Abstract: A region of an airfoil to be protected from accreted ice is heated to reduce the strength of the bond between the ice and the airfoil, and is mechanically deformed to shed the accreted ice after the bond has been sufficiently weakened. Heating ceases before substantial water runback is generated. The mechanical deformation and the cessation of heating occur approximately simultaneously.

Abstract: A nucleic acid encodes a novel RNase. The RNase has an amino acid sequence in which an amino acid sequence disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,239,257 B1 is preceded by a different N-terminal residue or leader sequence.

Abstract: A region of an airfoil to be protected from accreted ice is heated to reduce the strength of the bond between the ice and the airfoil, and is mechanically deformed to shed the accreted ice after the bond has been sufficiently weakened. Heating ceases before substantial water runback is generated. The mechanical deformation and the cessation of heating occur approximately simultaneously.

Abstract: Insertion of a wax guard with a bridge into the receiver tube of a hearing instrument may be accomplished with a tool that grasps the wax guard securely, inserts the wax guard into the tube, and then slides off of the wax guard, leaving the wax guard within the tube.

Abstract: A force opposing tab on the peripheral surface of an electronics module will prevent inadvertent dislodging of the module from the hearing instrument housing when force is applied the battery door.

Abstract: The dimensions of a hearing instrument can be minimized by positioning the internal components in a configuration that occupies the least amount of volume. A pocket for situating the microphone on a diagonal aids in decreasing the required size of the instrument's shell and facilitates assembly.

Abstract: A microphone of the dual-inlet type is installed in an In-The-Ear (“ITE”) hearing aid. First and second outwardly-diverging channels are located in the faceplate, to connect the inlets of the microphone to two spaced-apart ports in the faceplate.

Abstract: A programming interface for programming hearing aids is in PCMCIA compact flash format and meets the requirements of IEC 60601-1, type BF and UL 2601-1 when connected to a desktop or laptop computer.

Abstract: The echo time in an MR pulse sequence is optimized in accordance with the application desired. Advantageously, the echo time is selected to cause a partial volume signal cancellation from veins as compared with background tissue, and the MR pulse sequence is of a velocity-compensated type. MR data are acquired from gradient echoes. Multiple echoes may be used to extract information (such as volume content and susceptibility) about the material under investigation.

Abstract: A segmented cine MR pulse sequence of the “TrueFISP”-type having a short repetition time TR is used to acquire MR data during a single breath hold. In the resulting cine images, the blood and the myocardium have distinctly different image contrasts.

Abstract: A disposable saliva ejector has a strainer tip at its distal end. The strainer tip has a plurality of slots through which saliva, blood etc. can be extracted from the patient's mouth. A protective flange is located adjacent the strainer tip, extends parallel to it, and is spaced apart from it. The space between the flange and the tip is sufficiently small that the patient's flesh is unlikely to become interposed between the tip and the flange. For this reason, slots in the region of the flange will likely always remain unblocked. For this reason, the tip and flange do not become tightly wedged against the patient's flesh as a result of the vacuum supplied to the ejector.

Abstract: Gadolinium-based MR contrast agent is administered to a patient. Acquisition of MR data begins at the latest when the bolus of MR contrast agent reaches the patient's heart and continues throughout the first-pass of contrast agent through the coronary circulation. Advantageously, the acquisition is carried out using a T1-weighted, three-dimensional gradient echo sequence that is synchronized to the patient's cardiac cycle to acquire MR data only during diastole, and a T1-weighting magnetization preparation such as inversion-recovery or saturation-recovery is used.

Abstract: A sequence of angiographic images is made up of frames of data. A sample sequence, made up of a number of such frames, is compressed using a lower value of the quantization factor and the resulting average compression ratio is determined. The same sample sequence is also compressed using a higher value for the quantization factor and another average compression ratio is determined. The value of the quantization factor corresponding to a desired average compression ratio of the entire sequence can then be determined by linear interpolation.

Abstract: During acquisition of one frame of MR data, the phase-encoding gradient oscillates between a maximum phase-encoding gradient and a minimum phase-encoding gradient. Each oscillation includes a zero phase-encoding gradient.

Abstract: A cylindrical alkali halide melt-grown single-crystal-type ingot is axially compressed in a heated dual-platen press while in a plastic state. The ingot is located mid-way between two parallel, planar, vertically extending barriers. By properly orienting the platens and the barriers with respect to the crystal lattice structure of the ingot, the ingot can be forged into a rectangular block that is not only devoid of peripheral cracks and fissures but that also has more uniform properties even when impurities and activator (Tl, in the case of NaI(Tl)) are not uniformly distributed within the initial single-crystal ingot.

Abstract: By administering MR contrast agent such as Gd-DPTA, waiting for a predetermined period of time and then acquiring T1-weighted MR image data, infarcted myocardial tissue can be distinguished from injured myocardial tissue. An in vivo cine MR study is used to distinguish normal myocardial tissue from injured or infarcted myocardial tissue. As a result, it is possible to distinguish between normal, injured but living, and infarcted myocardium using MR imaging.

Abstract: A docking station for a portable patient monitor is adapted for use in a system which includes a communications network and, optionally, a bedside display. The portable monitor is coupled to sensors for receiving patient data signals. The docking station includes a platform that can be conveniently located near the patient. The platform has a detachable mounting which holds the portable monitor. When the portable monitor is mounted on the docking station platform, it receives power from the docking station. At the same time, the docking station receives patient data from the portable monitor and transfers the data to the communications network. The docking station is also coupled, via the communications network, to a plurality of input and output devices when it is mounted on the docking station. A second example of the docking station includes a power supply and network (PSN) box that is mounted to a wall or other fixed surface.

Abstract: A programmable hearing aid circuit is programmed by making electrical connections between contacts that are connected to the circuit. The connections are made by conductive region(s) located on the body of the battery door.

Abstract: An elongated tubular structure of plastic strands is bisected along its axis to form open-topped self-supporting half-shells that can be used in cooling towers. The half-shells are stackable and can be transported in densely packed bundles.

Abstract: An intravascular MR contrast agent is administered to a living patient. A series of three-dimensional dynamic MR datasets is acquired from the Volume of Interest ("VOI"), beginning after administration of the contrast agent and continuing for a sufficiently long time as to reflect contrast agent enhancement of all arterial and venous blood vessels within the VOI. A three-dimensional MR angiogram of the VOI is acquired after the contrast agent has reached equilibrium. For each voxel within the VOI, enhancement of that voxel as a function of time post administration of the contrast agent is computed. Parameters that distinguish enhancement of voxels relating to the patient's arteries from enhancement of voxels relating to the patient's veins are selected, and the intensity of each voxel in the MR angiogram is scaled in accordance with the selected parameters. A maximum intensity projection reconstruction of the VOI is generated from the MR angiogram in which voxel intensity has been scaled.