Abstract: Fluid delivery devices for delivering therapeutic agents are described. More particularly, this disclosure relates to drug reconstitution devices having a plurality of components movable with respect to one another such that an active agent and a solvent can be reconstituted within the device prior to injection. The fluid delivery devices can include a housing, a cartridge holder, a cartridge disposed within the cartridge holder, a button rod, and a foot. The cartridge stores the active agent and the solvent, which are separated by one or more stoppers. The button rod and foot can provide an axial force upon the stopper(s) in the cartridge to inject the fluid once reconstituted. The foot and the button rod can be separate components, thereby enabling the foot to rotate independently with respect to the button rod as the cartridge holder is rotated to reconstitute the therapeutic and prime the device for injection.

Abstract: A bone biopsy implant having a short cylindrical collar (15) with a removable tapered inner sleeve (40) which together act to facilitate bone sample collection and endoscopic access to the medullary compartment of bone. The collar (15) is provided with a biocompatible outer surface that secures with flutes (17) to resist rotation and circumferential beads (16) to resist pull-out forces. The collar walls on the fluted end strains towards the centerline to facilitate insertion or removal in a hole. The collar (15) is further provided with a flange on one face that has a ramp (18) shaped surface on its end that act together with a similar ramp (20) on the tapered sleeve (40) to cause longitudinal translation of the sleeve when rotated.

Abstract: Osteoprogenitor cells encapsulated in alginate and alternatively, additionally encapsulated in poly-L-lysine and/or agarose promote regeneration of bone at the site of implantation. The present invention provides a composition comprising osteoprogenitor cells embedded or encapsulated in alginate and the use of said microcapsules for the facilitation of bone regeneration.

Abstract: A analytic bone implant includes a cylindrical housing with an inner chamber designed for collecting sample of bone tissues. The outer surface of the housing is provided with a plurality of threads for securing the implant into bone tissue. The housing is further provided with a plurality of openings to allow new bone tissue to grow into a collecting basket. The openings in the housing are alignable with complementary openings in the basket. The openings on the basket are provided with sharp edges which serve as cutting blades to facilitate the removal of the bone sample. The implant includes provision for repeated access to the medullary compartment for obtaining sample of cancellous tissue for histologic and morphometric analysis.

Abstract: A method for determining the pulse rate of a person. The method of the present invention is implemented in two phases. The first phase involes the determination of pulse intervals and the second phase provides an indication of the pulse rate based on the data produced during the first phase. The first phase is implemented by an algorithm which produces a pulse distribution profile from an array of pulses obtained from an appropriate transducer. In the second phase of the measurement, the distribution is searched to locate the region of maximum density. The pulse rate within the maximally dense region are then averaged to determine pulse rate. The pulse rate detection method of the present invention eliminates a significant number of erroneous pulse signals before calculation of pulse rate, thus providing a more accurate indication of the true pulse rate.

Abstract: An apparatus is provided for sorting out pharmaceutical capsule components from assembled capsules and comprises a pair of spaced plates containing a plurality of holes which allow unassembled pharmaceutical caps and bodies to fall through the holes and yet retain assembled capsules.