Medispectra, Incorporated

Implemed, Inc.

Excel Dryer, Inc.

Other

Invent Resources, Inc.

A Ze'ev Hed

George Freedman

Mark D Modell

Sol Aisenberg

Richard Pavelle

Fredric L Milder

Gregory DeBaryshe

Irving Kalikow

Henri F deGuillebon

William M Key

Jeffrey L Forman

After washing, the hands are dried rapidly and comfortably by using a shaped high speed flow of heated air. The air flows in a direction controlled by an air outlet shaped to retain much of the exiting forceful air flow and temperature at a distance where the hands are dried. The air entrainment is controlled so that the properties of the air flow are not diluted by the air entrainment to a point where the drying performance is degraded. The forceful air flow blows off most of the loose water on the hands. The forceful air flow also reduces the stagnation boundary layers in the hands so that the evaporation removal of the remaining film of water is improved. These result in reduced drying time and comfort during and after drying.

Method and apparatus for hand drying

An apparatus for automating control of the water in a shower system includes at least one sensor disposable within a water flow path intermediate the valve and the showerhead. A processing unit operatively connectable to the sensor processes the sensor signal and generates control signals in response thereto. A valve control mechanism operatively connectable to the valve and the processing unit positions the valve in response to the control signals from the processing unit. A user interface operatively connectable to the processing unit receives user commands and displays values for the water temperature and flow rate. In the illustrative embodiment the processing unit is microprocessor based and enables previously defined vales for water temperature and flow rate to be stored and recalled in association with a particular user identifier.

Electronically-controlled shower system

Methods and apparatus are provided for determining a characteristic of a sample of a material by the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with the sample. The apparatus includes a source of electromagnetic radiation, an optical assembly and a detector. The optical assembly sequentially illuminates a plurality of volume elements in the sample with an intensity distribution in the sample that drops off substantially monotonically from a first region in a first optical path and collects electromagnetic radiation emanating from each of the volume elements. The optical assembly collects the electromagnetic radiation emanating from each of the volume elements with a collected distribution that drops off substantially monotonically from a second region in a second optical path. The first and second regions at least partially overlap in each of the volume elements. The detector detects the collected electromagnetic radiation emanating from each of the sequentially illuminated volume elements to produce responses representative of the characteristic in each of the volume elements.

Spectral volume microprobe arrays

Secure time stamps generated by the inventive apparatus and method include an externally generated time signal, such as a GPS signal, a time stamp serial number, generated through an irreversible process which may not be duplicated by the apparatus, and one or more check sum values used to verify the content of the time stamp parameters or any data file associated with the time stamp. Also disclosed are apparatus and methods for verifying the authenticity of previously generated time stamps in either electronic or tangible form. The time stamp generator apparatus may be implemented as an add-on board to an existing computer system or as a stand alone device which may also include a GPS receiver and a scanner for verifying previously generated time stamps.

Method and apparatus for providing secure time stamps for documents and computer files

A wall-mounted hand dryer provides a heated pulsating or modulating air stream to break down a boundary layer of moisture on a user's hands to reduce the drying time. The hand dryer accomplishes this by quickly generating a heated air stream at a maximum temperature that is tolerable to the user, increasing the air stream velocity and turbulence to blow off loose water droplets and break down the boundary layer disposed on the user's hands. The hand dryer includes a blower, heater, a modulator and/or a turbulator for blowing heated air through an air duct. The modulator and turbulator break up the laminar flow of the air stream to provide a modulating or pulsating turbulent flow of air to retard the formation of the boundary layer and dry the hands quickly. The hand dryer further includes an infrared heating source for heating the surface of a user's hands to replace the heat lost as a result of the evaporation of the water from the user's hands. The operation of the hand dryer is controlled by a controller which actuates the components of the hand dryer for a predetermined time period (i.e., 10 seconds) in response to an actuation signal provided by a push button switch or proximity sensors.

Hand dryer

An optical probe collects light emanating from a specimen that selectively andpreferentially represents a localized volume element within the sample, with illuminationintensity and collection efficacy both dropping off away from the localized volume element to limit the integrated contribution from outside the element. For example, the optics provide high peak illumination and high collection efficiency which both overlap in volume elements of a limited size corresponding to a structure or process of the specimen. The resulting collected signal comprising one or more spectral segments is highly correlated with optical characteristics, such as absorbance, scattering or fluorescence characteristics of material in the small volume elements. A processor may apply a previously-derived vector or matrix transform to the collected responses to produce an output. The collected spectra or other responses have high signal strength and represent small or otherwise inaccessible or masked optical effects present in the sample, so that they are readily correlated to conditions of interest.

Spectral volume microprobe for analysis of materials

An optical probe collects light responses from a specimen that selectively and preferentially emanates from a localized volume element within the sample, with illumination irradiance and collection efficiency both dropping off away from the localized volume element, and a processor applies a vector or matrix transform to collected responses to produce an output. The optics provide high peak illumination and high collection efficiency which both overlap in small volume elements that are limited in length, width or depth to correspond to a structure or process of the specimen so that the collected spectra or other responses have high signal strength and enhanced correlation values to small or otherwise inaccessible or masked effects present in macroscopic or submacroscopic regions. Responses from volumes outside the localized element are substantially rejected and correlation transforms are readily derived from the strong spectral responses of tissue samples having an independently identified pathology or condition and these transforms are stored. A processor then applies the stored transforms so obtained to a newly collected response to determine the presence or extent of a particular pathology in the observed tissue.

Spectral volume microprobe analysis of materials

The invention provides a catheter for ice mapping and ablation and a method of ablation using the catheter. The catheter includes at least two lumens for circulating a refrigerating fluid adjacent an ablation device located at the end of a catheter. The refrigerated ablation device is used to chill a localized region of myocardial tissue, thereby permitting the resulting change in electrical activity to be determined. In response to the test results, the ablation device may be used to make a lesion in the myocardial tissue to correct a cardiac arrhythmia. In one embodiment, the ablation device is an electrode which uses radio frequency energy to ablate the myocardial tissue. Alternatively, the ablation device is an electrode adapted for direct current ablation. In another embodiment, the electrode is replaced with an optical fiber in communication with a laser which uses the laser's light energy to ablate tissue. The embodiments may include provisions for steering the catheter and for stabilizing the ablation device at the proposed lesion site.

Catheter for ice mapping and ablation

A surgical tool for operating within a body cavity through a small diameter opening includes a substantially rigid member which is elongated along a first axis and which has a cross-sectional dimension to fit within the opening. A head is mounted on one end of the rigid member for movement in at least one plane through an angle with respect to the first axis. An operable control member is mounted on an opposite end of the rigid member for having at least one degree of manipulability. The control member is coupled to the head member through the rigid member such that manipulation of the control member through an angle with respect to the first axis causes movement of the head member through a corresponding angle. Accordingly, the head member can be steered within a body cavity by control external to the body cavity. In some embodiments, the control member is manipulable to a second degree for actuating an actuating member mounted on the head.

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Nashua, NH, United States of America

A Ze'ev Hed