Abstract: A guitar pad include a sheet of flexible material including a peripheral edge and a middle region extending entirely and continuously within the peripheral edge. The middle region includes surface area dimensions substantially greater than the thickness of the sheet, a first surface that is compressible, and a second surface which is at least partially conformably drapable over a portion of a guitar.

Abstract: A guitar pad include a sheet of flexible material including a peripheral edge and a middle region extending entirely and continuously within the peripheral edge. The middle region includes surface area dimensions substantially greater than the thickness of the sheet, a first surface that is compressible, and a second surface which is at least partially conformably drapable over a portion of a guitar.

Abstract: A guitar support pad for placement on the thigh of a seated guitar player to resist movement of the guitar and digging of the guitar body into the thigh comprises essentially a thin, flexible rectangularly-shaped body of uniform thickness. The pad preferably has a soft, resilient upper part for supporting a guitar body and maintaining it in a fixed position, and a lower part consisting of a thin sheet which is flexible enough to drape conformally over a player's thigh, while resisting sliding movement of the pad on the thigh. A preferred embodiment of a guitar support pad according to the present invention includes a rectangular sheepskin having a wool upper part and a tanned lower hide part. A preferred method of using the pad includes draping the pad over the thigh, positioning a guitar on the wooly surface of the pad and strumming or picking the guitar strings.

Abstract: The present invention includes a device and method for measuring skin elasticity that comprises: a probe, wherein the probe comprises one or more holes, a vacuum source, a pressure sensor, and one or more proximity sensors aligned about the one or more holes; and a processor for recording the deformation of the skin using a control unit comprising a microcontroller connected to the proximity and the pressure sensors, wherein the proximity sensor and the processor is adapted to automatically initiate a test when the sensor is positioned at a pre-determined distance from the skin, wherein a vacuum in the probe is capable of pulling skin into the one or more holes and the proximity sensor is capable of measuring an amount of skin drawn into the one or more holes to determine an elasticity of the skin.

Abstract: The present invention includes a device and method for measuring skin elasticity that comprises: a probe with one or more holes, a vacuum source, a pressure sensor, and one or more infrared or optical proximity sensors aligned about the one or more holes, wherein the probe further comprises a raised area surrounding the one or more holes; and a processor for recording the deformation of the skin using a control unit comprising a microcontroller connected to the one or more infrared or optical proximity sensors and the one or more pressure sensors, to measure an amount of skin drawn into and out of the one or more holes to determine the distance between the one or more proximity sensors and the skin both inside and outside the probe.

Abstract: A functional electrical stimulation method and device that starts electrical stimulation of a first leg of a person when a distance between a reference point on the person's first leg and the surface on which the person walks exceeds a first predetermined value and stops electrical stimulation of the first leg of the person when the distance between the reference point and the surface falls below a second predetermined value, wherein the first and second predetermined values are calculated from an initial measurement of the distance between the reference point and the surface when the person is standing still and the first leg is perpendicular to the surface. The first predetermined value is greater than the second predetermined value. The method and device produce a more natural gait in persons with drop foot, and minimize the time electrical stimulation is applied to muscles so as to minimize muscle fatigue.

Abstract: The present invention includes a device and method for measuring skin elasticity that comprises: a probe with one or more holes, a vacuum source, a pressure sensor, and one or more infrared or optical proximity sensors aligned about the one or more holes, wherein the probe further comprises a raised area surrounding the one or more holes; and a processor for recording the deformation of the skin using a control unit comprising a microcontroller connected to the one or more infrared or optical proximity sensors and the one or more pressure sensors, to measure an amount of skin drawn into and out of the one or more holes to determine the distance between the one or more proximity sensors and the skin both inside and outside the probe.

Abstract: The present invention includes a device and method for measuring skin elasticity that comprises: a probe, wherein the probe comprises one or more holes, a vacuum source, a pressure sensor, and one or more proximity sensors aligned about the one or more holes; and a processor for recording the deformation of the skin using a control unit comprising a microcontroller connected to the proximity and the pressure sensors, wherein the proximity sensor and the processor is adapted to automatically initiate a test when the sensor is positioned at a pre-determined distance from the skin, wherein a vacuum in the probe is capable of pulling skin into the one or more holes and the proximity sensor is capable of measuring an amount of skin drawn into the one or more holes to determine an elasticity of the skin.