Becton Dickinson and Company Limited

Other

Texas Instruments Corporation

Bd Kiestra B.v.

Robert Edward Armstrong

Glen Richard Davis

Dwight Livingston

Klaus W Berndt

Paul Gerard Gladnick

Timothy Roy Hansen

Strett Roger Nicolson

Alexander W Clark

John Thulin Page

Ben Turng

Nicholas Bachur

John Thuin Page

Raymond John Michels

James R Petisce

Ammon David Lentz

Brent Ronald Pohl

Nicholas Robert Bachur, Jr

Franciscus Feijen

David J Turner

A multi-port disposable device that can both vent a sealed culture vessel and draw a sample therefrom into a collection vessel. The multi-port disposable device has a first port configured to receive the top portion of a culture vessel and attach thereto. The multi-port disposable device has a second port configured to receive a sample collection vessel. The multi-port disposable device has first and second needles. The first needle has a cannula configured to penetrate a septum or cap of the culture vessel. Optionally, the cannula terminates in a layer of foam that carries a microbial agent such that any vapor that is transmitted from the culture vessel through the cannula when venting the sealed culture vessel is absorbed by the foam. Optionally, the ports of the disposable device are configured as sleeves. The sleeve of the first port receives a portion of the culture vessel and the sleeve of the second port receives the collection vessel. The second needle has a cannula that penetrates both the septum or cap of the culture vessel and the septum or cap of the collection vessel, when the culture vessel and the collection vessel are brought into the device, thereby providing for fluid communication between the culture vessel and the collection vessel. The second cannula provides the flow pathway for delivering sample from the culture vessel to the collection vessel.

Disposable device for venting a sealed container and aliquoting therefrom

Systems and methods for optimizing detection of optical signals indicating the presence of an analyte of interest in a blood sample are described. In one aspect, a blood culture test vial having a sensor is inoculated with the blood sample, light at an excitation frequency of the sensor is transmitted to the test vial, an intensity of a plurality of fluorescence signals emitted from the test vial is measured, and the plurality of measured fluorescence signals are normalized using by a reference signal that is not dependent on a measured intensity of a fluorescence signal emitted from the test vial. In another aspect, a measurement system measures fluorescence signals from one or more reference vials performing in extreme pH conditions. Fluorescence signals emitted from test vials inoculated with samples under test are measured and compared to the signals measured from the one or more reference vials to address or mitigate variability in hardware components of the measurement system.

Systems and methods for normalizing signals in blood culture measurement systems

An automated system for identifying in a biological sample microorganisms and their antimicrobial susceptibility (AST). The system provided an automated platform for preparing, from a single biological sample, inoculates for both ID and AST. The system loads a plate for ID testing as samples are being prepared for AST testing. The system tracks the sample and the inoculates from the samples to link the test results to the sample and the patients from whom the sample was obtained.

Method and apparatus for identification of bacteria

A rules system for creating rules to an expert system is provided, the rules system providing a user-friendly, guided process for creating such rules.

Method and apparatus for using a graphical user interface to create, edit, and test expert system rules for a clinical database

A test strip reader is provided with an optical mouse integrated circuit sensor that reads the test line, reference line and control line of a lateral flow assay strip by light absorption and determines the position of the test strip beneath the image on the integrated circuit board using digital signal processing algorithms. The digital signal processing algorithms process the imaged surface at a very high rate (e.g., 1500 frames per second) to determine the direction and speed of movement of the lateral strip with respect to the reader optics and image capture components. The sensor outputs this position information in a quadrature pattern format. A microcontroller uses the known position of the strip with respect to the reader to calculate the optical absorption of each colored reagent line, and the diagnostic significance (i.e., either qualitative or quantitative) of the test strip.

Apparatus and method for using optical mouse engine to determine speed, direction, position of scanned device and to obtain quantitative or qualitative data from same

Graphical user interface for use with open expert system

A diagnostic microbiological testing system and method for microorganism identification (ID) and antimicrobial susceptibility determinations (AST). The system includes multiple-well test panels capable of performing ID and AST testing on the same test panel. Each test panel is inoculated with reagents, broth-suspended organisms, and placed into the instrument system. The instrument system includes a rotating carousel for incubation and indexing, multiple light sources each emitting different wavelength light, precision calorimetric and fluorometric detection, barcode test panel tracking and a control processor for making determinations based on measured test data. One light source includes a plurality of LEDs arranged in a linear array. Each of the LEDs' junction currents are controllable to produce a predetermined illumination profile.

Automated microbiological testing apparatus and method therefor

Automated microbiological testing apparatus and methods therefor

A distributed network monitor system distributes the network monitoring function among each of the nodes of a multiple network system, such that monitor software resident in each node is responsible for providing status information about that node and its communications links. At predetermined monitoring intervals, a circulating status table (CST) (FIG. 4) is circulated to all of the on-line nodes, with each node updating the CST with its link and status information. The monitor software (FIG. 1) includes a servicer task (22), a node monitor task (24), and a packet manager task (26), with intertask data transfers being implemented through a monitor region (28) in memory. In addition to link and node status information, the CST includes information about links that are in an intermittent condition (i.e., links with significantly degraded statistical performance). Intermittent link conditions are determined by a voting procedure in which each node votes on the condition of its links with other nodes, with the results of the votes being distributed in the CST and used by each node to determine those nodes with links in an intermittent condition. For those links without sufficient message traffic to make a clear determination of condition, volunteer nodes send additional link test messages until sufficient statistical information is available.

Distributed network monitoring system for monitoring node and link status

A vessel for carrying liquids or other loose materials is provided comprising a generally pentagonal, hollow body. The body of the vessel has an open top, convenient pouring spouts, and supportive handle which is an integral part of the lower half of one side of the body. The inner cavity of the body of the vessel is formed into a ledge at the top of the handle which, in conjuction with the notched spout directly opposite, provides an excellent paint brush holder. Three ridges in the bottom aid in cleaning one's paintbrush like a wash-board and serve as a place to grip with one's fingers when holding the bucket. It is designed to be light-weight, comfortable, and versatile. It is specially designed as a paint bucket by virtue of its built-in brush holder, the ease with which it can be cleaned, and its pouring spouts. It also could serve well as a fruit-picking bucket, an efficient bucket for bailing water out of a boat, a bucket for household cleaning, a trick-or-treat collector, a hair rinsing bucket, or for transfering larger volumes of liquid or other loose materials to smaller containers.

Holding vessel with supportive handle

Growing community of inventors

Hunt Valley, MD, United States of America

Robert Edward Armstrong