Abstract: A pad assembly for coupling ultrasound from a transducer probe into the human body includes a shallow receptacle 20 with a removable cover 22 on the upper portion thereof. Within the receptacle are a foam section 14, a gel pad 12 and a thin net section 18. The net section 18 is bonded to the cover 22. The gel pad 12 is impregnated with a mixture of glycerin and water. The upper surface of foam section 14 is convoluted or ribbed so that there is a substantially lower surface tension between the foam section 14 and the gel pad than between the probe and the gel pad. There is also a substantially lower surface tension between net section 18 and the gel pad than between the gel pad and the foam section.

Abstract: A system for and method of detecting and measuring concentrations of an ultrasonically-reflective microsphere contrast agent involving detecting non-linear sum and difference beat frequencies produced by the microspheres when two impinging signals with non-identical frequencies are combined by mixing. These beat frequencies can be used for a variety of applications such as detecting the presence of and measuring the flow rates of biological fluids and industrial liquids, including determining the concentration level of microspheres in the myocardium.

Abstract: An apparatus for acquiring signals emitted by a fetus, identifying fetal heart beats and determining a fetal heart rate. Multiple sensor signals are outputted by a passive fetal heart rate monitoring sensor. Multiple parallel nonlinear filters filter these multiple sensor signals to identify fetal heart beats in the signal data. A processor determines a fetal heart rate based on these identified fetal heart beats. The processor includes the use of a figure of merit weighting of heart rate estimates based on the identified heart beats from each filter for each signal. The fetal heart rate thus determined is outputted to a display, storage, or communications channel. A method for enhanced fetal heart beat discrimination includes acquiring signals from a fetus, identifying fetal heart beats from the signals by multiple parallel nonlinear filtering, and determining a fetal heart rate based on the identified fetal heart beats.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for characterizing the time and frequency response of an ultrasonically reflective contrast agent is disclosed. An ultrasonically reflective contrast agent is injected, under constant pressure, into a fluid flowing through a pump flow circuit. The fluid and the ultrasonically reflective contrast agent are uniformly mixed in a mixing chamber, and the uniform mixture is passed through a contrast agent chamber. The contrast agent chamber is acoustically and axially interposed between an ultrasonic transducer chamber and an acoustic isolation chamber. A pulse of ultrasonic energy is transmitted into the contrast agent chamber from the ultrasonic transducer chamber. An echo waveform is received from the ultrasonically reflective contrast agent, and it is analyzed to determine the time and frequency response of the ultrasonically reflective contrast agent.

Abstract: In the medical treatment and examination of animate patients, means to flex and secure a spinal column against movement, exclusive of applying pressure to the head and/or neck, comprising coactively adjustable seat and shoulder engaging elements, arranged to flex the spinal column in an optimum posture of flexure, while simultaneously restraining the patient against movement of his spinal column. Coactive plates engaging patient's shoulders and the seat under and around the pelvis are compressed while the patient is strapped therein, whereby the vertebral column is bowed posteriorly, thus widening the inter-vertebral space for introduction of the spinal tap needle therein. The mechanism permits the patient's pelvis to be advanced anteriorly so that it is sustained in the same vertical plane as the shoulders, whereby flexion of the vertebral column is obtained, instead of leaning the patient out of vertical axis, a normal vertical or horizontal axis.