New Power Concepts LLC

Deka Products Limited Partnership

Engelhard Corporation

New Power Conceps LLC

Michael G Norris

Christopher Charles Langenfeld

Dean Kamen

Ryan Keith LaRocque

Jonathan Strimling

John Matthew Kerwin

Stanley B Smith, Iii

Prashant Bhat

Jacob William Scarpaci

Robert J Bryant, Jr

Geoffrey P Spencer

Andrew Stephen Coll

Andrew A Schnellinger

Kenneth Edwin Voss

Kingston Owens

Gary Wayne Rice

Larry B Gray

James D Dale

Michael J Wilt

Dirk Albertus Van Der Merwe

Christopher Matthew Werner

David W McGill

Simon Christopher Helmore

Todd A Ballantyne

Daniel F Pawlowski

Colin Holmes Murphy

Michael J Slate

David E Collins

David Blumberg, Jr

Marc Aurele Mandro

Thomas Q Gurski

David A Beavers

Paul G Girouard

Joseph P Rushlow

Clement D Bouchard

Timothy D Wildman

Dean L Kamen

Daniel S Karol

David J Hibbard

Michael A Baker

Alexander R Therrien

Michael J Baier

David B Doherty

Edgar J Bolton

Daniel B Singer

Jinsun Yoo

Ryan Keith Larocque

Scott W Newell

Erik N Sabin

Jason Michael Sachs

Felix Winkler

Anthony J Rotolico

John J Biasi

Arthur J Fabel

Eric Jensen

Gerald L Kutner

Jeffrey D Renk

Jonathan Parker

William W Ormerod

Richard Kurt Heinzmann

Jesse Tetherly Bodwell

Thomas A Friedrich

Jared N Farlow

Brian H Yoo

Michael S Place

Martin D Desch

Jeffrey M Janway

Jonathan Zobro

James L Sloss

Jonathan R Thurber

Jeremy B Lund

Christopher C Lagenfeld

Stanley B Smith Iii

Angus A MacEachern

Tim Duggan

Kurt L Kornbluth

David J Peretz

David W Mcgill

William W Ormerod, Iii

Jeffrey Renk

Jr David Blumberg

Simon W Lim

Stephan L Fichera

Iii Stanley B Smith

Erik Sabin

Stanley B Smith

A system for detecting whether a vascular access has been interrupted in an arrangement in which two catheters or needles are present in a blood vessel, fistula or graft. A fluid line leading to a pump is connected via a first connector to a first indwelling catheter, and a fluid line leading from a pump is connected via a second connector to a second indwelling catheter. Each connector is equipped with an electrode in contact with the lumen of the connector, the electrodes electrically connected to an electronic circuit that measures the impedance or conductivity of fluid between the first connector and second connectors via a fluid path through the blood vessel, fistula or graft. An electronic controller receives the impedance or conductivity data and processes the data to determine whether a vascular access disconnection has occurred. The processing may involve filtering the signal received by the controller, and/or setting provisional flags for a disconnection event that may be cleared if the signal changes before the expiration of a counter.

Systems and methods for detecting vascular access disconnection

Improvements in fluid volume measurement systems are disclosed for a pneumatically actuated diaphragm pump in general, and a peritoneal dialysis cycler using a pump cassette in particular. Pump fluid volume measurements are based on pressure measurements in a pump control chamber and a reference chamber in a two-chamber model, with different sections being modeled using a combination of adiabatic, isothermal and polytropic processes. Real time or instantaneous fluid flow measurements in a pump chamber of the diaphragm pump are also disclosed, in this case using a one-chamber ideal gas model and using a high speed processor to obtain and process pump control chamber pressures during fluid flow into or out of the pump chamber. Improved heater control circuitry is also disclosed, to provide added or redundant safety measures, or to reduce current leakage from a heater element during pulse width modulation control of the heater element. Improvements are also disclosed in an application of negative pressure during a drain phase in peritoneal dialysis therapy, and to control an amount of intraperitoneal fluid accumulation during the therapy. Improvements in efficiency are also disclosed in movement of fluid into and out of a two-pump cassette and a heater bag of the peritoneal dialysis cycler, and in synchronization of operation of two or more pumps in the peritoneal dialysis cycler or other fluid handling devices using a multi-pump arrangement.

Medical treatment system and methods using a plurality of fluid lines

Improvements in fluid volume measurement systems are disclosed for a pneumatically actuated diaphragm pump in general, and a peritoneal dialysis cycler using a pump cassette in particular. Pump fluid volume measurements are based on pressure measurements in a pump control chamber and a reference chamber in a two-chamber model, with different sections of an apparatus being modeled using a combination of adiabatic, isothermal and polytropic processes. Real time or instantaneous fluid flow measurements in a pump chamber of the diaphragm pump are also disclosed, in this case using a one-chamber ideal gas model and using a high speed processor to obtain and process pump control chamber pressures during fluid flow into or out of the pump chamber.

A Stirling cycle machine with a liquid fuel/gaseous fuel burner. The burner may include a preheater to capture the thermal energy of the exhaust. The burner directs the preheated air to each burner head, where it enters a prechamber. Each burner head includes a fuel nozzle that directs liquid or gaseous fuel into the prechamber. The prechamber is fluidically connected to a combustion chamber via a prechamber nozzle that has a smaller opening than the prechamber. The burner head ignites the fuel air mixture in the prechamber with an ignitor located above or within the prechamber. The flame is initially lit as a diffusion flame in the prechamber. The flame is pushed out of the prechamber into the combustion chamber by an increased air flow rate. The liquid fuel from the nozzle now evaporates in the prechamber and forms a prevaporized flame in the combustion chamber.

Stirling cycle machine

Improvements in fluid volume measurement systems are disclosed for a pneumatically actuated diaphragm pump in general, and a peritoneal dialysis cycler using a pump cassette in particular. Pump fluid volume measurements are based on pressure measurements in a pump control chamber and a reference chamber in a two-chamber model, with different sections of the apparatus being modeled using a combination of adiabatic, isothermal and polytropic processes. Real time or instantaneous fluid flow measurements in a pump chamber of a diaphragm pump are also disclosed, in this case using a one-chamber ideal gas model and using a high speed processor to obtain and process pump control chamber pressures during fluid flow into or out of the pump chamber. Improved heater control circuitry is also disclosed, to provide added or redundant safety measures, or to reduce current leakage from a heater element during pulse width modulation control of the heater. Improvements are also disclosed in the application of negative pressure during a drain phase in peritoneal dialysis therapy, and to control the amount of intraperitoneal fluid accumulation during a therapy. Improvements in efficiency are also disclosed in the movement of fluid into and out of a two-pump cassette and heater bag of a peritoneal dialysis cycler, and in the synchronization of the operation of two or more pumps in a peritoneal dialysis cycler or other fluid handling devices using a multi-pump arrangement.

An annular venturi burner assembly and Stirling engine. The annular venturi burner injects fuel into combustion air flowing axially through a port with an annular cross section. The fuel enters the annular cross-section from the outside diameter. The flow of air through the annular section creates suction that draws the fuel through the ports. A venturi bushing directs the flow of fuel to provide improved and more uniform mixing of fuel and air.

Annular venturi burner for stirling engine

An improvement is provided to a pressurized close-cycle machine that has a cold-end pressure vessel and is of the type having a piston undergoing reciprocating linear motion within a cylinder containing a working fluid heated by conduction through a heater head by heat from an external thermal source. The improvement includes a heat exchanger for cooling the working fluid, where the heat exchanger is disposed within the cold-end pressure vessel. The heater head may be directly coupled to the cold-end pressure vessel by welding or other methods. A coolant tube is used to convey coolant through the heat exchanger.

Coolant penetrating cold-end pressure vessel

A piston rod seal unit. The piston rod seal unit includes a housing, a cylinder gland, and at least one floating rod seal assembly mounted in the cylinder gland, the floating rod seal assembly comprising at least one rod seal mounted onto the floating rod seal assembly.

Floating rod seal for a stirling cycle machine

A Stirling cycle machine. The machine includes at least one rocking drive mechanism including a rocking beam having a rocker pivot, at least one cylinder and at least one piston. The piston is housed within a respective cylinder and is capable of substantially linearly reciprocating within the respective cylinder. The drive mechanism includes at least one coupling assembly. Also, a crankcase housing the rocking beam and housing a first portion of the coupling assembly is included. The machine also includes a working space housing the at least one cylinder, the at least one piston and a second portion of the coupling assembly. An airlock is included between the workspace and the crankcase and a seal is included for sealing the workspace from the airlock and crankcase. A burner and burner control system is also included for heating the machine and controlling ignition and combustion in the burner.

A Stirling cycle machine. The machine includes at least one rocking drive mechanism which includes: a rocking beam having a rocker pivot, at least one cylinder and at least one piston. The piston is housed within a respective cylinder and is capable of substantially linearly reciprocating within the respective cylinder. Also, the drive mechanism includes at least one coupling assembly having a proximal end and a distal end. The linear motion of the piston is converted to rotary motion of the rocking beam. Also, a crankcase housing the rocking beam and housing a first portion of the coupling assembly is included. The machine also includes a working space housing the at least one cylinder, the at least one piston and a second portion of the coupling assembly. An airlock is included between the workspace and the crankcase and a seal is included for sealing the workspace from the airlock and crankcase. A burner and burner control system is also included for heating the machine and controlling ignition and combustion in the burner.

An external combustion engine is disclosed. The external combustion engine includes a working fluid and a burner element, at least one heater head defining a working space, at least one piston cylinder containing a piston, a cooler, a crankcase including a crankshaft for producing an engine output, a rocking beam, a piston rod connected to the piston, a rocking beam driven by the piston rod, and a connecting rod connected at a first end to the rocking beam and at a second end to a crankshaft to convert rotary motion of the rocking beam to rotary motion of the crankshaft. The external combustion engine also includes an airlock space separating the crankcase and the working space for maintaining a pressure differential between the crankcase housing and the working space housing and an airlock pressure regulator connected between the crankcase and one of the airlock space and working space.

Stirling cycle machine with airlock pressure regulator and burner controls

Growing community of inventors

Manchester, NH, United States of America

Michael G Norris