Abstract: A method and apparatus for accelerating a laser stripping process carried out in a reactive gas mixture, comprising carrying out the stripping process in the presence of an accelerating effective amount of NxOy gas.

Abstract: A catheter is disclosed, comprising an elongated body, having a proximal end and a distal end, wherein at the distal end of said catheter a cap is provided, attached to said distal end, said cap provided with passage adapted to receive a guide-wire slidingly passing through it. Another preferred embodiment of the present invention is a catheter having a distal and proximal ends wherein said catheter is provided with a cap at its distal end said cap provided with a loop attached to it adapted to receive a guide-wire to pass through said loop. Yet another preferred embodiment of the present invention is a catheter having a distal and proximal ends wherein said catheter is provided with external coating said coating at the distal end of the catheter provided with a cleavage and a perforation substantially opposite the cleavage so as to allow a guide-wire to be passed through the cleavage and be threaded through said perforation.

Abstract: A pipette tip having at least two separate dispensing channels for dispensing liquid simultaneously into a corresponding number of micro titration wells or other container. The tip has a tubular body with one open end for mounting on a pipette. At the other end of the body, at least two spaced legs extend away from the body, each having a central channel communicating with the tip interior and an end opening. The tips are stored in a rack having an alignment arrangement, such as a ridge on each tip cooperating with a notch in the rack, to assure that all tips are aligned the same. The leg channels can be configured so that different amounts of liquid are dispensed into different micro titration wells in a predetermined pattern. The tip may also be used to transfer liquid from one micro titration plate to another, or any suitable container.

Abstract: An expander for lengthening a patient's palate comprises two substantially rigid sections, each of which sections has one or more downwardly extending members capable of being affixed to a surface; and a threading system attached to each section, the threading system being capable of predictably adjusting the spacing between the rigid sections. The expander is useful for lengthening a patient's palate, for example, for the treatment of velopharyngeal incompetence.

Abstract: A method of modifying the force of contraction of at least a portion of a heart chamber, including providing a subject having a heart, comprising at least a portion having an activation, and applying a non-excitatory electric field having a given duration, at a delay after the activation, to the portion, which causes the force of contraction to be increased by at least 5%.

Abstract: The present invention concerns a novel combination device for the destruction of calculi such as urinary stones in the human bladder, individual urinary ureters, the biliary tract, or other locations in the human body. More specifically, the present invention concerns an electrohydraulic lithotripsy basket (EHL) which consists of multiple electrical conduit wires that act both as electrical conduits and collectively act as a grasping device. This invention also concerns a method for the destruction of urinary stones using the device claimed.

Abstract: A method of modifying the force of contraction of at least a portion of a heart chamber, including providing a subject having a heart, comprising at least a portion having an activation, and applying a non-excitatory electric field having a given duration, at a delay after the activation, to the portion, which causes the force of contraction to be increased by at least 5%.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for controlling activity of a heart of a living person during a medical procedure. Electrical signals are applied to the heart so as to induce a spontaneously-reversible cardioplegia thereof. The signals are preferably such that terminating application of the signals does not induce fibrillation. Most preferably, the signals have an amplitude that is below a level that would induce fibrillation upon termination thereof.

Abstract: A stent for use in the treatment of stenosis of the ostium of tubular organs, more particularly, blood vessels comprising a multiplicity of flanges located at an end of a generally tubular stent body. The flanges permit the accurate positioning of the stent within the vessel, while presenting dislodgement of the stent.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for stimulating cardiac tissue. Pacing pulses are applied to the heart at multiple sites in at least two different chambers of the heart; and an Excitable Tissue Control (ETC) signal is applied in a vicinity of one or more of the pacing sites following application of the pacing pulse at the site.

Abstract: A removable lead for applying electrical signals to excitable tissue in a body of a subject, including at least one conductive wire and at least one electrode fixed to the wire. The electrode includes a conducting substrate having a given capacitance and a given resistance and a coating applied over the conducting substrate, such that the capacitance of the electrode with the coating is at least twice the capacitance of the substrate, and the resistance of the electrode with the coating is generally equal to the resistance of the substrate.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for controlling a segment of excitable tissue, typically tissue of a heart, the segment having an intrinsic activity level. During a high phase, electrical energy of a given amplitude is applied to the segment. During a low phase, the amplitude of the electrical energy applied to the segment is reduced relative to that applied during the high phase, so that the segment's activity level increases during the low phase above the intrinsic activity level.

Abstract: A method of selective excitation of a first spectral band in the presence of a second spectral band whose magnetization vector is not to be affected, comprising: selecting a central synthesizer frequency of substantially the second spectral band; applying a spectral-spatial pulse, centered on the selected synthesizer frequency to selectively excite the first spectral band. Preferably, the spectral-spatial pulse is a type II spectral-spatial pulse having odd and even pulse trains.

Abstract: A method is provided for evaluating an inhomogeneity in a magnetic polarizing field used to acquire an MRI image of a slice of a subject, at a point in the slice, the method comprising: acquiring data in a k-space for first and second k-space scans of the subject with a single application of a first MRI pulse sequence, wherein data acquisition for the second k-space scan is delayed with respect to data acquisition for the first k-space scan by a time delay; generating first and second spatial images from the first and second k-space scans; determining a phase difference between values of the first and second spatial images at the point; and evaluating the inhomogeneity at the point using the phase difference and the time delay.

Abstract: An apparatus for the repair of a cardiovascular valve having leaflets comprises a grasper capable of grabbing and co-apting the leaflets of the valve. Preferably, the grasper has jaw that grasp, immobilize the leaflets, and then a fastener is inserted to co-apt the leaflets. The apparatus is particularly useful for repairing mitral valves to cure mitral regurgitation.

Abstract: A process and apparatus for carrying out the removal of a coating substance from the sidewalls of a surface to be stripped comprising, providing a laser beam incidence on the surface at an incidence angle &agr; relative to the plane of the surface being treated, wherein the angle &agr;>0, and periodically switching or gradually changing the azimuth of the beam incidence plane.

Abstract: A method and devices for timing the delivery of non-excitatory signals for modifying myocardial contractility of a portion of the heart. The method includes the steps of applying electrodes to a plurality of cardiac sites, sensing electrical activity in a first cardiac site through a first electrode for detecting a first electrical depolarization event within a beat cycle, sensing electrical activity in a second cardiac site through a second electrode for detecting a second electrical depolarization event within the beat cycle, and applying a non-excitatory signal to the heart at or near at least the second cardiac site through at least one of the electrodes in response to detecting the second electrical depolarization event within an alert window period. The alert window period starts at a first delay from the time of detection of the first electrical depolarization event and has a first duration.