The University of New Mexico

Other

Ronald D Salesky

Larry A Sklar

Bruce S Edwards

A flow cytometry apparatus includes a flow cytometer having a suction or negative-pressure intake probe, a support for a microplate having a plurality of sample wells, and motive elements operatively connected to at least one of the probe and the support for moving the intake probe and the support relative to one another so that the intake probe is sequentially aligned with different sample wells of the microplate. The apparatus has no fluid pumping elements between the support and the flow cytometer so that a bubble-separated sample stream is forced to the flow cytometer solely by virtue of a negative pressure communicated via the intake probe.

Flow cytometry apparatus pulling sample stream through observation chamber

The digital apical foramen locating apparatus of the present invention utilizes the recognized fact that the conductance from the apical foramen to a patient's lip is not only equal to the conductance from the sulcus to the lip but is also constant from patient to patient. It further utilizes the recognition that there is a linear correspondence in the change of the conductance as the apical foramen is approached in root canal therapy. Utilizing this knowledge, the present invention employs a pair of fixed resistors to calibrate a single oscillator. This same oscillator is then used in the actual measurement and a comparison is made between the measured values and the stored reference values. In addition to a digital readout in 0.1 mm increments, there is an audible display whose cadence increases as the apex is approached and a graphical display which graphically illustrates to the dentist the location of the reamer in the canal and also the status of the probe's reliability.

Growing community of inventors

Rio Rancho, NM, United States of America

Ronald D Salesky