Abstract: Suture clips and suture clip loading, delivery, locking and severing devices in both catheter and endoscopic embodiments are disclosed that permit the delivery and application of suture clips directly in contact with or in close approximation to sutured tissue. The catheter or endoscopic versions incorporate a collet cage with a plurality of flexible collet fingers that captivate a suture clip ring and a suture clip plug for assembly with a suture. An outer sliding sleeve constrains the collet fingers when distally advanced to minimize potential trauma during delivery and assembly of the suture clip in close proximity to the stitched tissue. Proximal retraction of the sliding sleeve coupled with the distal advancement of a pusher against cam surfaces on the inner walls of the collet fingers causes the collet fingers to open. The catheter is designed to hold and assemble the suture clip in a first position and release the suture clip and sever the suture ends proximal to the suture clip in a second position.

Abstract: The present invention is a dramatically enhanced RF link for low-data-rate applications (1-100 bps), using one or more transmitters to communicate with one or more receivers, at dramatically enhanced ranges. The receiver of the present invention can rapidly search, detect, and lock in on narrow band signal transmissions, that may be present in a much larger frequency band and which may be changing frequency during the duration of the message. These receivers enable ultra-low noise floor detection of longer range, more highly attenuated, signal transmissions, by decreasing the receiver bandwidth.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method and system for analyzing signals generated by rotating components that slip in a rotating machine and for detecting faults in those components. Pulses from a shaft encoder serve as an external clock in digitizing the signal data. A fixed number of data samples are thereby acquired for each complete rotation of the rotating shaft of the machine. Complex spectra are provided for data records of a fixed length with the first sample of each data record always beginning at the same point relative to the shaft angular orientation. Signal-processing means multiply pairs of signal spectral components so that the complex products produced by the data for the component of interest has a fixed phase relative to the shaft orientation.