Abstract: Disclosed herein are methods and surgical kits that can be used to fuse facet joints via a minimally invasive procedure (including an arthroscopic or percutaneous procedure). An exemplary method includes creating an incision; locating a facet joint with a distal end of a pin; sliding a substantially hollow drill guide over said pin wherein said drill guide comprises a proximal end, a distal end; removing said pin from within said drill guide; inserting a drill bit into said drill guide; drilling a hole into a bone of said facet joint; removing said drill bit; inserting a facet joint bone plug into said hole using a bone plug inserter having a raised portion at or near is proximal end, wherein said raised portion prevents over-insertion of said bone plug; and removing said drill guide.

Abstract: Integrated circuit transmitters allow for ultrasound imaging with both pulsed and continuous waves. High voltage and low voltage switches are integrated onto a same semiconductor chip. The high voltage switches are used for pulsed wave operation, and the low voltage switches are used for continuous wave operation. Power dissipation may be reduced by using low voltage circuits for the continuous wave operation. Both the pulsed and continuous waveforms are output on a common output from the integrated circuit. For continuous wave operation, one or more of the high voltage switches is used to provide a low resistance path to the common output or ground. For pulsed wave operation, one or more of the low voltage switches is used to provide a low resistance path to a common output or ground. A switch used for generating waveforms is also used for forming a low resistance path.

Abstract: A metallic inverted L-shaped implant is used to resurface the superior facet of the inferior vertebrae limited to the facet joints located on the spine, Occiput-C1 through L5-S1. The metallic implant is highly polished on its exterior and textured on its interior surface. It is mechanically crimped in place without the use of cement or pedicle screws. Permanent fixation occurs when bone in-grows onto a rough, porous surface on the inside of the implant. The implant employed in a hemi-arthroplasty method resurfaces half of the facet joint to provide for smooth, pain free joint articulation in deteriorated or diseased spinal facet joints without the need for major surgery or rehabilitation at considerably less risk to the patient.

Abstract: One or more chips, integrated circuits, or semiconductors are embedded within a backing block. Planar sheets of backing material are formed with integrated circuits within holes in the sheets. Traces connect the integrated circuit to electrodes or exposed conductive surfaces. A plurality of the planar sheets may be manufactured using wafer processing, such as pick and place of chips in a wafer of backing material and IC redistribution for forming the traces. The different sheets are cut from the wafer and stacked adjacent each other. The transducer connects with the exposed electrodes or conductive surfaces of the backing.

Abstract: Receive circuits and associated methods are provided for ultrasound imaging. Both subarray mixing and time division multiplexing are provided with a same circuit. Components of the receive circuit respond to either phasing or time slot information to implement subarray mixing or time division multiplexing. A network of switches allows combination of signals from different elements to form different sub-apertures. A controller minimizes power consumption while outputting the desired phase or time division multiplexed information by gating a clock to various registers. Each of the registers corresponds to different groups of transducer elements. For loading new phasing information, the clock is turned on to the desired register. Duration operation of the receive circuit, the clock is gated off. The register outputs the previously loaded values in a static state without clocking.

Abstract: A heliostat having a frame structure for supporting a mirror. The frame structure is pivotable about at least one axis of rotation. A liquid ballast system is mounted on a side of the frame structure that is remote from the reflective surface of the mirror. The liquid ballast system includes at least two tanks, and an imaginary line between the tanks extends at an angle or perpendicular to the axis of rotation. An arrangement is provided for moving ballast liquid between the tanks in an actively controlled manner.

Abstract: Different subarray combinations are provided for ultrasound imaging. A basic building block component supports different subarray sizes. Rather than providing a switching network for all possible combinations, a transducer array is divided into super arrays. Each super array is associated with a plurality of possible subarrays. For example, a 3×12 block of elements is divisible into four 3×3 or three 3×4 subarrays. As another example, a 4×12 block of elements is divisible into four 4×3 and three 4×4 subarrays. For each super array, the block of elements is divided into slices, such as three slices along one dimension for 3×12 block or four slices along that dimension for the 4×12 block. The number of elements along one division in each slice represents a least common multiple of the varying extent of the subarray sizes. Twelve is the least common multiple of three and four. By using small building blocks, the slice inputs are combined into partial subarrays.

Abstract: A metallic inverted L-shaped implant is used to resurface the superior facet of the inferior vertebrae limited to the facet joints located on the spine, Occiput-C1 through L5-S1. The metallic implant is highly polished on its exterior and textured on its interior surface. It is mechanically crimped in place without the use of cement or pedicle screws. Permanent fixation occurs when bone in-grows onto a rough, porous surface on the inside of the implant. The implant employed in a hemi-arthroplasty method resurfaces half of the facet joint to provide for smooth, pain free joint articulation in deteriorated or diseased spinal facet joints without the need for major surgery or rehabilitation at considerably less risk to the patient.