activated products in the feed are allowed to stabilize at the selected temperature and at a selected pressure in the reactor and are then run through a series of extractors 13 to separate heavy and light hydrocarbons and to demetallize the feed. Useful products appearing in the form of water/hydrocarbon emulsions are generally demulsified in emulsion breaker 16 to form water laden with different impurities.
Abstract: A system and method for determining client metadata using a dynamic rules engine is disclosed. The system may include a universal data agent, a site management tool, a targeting engine, an ad server, and a data warehouse. When a visitor visits a site on a content delivery system, the universal data agent and targeting engine may collect data about the visitor and site. The site management tool may configure the universal data agent and provided current rules for the dynamic rules engine. The collected data may be stored in the data warehouse and evaluated in the dynamic rules engine to produce a content category. The ad server may use the content category to serve targeted ads and/or other content to the visitor.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
March 14, 2008
Date of Patent:
June 7, 2011
Assignee:
Tacoda LLC
Inventors:
Joseph G. Wilson, IV, Donald J. Locker, Arthur G. Dolimpio, Jr.
Abstract: An internal combustion engine that includes both a variable valve actuation system and an exhaust restriction system to provide engine braking are disclosed. Variable valve actuation and exhaust gas restriction are carried out in response to one or more engine parameters such as engine speed, engine load, vehicle speed, and/or manifold temperature and pressure. Variable valve actuation and exhaust gas restriction may be controlled to provide selective engine performance during positive power operation and/or during engine braking operation.
Abstract: An automated cassette and slide handling system is disclosed which organizes microscope slides in cassettes, automatically and sequentially removes individual slides from their respective cassettes, positioned each slide under the microscope as provided by the protocol, and after examination returns the slide to its proper cassette.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
August 3, 2007
Date of Patent:
May 24, 2011
Assignee:
Ikonisys, Inc.
Inventors:
Tibor Virag, Yash Agarwal, Wei Guo, Richard Eberle, Youngmin Kim, Michael Kilpatrick, Petros Tsipouras, Triantafyllos Tafas
Abstract: A system and method of actuating one or more engine valves is disclosed. In one embodiment, the system comprises: a valve train element; a rocker arm pivotally mounted on a shaft and adapted to rotate between a first position and a second position, the rocker arm selectively receiving motion from the valve train element; a valve bridge disposed above the one or more engine valves; and a lost motion system disposed in the valve bridge.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
March 15, 2005
Date of Patent:
March 15, 2011
Assignee:
Jacobs Vehicle Systems, Inc.
Inventors:
Brian Ruggiero, Neil Fuchs, Zhou Yang, Robb Janak
Abstract: A displaceable light-tight enclosure system housing an automated robotic microscope having electronically controllable components and an image capture device. The enclosure system includes a device(s) for displacement, an externally viewable monitor, and a plurality of electrical power receptacles. The light-tight enclosure system also incorporates an anti-fall support leg that may be extended from the enclosure.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
December 8, 2008
Date of Patent:
March 8, 2011
Assignee:
Ikonisys, Inc.
Inventors:
Triantafyllos Tafas, Yash Agarwal, Youngmin Kim, Wei Guo, Richard Eberle, Joseph Turgeon, Michael Kilpatrick, Petros Tsipouras
Abstract: In various embodiments methods for automated screening for gene amplification in biological tissue samples using an automated fluorescence microscope to analyze fluorescence in situ hybridized samples are provided. Various additional embodiments provide methods of high throughput screening for gene amplification.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
March 19, 2008
Date of Patent:
March 8, 2011
Assignee:
Ikonisys, Inc.
Inventors:
Triantafyllos P. Tafas, Michael Kilpatrick, Xiuzhong Wang, Youngmin Kim, Michael Thomas, Petros Tsipouras
Abstract: An imager system is disclosed comprising a image intensifier and a CMOS image sensor. The system provides fast capture speed and high sensitivity.