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Speakers relating to: Diversity
Rebekka Armstrong
HIV+ Playboy Playmate, Bodybuilder, and Fitness Expert
At the age of 18, Rebekka became a Playboy Playmate after being chosen to be Miss September 1986, a culmination of her childhood dream. For the next four years, she led an exciting life as a Playmate, traveling, modeling, and attending star-studded parties. However, she was often tired and bruised easily. At the age of 22, she was diagnosed with HIV.
Arianne Cohen
The Sex Diaries Project on Campus
What's really going on behind closed doors on your campus?
Arianne Cohen spent six years collecting 3,500 anonymous seven-day sex diaries from people all over North America and the world – including college towns. In The Sex Diaries Project On Campus, she takes you on a tantalizing tour through the sometimes shocking, always entertaining real diaries of college students, creating a compelling portrait of sex and sexuality on campus today that will forever change how you look at relationships.
Gabriel Bol Deng
The Power of Hope
"Lost Boy" Helps Rebuild South Sudan
At the age of 10, Gabriel Bol Deng was separated from his family and became a refugee; after twenty years of separation he returned to his home village in Sudan and founded 'HOPE for Ariang', a non-profit supporting education. An inspiring story about the power of hope.
Eliaichi Kimaro
A Lot Like You:
Exploring Intersecting Identities Through Story
A first-generation American goes in search of her identity and discovers that the cycle of gender violence she's been working hard to break in the US is part of her history and culture on another continent. A Lot Like You raises questions about the cultures we inherit and what we choose to pass down, and reveals how bearing witness can break silences that have lasted lifetimes...
Jen Marlowe
Reflections on Resistance:
Dignity in the Face of Atrocity
Jen Marlowe is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, author, playwright and human rights activist. Through film, writing, theatre and other artistic platforms, Jen seeks to share the resilience and courage of those who have been marginalized and oppressed and are choosing resistance with nonviolence, humanity and dignity.
Socheata Poeuv
Speaker, Filmmaker and Activist
Socheata Poeuv is the founder of Khmer Legacies, which has the goal of recording 10,000 testimonies of survivors of the Cambodian genocide by encouraging children to interview their parents. Her award-winning documentary New Year Baby documents her family's story of survival and healing.
Rebuilding Hope
A lecture/film program about South Sudan
Rebuilding Hope chronicles the homecoming to South Sudan of Gabriel Bol Deng, Garang Mayuol and Koor Garang, and their efforts to develop healthcare, clean water and education in their villages. All three were forced to flee their homes twenty years ago as young children, when militiamen led violent attacks on their villages. They crossed South Sudan on foot, surviving disease and paralyzing hunger to reach safety in a refugee camp in Ethiopia and then Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, before coming to the US in 2001. In 2007, accompanied by filmmaker Jen Marlowe, Gabriel Bol, Koor and Garang returned to Sudan to seek their families and help their communities.
Dr. Terrence Roberts
Lessons from Little Rock
All the seats at the hamburger joint were reserved for white patrons, so 13 year old Terrence Roberts ordered food to go. While waiting, he impulsively sat down at the counter and then realized a hush had fallen over the place. Suddenly everyone seemed to be looking at him threateningly. He canceled his order and left. As he walked home, Roberts remembers wondering "what it would take for (him) to be treated like a real human being."
Two years later, in 1957, he volunteered to be one of the 'Little Rock Nine' who desegregated Central High School, in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Charlene Strong
Marriage Equality and Civil Rights Advocate
Charlene's partner of many years, Kate Fleming, was hospitalized after a flash flood. Charlene was denied access to Kate's hospital room during her final moments because Washington state did not recognize their relationship. She is now a nationally respected LGBT advocate for social justice and civil rights issues including marriage equality and non-discrimination policies.
Loung Ung
Author, Cambodian Landmine Activist
Loung is a survivor of the killing fields of Cambodia, one of the bloodiest episodes of the twentieth century. She was five years old when the Khmer Rouge invaded Phnom Penh. Over the next three years, Loung lost half of her family, including both parents, and spent time in a camp for child soldiers. After the war was over, she and her older brother relocated to Vermont, where she grew to adulthood. Today she is an internationally best-selling author and a well-known human rights activist.


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Welcome to AYA™ Medical Spa
AYA™ Medical Spa strives to provide Atlantans with the highest quality skincare products and cosmetic skin treatments using our medical-grade technology and a team of expertly trained licensed estheticians and nurse practitioners.
AYA™ Medical Spa is owned and operated by the following board certified plastic surgeons of Atlanta Plastic Surgery, P.C., Dr. James Namnoum, Dr. Philip Beegle, Dr. Fernando Burstein, Dr. Joseph Williams, and Dr. Allyson Maske and are members of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery (ASLMS). We offer a full menu of medically focused skin care procedures for all skin types within a soothing, spa-like environment to meet all of your cosmetic concerns.
Serving as Medical Director, Dr. Jim Namnoum facilitates AYA™ Medical Spa 's adoption of new skin care technology including: CoolSculpting® non-surgical fat reduction, Ultherapy® skin tightening, GentleMAX™ by Candela for laser hair removal on all skin tones including dark skin, and IPL & Radio Frequency based laser therapies for skin rejuvenation.
In addition to innovative technologies, AYA™'s trained practitioners also administer wrinkle reduction treatments including BOTOX® Cosmetic and facial fillers (Juvéderm® XC, Radiesse®, Sculptra® Aesthetic and Belotero Balance®). For patients who are just beginning to notice the signs of aging like fine lines and increased hyperpigmented areas or those who simply wish to maintain a rejuvenated appearance, we offer an extensive menu of customizable facials, chemical peels, and microdermabrasion procedures.
Click below for more information:
We strive to provide beautiful skin no matter what your age, skin tone, or skin condition. Our laser technicians, nurse injectors, and licensed estheticians are experienced in providing treatment for everything from adolescent acne treatment to age spot removal and spider vein removal. Even if it's just the finishing touches or a new skincare routine you're after, we offer medical grade skincare products, Latisse® Eyelash Treatment, and permanent makeup services. We maintain three convenient AYA™ Medical Spa locations in metro Atlanta (Phipps Plaza), Cumming (North Fulton)* and Northside, as well as an online shopping cart to conveniently help you reveal your skin's true beauty.
*No appointments available. Select skincare products only.

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A method of and an apparatus for communicating with the operator that of an image forming device which reduces the probability of error in acquiring a replacement consumable and which alerts the operator as to the proper disposal of the exhausted consumable. The invention utilizes status sensors within the printing device to sense when a particular consumable is exhausted or nearing exhaustion. The printing device automatically prints a hard copy page for the operator informing the user of the status of the particular consumable and corrective action to be taken. This is accomplished by a firmware implementation within the image forming device where in addition to, or in lieu of, a traditional low level status light indicator, the low level sensor sets a flag within the firmware program of the printing device which causes one or more pages of information to be printed from the image forming device. This information can be completely prestored within a memory device such as a ROM (read only memory) or NVRAM (non-volatile random access memory) either within the image forming device or on the consumable itself, or, the message can be generated at least partially in a dynamic fashion depending upon the type of consumable consumed and other use factors.
1. An image-forming device which comprises:
a housing;
a print engine residing within the housing;
at least one sensor for sensing a status condition for a consumable; and
a printed page generator coupled to the sensor and responsive to the sensed status condition to generate data and transmit this data to the print engine to print a printed page containing a status message indicative of the sensed status condition.
2. The image forming device of claim 1 further comprising a formatter being electrically connected to the print engine, the formatter including a portion of memory and wherein the printed page generator includes a portion of the memory being configured to contain a representation of a printed page indicative of the sensed status condition.
3. The image forming device of claim 1 further comprising a portion of memory being electrically connectable to the print engine and wherein the printed page generator includes a portion of the memory being configured to contain a representation of a printed page indicative of the sensed status condition.
4. A method of notifying an operator of an image forming device having exhaustible consumables, comprising the steps of:
sensing a status condition for a printer consumable; and
printing a page with the image forming device responsive to the sensed status condition and containing a status message indicative of the sensed status condition.
This invention generally relates to image forming devices and more particularly to an apparatus and method for informing an operator of an image forming device that one or more consumable components of the device is approaching the end of its life.
Most image forming devices, such as facsimile machines, printers and copiers, utilize any number of consumables, e.g. toner, ink, ribbon, photoconductor, developer, etc., which need to be replaced at the end of their lives. The service life for a consumable is generally designed by the manufacturer and is monitored by the print engine in which it operates. Optimally, near the end of the consumable's life, the print engine displays a message to the user on the front panel of the device or on a host device, such as a personal computer, concerning the status of the consumable. Some image forming devices simply activate an error or alarm light to indicate that something with the device needs to be corrected, sometimes displaying an error code.
Some printing and coping devices have a consumable status annunciation light or indicator which alerts the operator of the exhaustion of the consumable. These indicator messages usually appear on a printer front panel or may, in rare cases, appear on the host computer that the device is connected to. The message is generally very limited, usually consisting of nothing more than a "toner low" or "service" indicator. The user must decide what consumable to replace and must find the model number and any other required information in the user documentation. As is oftentimes the case, the documentation for use and maintenance of the printing device are hard to find or lost altogether. If more than one printing device is in the same area, locating the correct documentation can be difficult and confusing.
The level of communication with the user is very limited, leaving the user to determine what consumables to secure to continue operation. Furthermore, with the proliferation of printing and copier device models, most offices have a number of different model numbers of varying capability and age. The low level of communication, coupled with the large number of device makes and models, has made reordering and recycling consumables both difficult and frustrating for the operator. One example of this is that manufacturers receive a large number of toner cartridges returned under warranty with the toner sealing tape not removed, in other words, they were never installed or used. These products were purchased erroneously and had to be exchanged for the correct model. Purchasing the correct consumable can be a challenge. Disposing of the exhausted consumable can also be frustrating.
Also, because of the way in which the consumables are marketed, it is very difficult for the to manufacturer gather information directly from the operators of the consumable products. More often than not, the consumable products are retailed through large distributors. Consequently, manufacturers have attempted to gain information directly from the consumer by including product survey cards with the new consumable products. Unfortunately, the participation rates for these kinds of surveys are quite low in comparison to the total number of products sold. It is very easy for the consumer to discard the survey card with the packaging and not send it in. This tendency also lowers participation in recycling programs for the consumables since it is easy to lose or throw away the mailing labels and other packaging.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide more direct communication with the operator regarding the need to obtain and install replacement consumables. Additionally, it would be advantageous to solicit user input at times other than those at which a replacement consumable is being installed to circumvent the tendency for the user to discard the solicitation.
This invention employs a method of communicating with the printing device operator which reduces the probability of error by the operator in acquiring a replacement consumable and which informs the operator as to the proper disposal of the exhausted consumable. The invention advantageously utilizes the status sensors of the printing device which are typically built into the print engine of the printing or image forming device. When the status indicator senses that a particular consumable is exhausted or nearing exhaustion, the printing device automatically prints a hard copy page for the operator informing the user of the status of the particular consumable and corrective action to be taken. This hard copy page can provide the operator with information concerning a number of different issues which may include: ordering or purchasing instructions; consumables model number; stock keeping unit number; product number; consumable type; color; size; quantity; accessories such as printer accessories, paper, etc.; recycling instructions; installation instructions; and even print a recycling shipping label as part of the instructions. Other information could also be printed as desired.
This is accomplished, in the preferred embodiment, using a firmware implementation within the image forming device. In addition to, or in lieu of, a traditional low level status light indicator, the low level sensor sets a flag within the firmware program of the printing device which causes one or more pages of information to be printed by the image forming device. The information contained in these pages can be completely prestored within a memory device such as a ROM (read only memory) or NVRAM (non-volatile random access memory) either within the image forming device or on the consumable itself, or, the message can be generated at least partially in a dynamic fashion depending upon the type of consumable consumed and other use factors. For example, using the bi-directional Centronics printer connection, the printer driver software or even application software can generate one or more pages of information to the user in response to a "low toner signal", for example, from the print engine. This information could contain past usage information to predict future use and thereby instruct the operator on the quantity of this particular consumable to keep on hand. Additionally, a survey card or sheet could be printed using user information already contained within the host device such as user name and address, computer type, number of consumables consumed since purchase date, number of pages printed since last consumable, average consumable life, etc.
The primary benefit to the owner/operator of the image forming device is improved and on-going communication from the manufacturer on issues related to owning and using the particular image forming device. These issues include matters such as replacement and disposal of the exhausted consumable as well as marketing promotions, product upgrades, documentation changes, new product releases, etc. The hard copy page or pages can be hand carried by the operator to the place of purchase for the consumable. This eliminates the need for the operator to reference the documentation for the printing device. Additionally, the hard copy page can be printed in the operators own language. This can be triggered from the language selection on the printing device control panel or within an attached host device. Also, the message can be easily custom tailored to contain promotional material for a particular supplier or distributor of the consumable.
Often operators are confused about what to do with the consumable when it is exhausted. Due to environmental sensitivity, many regret disposing of the exhausted consumable in the landfill. Many manufacturers have recycling programs but often the operator is not aware of the program. For example, every new Hewlett-Packard cartridge has a pre-paid United Parcel Service shipping label with the installation instructions inside the box. Unfortunately, oftentimes operators throw away the shipping material, instructions and label. However, by including the recycling information in the end-of-life hard copy page, the operator has one more opportunity to understand about the recycling program.
Customers desire as little interaction with the printer as possible. Receiving a hard copy page of instructions at the end of cartridge life reduces the need to look up information in the user manuals.
FIG. 1 is schematic representation of an image forming device incorporating the consumable end of life messaging feature of the invention; and
FIG. 2 is flow chart showing one possible firmware implementation for the invention.
Referring now to the figures, an image forming device 10 is shown in schematic representation in FIG. 1. While this representation is indicative of a laser type printer it should be understood that the invention is not so limited and is applicable to other image forming devices such as facsimile machines, thermal printers, impact printers, ink jet printers and virtually any other kind of image forming device which uses expendable components to create the images. The laser printer example has been adopted for the sake of convenience and understanding only. Hence, any references to a laser printer, printing device or other specific printer references are intended to refer and apply to the broad category of image forming devices which employ expendable components to render images.
Image forming device 10 includes a housing 11 to house its various electronic components. In general terms, those electronic components include a print engine 12, a printer controller 13, a formatter 14 and an input 15 for receiving data to be printed. In the case of a document printer such as a laser printer, the print engine 12, which is the device which actually affixes the image to the print media, fixes or fuses one or more toner components to the print media to create the image. Printer controller 13 provides the supporting electronic control for the print engine and provides an interface to the print engine. In the case of a laser print engine, printer controller 13 modulates the laser for photoconductor exposure, sets the relative bias voltages and fuser temperatures, etc. Additionally, printer controller 13 interprets signals received from print engine 12 such as the toner low signal which is used in this preferred embodiment to trigger the hard copy notification feature of the present invention, really just providing a higher level interface for formatter 14 which ultimately controls how the print engine acts.
Formatter 14 includes a microprocessor 16, which is programmed by firmware 17, such as a read only memory module (ROM), and a strip output buffer 19. A portion 18 of the memory or firmware 17 is used in two embodiments of the invention: one in which a page representation of the page to be printed is stored in memory 18; and another in which control codes, i.e. programming instructions, are stored to instruct microprocessor 16 to dynamically create the page representation responsive to a low consumable status condition received from print engine 12, printer controller 13 or some other device which monitors the condition of a consumable component. In this later case, the instructions stored in memory are still a "representation" of a hard copy page to be printed, only on a higher level of abstraction in the sense that the actual page creation can be more flexible as to the content of the page and thereby custom tailor the content to match the consumable condition or to convey some other desired message to the user.
FIG. 2 shows one possible flow diagram for the control software necessary to implement the invention in the printer firmware to print a message at the end of the life of a toner cartridge. In this particular implementation, the firmware first checks to see if the "end-of-life message" flag is set in step III. For the purposes of this explanation, assume that the consumable in question is just now approaching the end of its life and therefor the end-of-life message flag is not yet set. This being the case, the firmware program then asks whether or not the consumable is low, step IV. If not, the program loops back up to the top. If a low condition is sensed, the program sets the end-of-life message flag in step VI. Next, in step VII, the program checks the value of a counter, here "n", which is used to prevent consecutive printings of the end of life message page. The first time through this portion of the loop, "n" is equal to zero so the end-of-life message is printed, step VIII. Next the program asks if "n" is less than 1000, step IX. This last step is used to print the end-of-life message only once per toner cartridge and assumes that no more than 1000 pages could be printed from a toner cartridge after a "toner low" status signal was generated by the print engine. This feature allows an operator to remove and shake a low toner cartridge without generating a new end-of-life printed message. The next time through the loop, because the message flag is set, "n" is incremented at step V, causing the end-of-life message to not be printed in the current and subsequent loops. This continues until "n" equals 1000, at which time the message flag is reset and "n" is initialized to zero. By this time, a new cartridge has been installed and the entire process starts over.
While there is shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be distinctly understood that this invention is not limited thereto but may be variously embodied to practice within the scope of the following claims.
Patent Citations
Referenced by
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Alcatel Lucent (ALU)
Industry: Public Utilities
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Alcatel-Lucent (ALU)
Q2 2011 Earnings Call
July 28, 2011 7:00 am ET
Ben Verwaayen - Chief Executive Officer and Director
Paul Tufano - Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President
Unknown Executive -
Patrick Standaert - Morgan Stanley
Sebastien Sztabowicz - Kepler Capital Markets
Kai Korschelt - Deutsche Bank AG
Odon de Laporte - CA Cheuvreux
Anuj Krishan - UBS Investment Bank
Pierre Ferragu - Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., Inc.
Zahid Hussein - Citigroup Inc
Tim Boddy - Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
Kulbinder Garcha - Crédit Suisse AG
Unknown Analyst -
Eric Beaudet - Natixis S.A.
Alexander Peterc - Exane BNP Paribas
Ben Verwaayen
Previous Statements by ALU
» Alcatel-Lucent's CEO Discusses Q1 2011 Results - Earnings Call Transcript
» Alcatel-Lucent CEO Discusses Q4 2010 Results - Earnings Call Transcript
» Alcatel-Lucent Q4 2009 Earnings Call Transcript
So where are we as a company? The message is very clear. We are on track, and it's important to put it into perspective of the journey that we have as a company to reach our targets for 2011 but not stop at 2011 but build the capabilities to do much better in 2012 and '13. So it's not just important to look to where are we in order to meet our targets. It's also very important to see whether we can make the transformation, as we have said many times to you, into a company that has innovation at the heart of what we do. And I think Q2 demonstrates that we are right on track of doing that.
First of all, the market is truly positive around us, positive in the sense that things happening quite fast and not just in one market, but around the world. If you look to the transformation, the easiest way to describe this is transformation around voice to video. That's what people do. That's what people have in their hands when they have a smartphone or a tablet. And they do incredible different things than they did 2 or 3 years ago, which means that for our audience, our customers, the transformation is not an option. It's a must do. And you can see it around the world. And during this presentation, I hope to show you that this is happening not just in one market but in all markets.
Second, I think that we have a great track record of understanding where the markets are going and what type of needs those specific markets have. So those 2 elements are important to look to our agenda from a performance agenda but at the same time, also from a product and product direction agenda. I think this quarter was a good continued financial progress. It's good on the top line, and it's good on the bottom line. If you look to the first 6 months, it's the first half of the year, 12.5% approximately growth on the top line. We did EUR 300 million better on the bottom line than last year and EUR 300 million better when you look at cash flow. So I think we are on track, and therefore, we have a -- we reiterate our full year guidance. That is not the direction we want to go. This is the direction we want to go.
So here's a very important chart. Last time, and we do listen very carefully to what you have to say to us. Last time, you said, "We have the feeling that you are too dependent on the U.S." So what I thought we'd do is, we look to where we were 12 months ago in 2010 and where we are today in 2011. And you can see that in 2010, 39% of everything we did was in the U.S. In 2011, 40% of everything we do is in the U.S. Then we look to -- okay, what's happening in Europe? In Europe, 131%. And after everything said and done, it's 30% now, and the rest is actually. So the shift is not that shift, but look underneath because that is truly the message.
In 2010, we arrived at the number against a backlog against a background, better said, where the U.S. was the only growing market for Alcatel-Lucent. It grew 17%. Today, it grew 18%. So actually, that is stable. But the massive change is taking in the other parts of the world. 12 months ago, we were down in Europe, 9%. Today, we are flat, down 1%. And if you look to Asia-Pacific, it's even more dramatic. 12 months ago, we were down 32%. Today, we were up 14%. And if you look to the rest of the world, you can see a minus 14% to plus 9%. And if you look to the plus 9%, it's interesting because the plus 9% is a composition of that one going very, very strongly in Latin America. It's a true battleground for every of the competitors in the world, and of course, down in North Africa if you would -- as you would expect.
So if you look to the markets, let's go market by market and maybe compare notes on where the market dynamics are and where we are as a company. So first of all, what you see in the U.S. market, this is at the front of the revolution because what's happening is every single participant in this revolution has, one way or the other, a massive impact on what's happening in the U.S. market. So it is the build out of networks. The response is aggressive build out of 3G and 4G. The response is, at the same time, as aggressive as the build out in the Wireless domain, optical and IP. So -- and if then people will look to what's a Europe position in that particular market, it has to do with 2 main factors. First of all, we do enjoy great relationship with the master players in the U.S. I believe that AT&T and Verizon this quarter will be more than 10%, which is a great way to underpin the journey we have made as a company. It's not one product anymore, it's multiple products. It's a deeper relationship. At the same time, in the U.S., we have many more customers than we have 12 months ago, and our portfolio is much broader than 1 or 2 products.
Read the rest of this transcript for free on seekingalpha.com


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Wednesday, October 23, 2013
In 2012 a Goose Creek woman was stabbed to death in a domestic violence incident. Earlier in October a Sangaree woman and her 8-year-old daughter were found dead in their home in what is believed to be a domestic violence incident.
These and similar stories are tragic and real. It is not known if these deaths could have been prevented, but it is known that South Carolina is the number one state in the nation for men who kill their female partners.
It is also known, perhaps not by all, that help is readily available.
On Oct. 10 about 15 people wore purple shirts as they and others attended Goose Creek's first domestic violence vigil.
Members of the Goose Creek Fire Department, Goose Creek Police Department, Joint Base Charleston and other citizens attended.
Each person was given a candle as keynotes spoke of their stories and the help that's available for victims.
"October is national domestic violence awareness month across the country," GCPD Victim Advocate Levolia Rhodes said.
The goal is to honor the memory of victims of senseless violence, show support to family members and loved ones and promote awareness and prevention. "In 2012, 48 South Carolinians were killed by their partners," Rhodes said. "We have to take a stand . . . you can speak out against violence when you confront it in everyday life."
"I am so honored to be present at such an event as we honor domestic violence victims," Joint Base Charleston Family Advocacy Outreach Manager Brenda Edmond said. "Our speaker was married to a man for 11 years, but she left because of domestic violence."
As Edmonds introduced guest speaker Lucy Forest, she told the audience that Forest's daughter, Amanda Black, was stabbed to death by her husband in a domestic violence incident.
"Some of us are survivors of a domestic violence relationship," Forest said. "You have no idea what your being here means to these victims."
Forest said she is grateful to the person who invented the digital camera because she has hundreds of photos of her daughter to remember her by. She said the horror of her 11-year abusive marriage does not compare to losing a daughter.
"My daughter was 25 years old when she was killed," Forest said. "These people are somebody's daughter, sister, mother . . .
"She danced, went to church, hated dresses.We were close. We were sometimes enemies. We were friends. We were always family.
"Becaseu of one act of senseless violence is why I'm here. There should be a domestic violence website like there is for sex offenders. We need to teach our children that hitting is wrong.
"Don't let anyone tell you it's your fault. There is help available."
Forest said women are often killed after about six incidents of domestic violence by their partner.
The names of some local domestic violence victims whose stories ended in the ultimate tragedy were called out as attendees in purple shirts stepped forward with lit candles and stood in place to honor them.
The Gazette is pleased to offer readers the enhanced ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. We do not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not The Gazette.
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A year ago, Alex Henery was the second-most accurate kicker in NFL history at 88 percent.
This year, he's unemployed.
"That's the life of a kicker," Henery said. "That's how it goes, and you understand that."
Henery, the Eagles' fourth-round pick in 2011, was released Saturday to make room for Cody Parkey, an undrafted rookie the Eagles acquired from the Colts on Aug. 20.
Henery watched from the sideline Thursday night as Parkey made field goals from 53 and 54 yards in a preseason game against the Jets, essentially ending Henery's Eagles career.
"It was just one of those things where I had no control over it, and I've always been someone who doesn't worry too much about things I can't control," Henery said Saturday, after officially learning his fate from the Eagles.
"He's a teammate, I was there to support him, and that was really it. He hit two good kicks. What are you going to do?"
Just like Parkey won the job with two kicks, Henery lost it with two kicks.
He was wide right with a 47-yarder against the Patriots and wide right with a 31-yarder against the Steelers. His only make during the preseason was a 36-yarder against Pittsburgh.
"Both misses, a couple little things happened, and I missed," Henery said. "I wish they didn't happen, but they happened and there's nothing you can do about it but try to learn from it and move on to the next kick."
Henery is the 15th-leading scorer in Eagles history and the fourth-most accurate kicker in NFL history, with 74 field goals in 86 attempts. He's been particularly accurate from 40 to 49 yards, making 22 of 26 in his career. But he was only 24 for 28 from 30 to 39, which should be a layup.
His percentage has dropped each year, from an NFL rookie-record 89 percent in 2011 to 87 percent in 2012 to 82 percent last year.
Henery is subject to the NFL waiver claim procedure. He'll learn at noon if he's been claimed by another team or is a free agent, free to sign with any NFL team.
Kickers are by nature almost always inconsistent and change teams all the time, so Henery's case is not unusual.
Of the 40 most-accurate kickers in NFL history with a minimum of 100 attempts, only four spent their entire career with one team: Stephen Gostkowski, Jason Hanson, Josh Scobee and Ryan Succop.
So 36 of the 40 most-accurate kickers ever have played for more than one team.
"If it doesn't work out in one place, you go to the next place and do your best," Henery said. "I'm excited to see what will happen next and what's in store for me."
Eagles fans may focus on Henery's lack of deep range — just two 50-yarders in three seasons, no field goals longer than 51 yards — and his costly misses, against the 49ers in 2011 and the Saints in last year's playoffs.
But the reality is that only three kickers in NFL history who've attempted at least 75 field goals are more accurate than Henery — Dan Bailey, Mike Vanderjagt and Nate Kaeding.
And three of his misses have been from 58 yards or deeper, two of them in the 60s. Take away those and he's the most accurate kicker in NFL history.
He will get another chance. What happens next is anybody's guess.
"I haven't lost any confidence in myself," Henery said. "I still feel like I can be a productive kicker in this league, it's just a matter of finding the right team, the right place.
"It was definitely a great opportunity coming to Philadelphia and starting my career here. It's been a good three years here, a good run. No hard feelings. I'm just looking forward to seeing what comes next."


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Kyle Pohl AKRON finished 25-of-49 for 311 yards 2TDs and 2ints in defeat, despite having led the Zips to a lead in the 4Q++Marcus Mariota OREGON career-high 456 yards and 4 TD tosses++Blake Bell OKLAHOMA in his first career start, passed for 413 yards and 4TDs++AJ McCarron ALABAMA completed 20-of-29 passes for a career-high 334 yards and 4TDs++Johnny Manziel TEXAS A&M 464 yds passing 5 TDs++Mike Evans TEXAS A&M 269 rec yards, 1TD++Bishop SankeyWASHINGTON rushed for 208 yards TD on 35 carries while adding three catches for 63 yards and a score++Marion Grice ARIZONASTATE 138 combined yds 4 TDs++Sean Mannion OREGONSTATE threw for 443 yards 5 TDs++UCLA scored 38 unanswered pts at Nebraska & cornH-ed the Huskers++Randy Edsall left his hot seat behind in his former address, Storrs CT & his QB CJ Brown continues to blossom with 67.1 pass completion percent for 833 yards, 6 TDs while rushing for 257 yards 5 TDs to start Terps season 3-0++Devin Gardner MICHIGAN 248 passing yards, 2TDs, 103 rushing yards, 1 TD++Travis Wilson UTAH 279 yards, 2 TDs, 142 yards rushing, 3 TDs++Mike Capanaro WAKEFOREST16 catches, 177 yards++Brandin Cooks OREGONSTATE 9 catches, 210 yards, 3 TDs++
Philip Rivers 419y 3TDs++Mike Vick 428y 3TDs++Aaron Rodgers tied a franchise record with 480 passing yards & added 4 TDs++Jimmy Graham 179y rec TD++DeSean Jackson 9rec 193y TD++Julio Jones 11rec 182y TD(81y)++Eddie Royal 7rec 90y 3TDs, 5 TDs league-best of season++Marshawn Lynch 135y combined 3 TDs++DeAndre Hopkins becomes a rookie go-to WR in waning moments, finishes with 7 rec 117y TD++Knowshown Moreno 107y combined 2TDs & a key FumRecovery
Referees in Wisconsin/ArizonaState classic=classic due to blunder--Oklahoma State as the newest NCAA scandal. Investigative reporting has uncovered a campus & community disaster in Stillwater dating back to Les Miles' tenure--Castleton State (VT) (Div3) suspended players indefinitely after arrests in a theft ring. Starting QB George Busharis & All-American WR Brandon Boyle were the notables in a group allegedly stealing from a Dicks Sporting Goods--Ex-Nebraska QB Tommie Frazier is publicly calling for the ouster of Coach Bo Pellini
If you watched the endings of each of these games, then you get our Fan of the Weekend Famey. Thrillers galore: Miss St/Auburn, Wisconsin/ArizonaSt, Akron/Michigan, Vikings/Bears, Panthers/Bills, Saints/Buccaneers, Chargers/Eagles, Titans/Texans. Our On-Her-Able Mention to Cowboys/Chiefs. There was some nice fball to partake Sat. & Sun.!
Here's another On-Her-Able Mention!!Sport Hotties™ @SportHotties
We are NSFN. And if we are known, we are known for our SportsTwirl 'Round Twitter, part of our expanding original content, as is our TheFameys TheFannys. We follow THE BEST fans & sources and we compile THE BEST info & entertainment. If you would enjoy your content highlighted in our Twirl follow us and contact us @NatSportsFanNet


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The NEW clinical GSI TympStar Pro offers a comprehensive range of middle ear testing capabilities that support the needs of hearing healthcare professionals. GSI is known for providing reliable and efficient clinical middle ear solutions to the market. Replacing the world's leading tympanometer (GSI TympStar), the new TympStar Pro offers comprehensive clinical options with an intuitive user interface. The TympStar Pro continues to set the clinical standard in the industry for middle ear analyzers.
*Pending 510(k) FDA Approval


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Garnier White Chocolate 111
28 reviews
82% would repurchase
Package Quality: 4.3
Price: $$$
Package Quality: 4.3
Price: $$$
on 5/27/2015 10:14:00 PM
Age: 30-35
Skin: Combination, Fair, Not Sure
Hair: Blond, Other, Other
Eyes: Hazel
I use this stuff to dye my roots. My natural color is a dark blonde/light brown color and it pulls a lot of red and gold, so I usually have to tone my hair after coloring. This is the only drug store hair dye that I have found that does not leave my roots an icky, brassy yellow color.
on 1/30/2015 5:34:00 PM
Age: 30-35
Skin: Normal, Fair, Neutral
Hair: Silver, Straight, Fine
Eyes: Green
Garner White Chocolate was a complete lifesaver! A little background so you know what my hair was before this color: my hair is naturally golden blonde, but I've been coloring it since I was 19. As I've aged (I'm 33), it's gotten real mousey (from what I can see at my roots). I have been every color under the rainbow at some point in my life, but previous to this color, I was using L'Oreal Preference Paris Couture 8GB Golden illuminous Blonde, which was very natural and very close to my natural darker gold blonde color. I wanted to go lighter for spring, so I first purchased, if I can remember, a L'Oreal Preference Ultra Lift dye. It barely did anything at all, so I purchased a Feria ultra lift dye and got my hair to a very pale yellow blonde. After that (with some waiting in between), I used Colorsilk 05 Ash blonde after reading good reviews, hoping that would get rid of the golden tones. Not so much. My ends were ok, but my head was still a golden yellow. I thought it was ok, but kept looking in the mirror at work thinking, Oh dear, even I know this doesn't go with my skin tone!! I couldn't make it work.
I waited a few days, but seeing as I have a photoshoot for the city newspaper in a few days, as a Stylemaker in the fashion section, I really needed a good fix, or wear a big hat! I had purchased Garner White Chocolate in the past and remember it turning my hair very lavender, but at the time I already had white hair. I did a test strip this morning, and it was looking good, so I just went for it and put it all over my head, focusing mainly on the golden parts. I put a bunch of conditioner on my ends so they didn't pick up too much color, as they were already ashy enough for me. I left it on for about 40 minutes, longer than it says to, but I really wanted to make sure it was NOT yellow. Rinsed my hair out, conditioned (conditioner was great), and when I stepped out of the shower, expecting neon roots still, my hair was a perfect buttery pale baby blonde. I really cannot express how happy I am with this color. It not only made my hair way softer than it previously was (especially after two lightenings and another dye in one week - ack!) but the color is very even and fits my skin tone WAY better than that terrible yellow. Very happy.
TL/DR: If you have a yellow-tinged (not orange, but a pale golden) bleached blonde hair, this might be really good for toning it down to an even ashy pale baby blonde. My color didn't turn out as light as it does on the box (which is good anyway, because I did not want it to be intense white blonde!) My ends are a little more silver than the rest of my hair, but it looks way better than having flaming pale yellow at the top of my head! Hair looks great, and is silkier than ever, after all my hair went through this week! Also, my hair doesn't smell like I just dyed it, like it did with the Colorsilk and Feria. Ugh. It just smells fresh!
on 9/13/2014 11:26:00 PM
Age: 18 & Under
Skin: Acne-prone, Fair, Cool
Hair: Blond, Wavy, Fine
Eyes: Hazel
I've used this color a couple of times. Instead of the light blonde on the box, it turns my hair darker and greyish. I think Garnier puts a little too much ash in their cooler hair colors, because I also used Lightest Cool Blonde from their Olia line and it did the same thing. I bet it works well if your hair is darker or very brassy, but if your hair is already light and very porous like mine, I wouldn't reccomend it unless you want a darker, greyish color. I might actually use it touch up my roots, which are dark blonde/light brown naturally and always turn brassy. Hopefully it'll make my roots a light silvery blonde color, and I'll update this review if it works for that.
on 6/28/2014 7:45:00 AM
Age: 25-29
Skin: Combination, Fair, Not Sure
Hair: Brown, Other, Other
Eyes: Brown
I wanted to go from my natural medium brown to dark ash blonde.
When dyeing my hair before it has always turned red even when using ash colors. I must have very strong red undertones in my natural hair, but they never show up until dyed.
If you want to go MEDIUM BROWN ----> DARK BLONDE I thing this will work wonderfully if you have normal hair (not alien-like red undertones). It lightened my hair to a nice dark blonde level.
My hair is a dark blonde with slight brassiness until I step into the sun: COPPER!
I do see the ashy tones here and there. I will try it again in a few weeks with a 10 VOL developer and see if the red goes away. I might add ardell red gold and try Revlon color creme 1002.
I will update!
UPDATE july 12
Used WELLA COLOR CHARM T14 silver lady. Red tones are gone. Yellow tones very prominent. Will try T18 next week. Stay tuned.
on 6/11/2014 11:02:00 AM
Age: 30-35
Skin: Normal, Fair, Neutral
Hair: Blond, Other, Other
Eyes: Blue
Ok you guys. I have used makeupalley for years but signed up today because I used this hairdye last night and I felt like I had to obligation to let the world know! This is the best drugstore hairdye I have ever used to neutralize brassiness. I have been dying my hair since highschool and have been blonde for much of that time. I have used John Freida 9n the last few years but since they changed their formula I just wasn't getting as light as I'd like. It still looked natural and was it pretty and golden (not brassy) but it was a pretty dark blonde and several shades darker than my roots.
So, after much worrying and reading of reviews (like hours) I got white chocolate. I got two boxes in fear that it would be brassy and I'd have to tone with the second box. My roots are soft brown (that mousy brown that little girls who used to be blondey-blonde get as they get older) and I have had major trouble with brassiness with almost every single kind of box hair dye I've ever tried. Except John Freida, it just didn't lighten as much I wanted.
Last night I left on 111 for forty five minutes and just lightly pulled it through the rest of my long already-blonde hair. I got pale cool blonde! I couldn't believe it. No brassines, in fact, it's a little silvery. But, if you know blonde hair dye--having your hair lean silvery instead of orange is a miracle! Yes, my longer strands might be a teeny bit too ashy, but nothing a week or so won't work out all by itself. I just can't believe I didn't have to use a toner. I keep looking in the mirror to make sure I'm not being too optimistic and tricking myself. It really is a pretty soft light blonde. I can't believe it.
So if you're like me and afraid of trying a new drugstore box dye and you have lighter than medium brown hair, this will work! I watched it in the mirror and I could see after 45 minutes that it wasn't going to go lighter.
There are some bad reviews here but I sense that those people might not have had a lot of experience with DIY hairdye, so if you've been at it for awhile, fear not!
on 1/29/2014 11:24:00 PM
Age: 30-35
Skin: Sensitive, Fair-Medium, Not Sure
Hair: Blond, Other, Other
Eyes: Hazel
This is THE BEST BLONDE DYE AROUND! I totally screwed up my hair with Henna (trying to use "natural"), and have been trying to get it out. My hair was neon orange at a point...lol! This has made my hair look "normal". Like a "normal" blonde!!! YEAH!!!!
on 4/26/2013 9:22:00 AM
Age: 30-35
Skin: Normal, Medium, Warm
Hair: Blond, Straight, Fine
Eyes: Brown
My hair is naturally dark blonde and I constantly keep it in some state of dyed/highlighted light blonde. It pulls orange VERY easily so I am constantly fighting that (Shimmer Lights purple conditioner is my savior). This hair color was surprisingly great: good price, fine packaging (nothing special but easy to use), and was probably the best single-process home hair color I've ever used in terms of not turning orange. I followed the directions exactly (10 minutes on mid to ends before applying to roots and waiting another 20 minutes) and only got the slightest brassiness at the roots. The rest of the hair was beautifully cool and beige-blonde. I used my Shimmer Lights conditioner on the roots to tone down that bit of brassiness, and it looks great! My hair felt soft and well-conditioned afterwards. Will absolutely repurchase!
on 4/20/2013 8:51:00 AM
Age: 36-43
Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Cool
Hair: Blond, Straight, Fine
Eyes: Blue
I wanted to write this review in hopes of maybe helping someone else.
I have been getting expensive highlights for years. My hair is mostly blonde (from highlighting) but I have dark roots. My hair is naturally a med. to light brown.
so here is the important part. This dye comes with a 30 vol developer. This means it will only lift or lighten your hair 3 levels. Google a hair level chart and find what level you are. Count three shades down and this is what a 30 volume will do. my level is probably a 4 medium brown. So a 30 volume will only lighten me to a 7 medium blond. btw: I am not a hair professional. I just did some research after my hair turned a yucky color of gold using this hair dye. What I didn't understand was I probably needed a 40 vol and possibly should have checked Sally's beauty first. Box dyes are very misleading!
be careful and good luck!!
on 3/11/2013 6:26:00 PM
Age: 19-24
Skin: Sensitive, Fair, Not Sure
Hair: Blond, Straight, Other
Eyes: Green
I got the random impulse to bleach my red hair back to ash blonde, and only had this hair dye available, as I didn't have my trusty wells t18 toner on hand. I had a lot of underlying peach/ red tones close to my roots, so I had my doubts that they would be covered, as they where quite strong. However I was totally wrong! White chocolate turned them into a lovely dark ash blonde and the rest of my hair a light ash blonde. It's actually a shade close to the box, but it took two bleachings to get it this color. It's hard to find in my local drug stores so I might have to go back to Sally's, but if I ever stumble upon it again I will definitely purchase! You won't be disappointed if you use it. :)
EDIT: This color was a bit too light (almost white) for my tastes so I opted for something darker. However if thats your cup of tea go for it! lol.
on 2/27/2013 9:09:00 PM
Age: 25-29
Skin: Combination, Fair, Not Sure
Hair: Blond, Other, Other
Eyes: Brown
I love this hair color. My natural color is a dark blonde and always turns RED or strawberry when I lighten it at home. I loved getting highlights at the salon but they were getting expensive and I really wanted an all over blonde color! But no colorist would do an all over color on me, they said they would have to double process my hair and it would damage it too much. I didn't want to believe them and I kept trying different brands. I did several strand tests until I decided on this one!
I use the color and fruit oil included in the kit but throw out the developer and use 40 volume instead. 30 volume will lighten 3 shades while 40 lightens 4! I also add a packet of Ardell Unred (I get from Sally's)
The color has a lot of blue in it as it is, but since my hair has a lot of red in it I need to add even more blue and that is why I use the Ardell Unred. If you have dark blonde ashy hair and blue or gray eyes, you might not need to add the unred - do a strand test first.
I left the formula on for 40-45 min and rinsed (no shampoo) and applied the conditioner packet (smells so nice) I was so happy my hair did not turn strawberry or lemon colored.
My hair was dry and really golden the first day. Then I shampooed and conditioned and it toned down to a more natural golden blonde and the texture is as smooth as before I colored it. I've gotten so many compliments on this color. I love it and am so happy :) Remember to do a strand test.
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Gear Review
Solid boot, not well thought-out features.
No doubt these boots are comfortable, warm, and well-built. The built in snow gaiter is a cool idea, although unnecessary if you're going to be wearing gaiters anyway (which I definitely would be if I'm traipsing around in deep snow for a while).
I didn't end up keeping mine though because if some real shortcomings in practicality regarding some of the boot's features. Firstly, the "achilles strap" doesn't do much of anything. Secondly, the lacing is a pain. It's really difficult to get the lower part of the lacing to stay as tight as you'd want it to be once you start moving up the lacing. I found myself having to retighten from the bottom to the top several times and even then it wasn't where I'd like it to be (especially in the area that would keep the heal secure). Boots with quick lacing hooks would be much more practical.
Those I see to be shortcomings with the boot itself, but my last reason for not keeping them was that the liner doesn't come out. Sure, that doesn't mean that the boot is inadequate as there are plenty of good boots with built-in insulation, but I'm of the belief now that if you're going to camp in the winter especially, it'd be really nice to have your boot liners in your sleeping bag staying warm so that when you get out of your bag in the morning you're not stepping into blocks of ice. Plus, if your boots happen to get wet on the inside, a removable liner will help them dry out much faster.
Bottom line, while these might be great for shoveling the walk way, building snow men, or working outside in the cold, there are better options if you're going to be camping in the winter, hiking, or snowshoeing.
Morten Lau
Really useful comments - thx Anodo! - as I am looking for the kind of features you missed, Have you come across boots with those features, which you can recommend?
View More Details on Sorel Conquest Boot - Men's


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Gear Question
Willy Syndram
I have never worn toe sock before, is there...
I have never worn toe sock before, is there an adjustment period..?
Dan Scotina
Willy, they feel a little weird between your toes at first but you get use to it quickly. No real adjustment period, at least for me.
Agreed. It only felt weird for about 10 minutes. Now I wear them for most of my running.
Gone Fishing
I will be the odd one here, I hated it and could not get used to it. Tried it a couple of different times and realized they are not for me.
Slight adjustment. Once you walk a bit in your shoes the fit nicely. I don't want to wear regular socks again. Wish they were more affordable. Closest thing to barefoot you can get while wearing regular shoes.
Patrick "Packy" Hoyt
It's about a five minute adjustment period....at least it was for me.
View More Details on injinji Performance Compression Toe Sock


text:
- 155
- people in the U.S. have this name View Janice Yates on Whitepages
Meaning & Origins
Derivative of Jane, with the addition of the suffix -ice, abstracted from girls' names such as Candice and Bernice. It seems to have been first used as the name of the heroine of the novel Janice Meredith by Paul Leicester Ford, published in 1899.
|129th in the U.S.
English: from Middle English yates 'gates', plural of yate, Old English geat 'gate', hence a topographic name for someone who lived near the gates of a walled town, or a metonymic occupational name for a gatekeeper.
|488th in the U.S.
Nicknames & variations
Janis, Janica, Janiece, Janise, Janika, James, Janic, Janisha, Janique, Janisse
Yater, Yetez, Yetes, Yateman, Yate, Yoteco, Yutes, Yateem, Yated, Yatesa


text:
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text:
Cameron University President Cindy Ross will retire this summer, university officials said, ending a decade-long term as president.
Officials with the University of Oklahoma Board of Regents, which oversees Cameron, said they plan to begin the search process for a new president.
Ross, 62, who has headed Cameron since she came to the university in August 2002, has overseen the Lawton campus during a period of financial and physical growth.
During her tenure, the university launched a three-year fundraising campaign that raised more than $12.5 million for the university — beating the campaign's goal by 50 percent. The campaign was part of the university's centennial celebration during the 2008-2009 academic year.


text:
The Colors Window is broken up into 5 major areas:
Select whether you would like to pick your primary or secondary color.
Click this to view additional color selection options.
This shows the currently selected primary and secondary colors. There are also toggles to swap the primary and secondary colors and revert them to black and white.
Used for color selection.
Used to manage palettes. For greater discussion of this functionality, please visit the Working with Palettes section.
The Colors window has two modes of operation: "Less" and "More". By default, Paint.NET starts up with the Colors Window in Less mode. In this mode you may easily select a base color using either the color wheel or the palette. Paint.NET allows you to have two colors selected, a primary color and a secondary color, and you may use the drop-down box at the top of the Colors Window to choose which one the Colors Window is currently being displayed and configured.
You can also use the shortcut key 'C' to quickly switch between primary and secondary colors.
If you click the "More >>" button, the window will expand to present more detailed and fine-grained information. In this mode, you may specify the exact value of each of the color's components in either the RGB (Red, Green, Blue) or HSV (Hue, Saturation, Value) color space. Editing the color in hex, or hexadecimal, mode is also possible. The alpha, or transparency level, may also be configured.


text:
Multiyear tables contain expenditure data broken out by year. Multiyear tables from 1984–1991, 1992–1999, 2000–2005, and 2006–2012 are available below in PDF format, as well as XLS format for 2000–2005 and 2006–2012, and ASCII text format (TXT) for 1984–1991 and 1992–1999.
To view the PDF files you will need Adobe Reader, which can be obtained from the Adobe Web site free of charge.
It is suggested the PDF files be used for printing.
2006–2012 Multiyear table (PDF) (XLS)
2000–2005 Multiyear table (PDF) (XLS)
1992–1999 Multiyear table (PDF) (TXT)
1984–1991 Multiyear table (PDF) (TXT)
Last Modified Date: February 10, 2014


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Cannon Safe | 40 CuFt | 30 min Fire Protection | 72"H x 40"W x 26"D | Electronic Lock
Item #362589
The CS45 is a full-featured safe offering trademark Cannon quality, security and good looks. With solid fire protection, rugged construction and a wide variety of features, the Scout is the ultimate value for storing your prized possessions. Safes are finished in durable hammer-tone paint.
- Up to 48 Firearm capacity
- Hammer-tone Grey
- Exterior dimensions: 72" H x 40" W x 26" D depth includes handle
- Interior dimensions: 70 1/2" H x 38 1/2" W x 18 3/4" D
- 40 Cubic Ft.
- 30 Minute Certified FIRE SAFE
- U.L.® RSC security rating
- Weight: 726 lbs.
- High grade upholstery finished shelves, walls and inset door panel
- Adjustable shelving
- Two convenient 110 outlets
- Two USB ports
- RJ45 Ethernet Connection
- Massive 4" steel composite door
- High-security commercial grade Type 1 electronic lock
- 1" active-locking bolts
- Surefire multiple re-lockers
- 3 layers extra-hard, 60+ RC steel hard-plate protects the lock
- Smooth operating 3-spoke handle
- Patented TruLock internal hinges
- Door organizer kit
- 1200° for 30 minutes
- Triple fin intumescent cold smoke expandable seal
- Free repair or replacement of safe after Fire Burglary or Natural Flood.
Brand: Cannon Safe
Model: CS45-13
*Delivery is available to Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. An additional shipping and handling fee will be applied at check out and additional transit time will be required. Locations outside of a regular delivery area may be restricted. Click Here to view restricted areas. To inquire about delivery to these areas, please contact customer service.
Costco.com products can be returned to any of our more than 600 Costco warehouses worldwide.
How to Return: For an immediate refund (including shipping and handling), simply return your purchase at any one of our Costco warehouses worldwide. If you are unable to return your order at one of our warehouses, please email customer service or call our customer service center at 1-800-955-2292 for assistance. To expedite the processing of your return, please reference your order number.
If you request an item be picked up for return, the item must be packaged and available for pick up in the same manner as it was delivered. If your order was delivered "curb side", it will need to be available for curb side pick up.
If the item arrived to you in a box, it will need to be in a box at the time of pick up.
View Costco's Return Policy.
For information or a written copy of the manufacturer's warranty, please contact us at: firstname.lastname@example.com.


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You may also like
Rate Dr. Jeffrey A. Sandler
Dr. Jeffrey A. Sandler's Ratings
In late January 2015, I travelled all the way from Eastern Canada to the US to see Dr. Sandler in San Diego, California, for a second expert opinion. After two years of consultations, I wasn't convinced that the endocrinologists in Ontario, Canada, have made the right diagnosis (my two sons were not growing.)
In a week-time, Dr. Sandler examined my sons, requested the required lab-work, diagnosed the issue, and prescribed the required treatment (this can never happen in Canada.)
After 3 weeks of treatment, my sons' appetite, weight-gain, height-gain, mood/happiness, self-esteem, focus, and energy level have all but drastically improved. No side effects whatsoever. My trip to the US to see Dr. Sandler was definitely more than worthwhile.
I don't know how to thank Dr. Sandler for literally "completing nature's job" and helping my sons with their growth process. He's a fantastic doctor, humble and kind. He gave us ample time during the visits as if we were his only patients. He was kind to my sons, comforted and reassured them of a positive outcome. Dr. Sandler and his wonderful team have been a gift to us, for which my sons and I, a mother, will be forever grateful.
Was this rating useful? 0 [[ userState['ratings'][2769990].votes_count ]]
Dr Sandler is very knowledgeable. He has a caring side to him. He is a funny guy and will always make you laugh.
However, he does treat his staff really bad. I've heard him order them around and cuss at them, which is totally unprofessional!! the front office staff is not very friendly but I just deal with it. After all I only have to see them once a year since my thyroid cancer is gone!! But I know he's one of the best in SD so I stick with him.
Was this rating useful? 0 [[ userState['ratings'][2724271].votes_count ]]
He is the best! I love this guy. He knows his stuff. Dr Sandler is very funny and he makes it feel like you are visiting an old friend instead of an appointment. I am so sad I had to move to michigan. I'll miss you. I am a better man having known you.
Was this rating useful? 0 [[ userState['ratings'][2701700].votes_count ]]
HE cusses alot and just is always very rude to his staff.There is so much to say about this man,but there is a lawsuit pending.Just trust me when I say there is no privacy there and if he wants to insult you and make you feel like your medical issue is no big deal and your worries are worthless he will do it.Just don't see this doctor.
Was this rating useful? 0 [[ userState['ratings'][725842].votes_count ]]
Excellent, highly knowledgable doctor, very short waits in his office. He takes my calls when I'm overseas and want to consult. Knows his stuff. Mature, experienced, one of the best.
Was this rating useful? 0 [[ userState['ratings'][725841].votes_count ]]
I've been a patient of Dr. Sandler for over 14 years. He has excellent diagnostic skills, is compasionate and very generous with his time. I had an extremely difficult case of hyper-parathyroidism involving several glands that evaded detection, eventually leading to severe osteoporoses. Dr. Sandler worked directly with labs and surgeons until the problem was treated successfully. When other doctors threw up their hands, Doctor Sandler never gave up on me. I am now been cured of hyperparathyroidism and my bone density is normal. I highly recommomend Dr. Sandler.
Was this rating useful? 0 [[ userState['ratings'][725840].votes_count ]]
Caring compassionate doctor. I went to see him for a second opinion, and found that he is very interested in my overall concerns related to my thyroid, answered all my questions, and made sure I understood my options, diagnosis, and concerns. He is very knowledgeable, and did not rush out until I was done. His nurse is great too.
Was this rating useful? 0 [[ userState['ratings'][725839].votes_count ]]
Rude, incompetent staf, doctor only spends 4 minutes with you, forgets to order promised tests, totally unorganized. Don't waste your time, you'll just be frustrated.
Was this rating useful? 0 [[ userState['ratings'][725838].votes_count ]]
I agree he is very knowledgable, however he spends all of five minutes with me. Not very helpful or willing to listen to alternative questions for the treatment of my thyroid.
Was this rating useful? 0 [[ userState['ratings'][725837].votes_count ]]
Great doctor! One of the tops in his field. Great sense of humor, friendly, very approachable, and I feel like he is genuinely interested in my well being. He takes the time to answer my questions and make sure I understand everything. I recommended him to a family member and she was so happy with him too! I feel fortunate to have him as my doctor!!!
Was this rating useful? 0 [[ userState['ratings'][725836].votes_count ]]
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A removable device such as a stent-graft, intended for applications where it may be desirable to remove the device at some time following implantation. The stent-graft of the present invention includes a helically-wound stent component provided with a covering of graft material. It is removable by gripping an end of the helically-wound stent component with a retrieval device and applying tension to the stent component in the direction in which it is intended to be withdrawn from the site of implantation. The use of such a retrieval device allows the stent-graft to be removed remotely, such as via a catheter inserted into the body at a different location from the implantation site. The design of the stent-graft is such that the stent component is extended axially while the adjacent portion of the graft separates between windings of the stent component. The axial extension of the stent component, with portions of the graft still joined to the stent component, allows the device to be "unraveled" (or "unwound") and removed through a catheter of diameter adequately small to be inserted into the body cavity that contained the stent-graft. It is removed atraumatically, without incurring significant trauma to the body conduit in which it had been deployed.
1. An endoprosthesis comprising:
a stent component having opposing ends and further having a reduced delivery profile and an enlarged deployed profile;
said stent component comprising a wire formed into a helical winding having space between adjacent elements of the helical winding, wherein the helical winding provides a tubular form to the stent component and wherein the helical winding includes at least one apex located between the opposing ends of the stent component;
a graft material attached to the stent component covering the space between each adjacent element of the helical winding, wherein the graft material provides a continuous luminal surface between the opposing ends of the stent component; and
wherein at least one of said apices located between the opposing ends of the stent component is raised to protrude outwardly from said tubular form and wherein the resulting raised apex is covered by said graft material.
2. The endoprosthesis of
3. The endoprosthesis of
4. The endoprosthesis of
5. The endoprosthesis of
6. The endoprosthesis of
7. The endoprosthesis of
8. An endoprosthesis comprising:
a stent component having opposing ends and further having a reduced delivery profile and an enlarged deployed profile;
said stent component comprising helically arranged structural elements and space between adjacent structural elements, wherein the structural elements provide a tubular form to the stent component and wherein the structural elements include at least one apex located between the opposing ends of the stent component;
a graft material attached to the stent component covering the space between each adjacent structural element, wherein the graft material provides a continuous luminal surface between the opposing ends of the stent component; and
wherein at least one of said apices located between the opposing ends of the stent component is raised to protrude outwardly from said tubular form and wherein the resulting raised apex is covered by said graft material whereby encapsulation of the raised apex by living tissue is prevented.
9. The endoprosthesis of
10. The endoprosthesis of
11. The endoprosthesis of
12. The endoprosthesis of
13. The endoprosthesis of
14. The endoprosthesis of
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/737,324 filed Dec. 16, 2003, now abandoned.
The present invention relates to the field of removable stent-grafts.
Endoluminal stenting has provided a major advancement in clinical treatment modalities offering a significant reduction in perioperative treatment times, iatrogenic injury, postoperative morbidity and healing times. Even with the unprecedented clinical advantages of these devices, there still remains a number of limitations and disadvantages of the technologies currently available. The two primary technologies available for endoluminal stenting are the use of bare metal stents and stent devices provided with a covering or lining of a tubular graft material, i.e., stent-grafts. Either of these technologies may be made to be deployed via inflation of a catheter balloon (e.g., stainless steel stents) or to be self-expanding (e.g., nitinol stents). All of these technologies exhibit a common disadvantage in that none of the commercially available devices are designed to be removable after implantation.
There are numerous applications for which a removable stent-graft would be highly desirable. Even though great strides have been undertaken to enhance biocompatibility of these devices, it is still a synthetic, non-living tissue device that constitutes a foreign body. As a result, living tissue has a number of limitations and/or reactions in coping with such a foreign body.
The most common of these is infection. Typically, when a synthetic device becomes infected, or colonized by bacteria, there is little success in resolving such an infected device or infected area short of device removal from the patient. In some instances, if an infected synthetic device cannot be removed enabling the antibiotic treatment of the affected living tissue, patient mortality can result due to septic shock.
Another issue associated with implantation of endoluminal stents and stent-grafts is foreign body reaction. Endoluminal stents and stent-grafts are often employed to limit, or control, the body's normal healing response (restenosis) to vascular, luminal, or ductal injury due to balloon dilatation. Even though these devices aid in limiting the amount of restenosis as a result of vessel or ductal injury, after a period of time the vessel or duct may generate a hyperplastic tissue (restenotic) or calcific stone formation response due to the presence of the foreign body. Consequently, removal of the device after the appropriate therapeutic period may be desirable.
Still another application for a removable stent-graft would involve providing a removable support structure for delivery of certain other implantable materials or structures (e.g., tubular structures) which otherwise do not exhibit the necessary mechanical characteristics for device delivery without the aid of a temporary, supporting stent component.
Further, mechanisms for localized drug delivery continue to be a highly sought after treatment option which offer many advantages over systemic drug delivery. Two of the key challenges in local drug delivery are the delivery mechanism and the drug elution profile or therapeutic window of the drug delivery. These are not unusually interrelated. By employing one or more applications of a removable drug eluting stent-graft, therapeutic windows can be greatly increased providing unlimited drug application profiles.
Thus, the array of clinical treatments modalities for such a removable endoluminal stent-graft includes: malignant and benign strictures of the biliary tract due to tumor compression, anastomotic and bile stone nidus; anastomotic and benign strictures of the colon, small intestine and ureter/urethra; esophagus collapse syndrome and gastric reflux erosion; strictures of the tracheal/bronchial tree; treatment of vascular disease or injury; and localized drug delivery for various chemotherapy application.
Various designs for removable stents are known in the art. For example, Myler et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,563 describe a retrievable stent and retrieval tool. The described stent is removed intact, at its fully deployed dimensions, and may consequently pose a risk of trauma during removal.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,782,903 to Wiktor et al. describes a removable stent system which comprises a continuous serpentine wire formed into helical coil. The coil after implantation can be uncoiled by use of a retrieval line. Beyar et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,090,115 also describe a temporary stent system comprising a stent constructed of a helical coil of biocompatible material. Both of these references teach that the stent is not covered (i.e., is not a stent-graft) and therefore provides opportunity for tissue in-growth into the spaces between the coil structure over time. This in-growth may result in trauma to the implant site during retrieval.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,384 to Schwartz et al. teaches a stent similar to the above-described Wiktor et al. stent. It differs from the Wiktor et al. stent in that a tape of polymeric film is provided to the stent wire, the length of the tape running parallel to the length of the wire with the width of the tape being centered over the stent wire and therefore extending perpendicularly from the stent wire a short distance from both sides of the wire. When the wire is wound into a helical form to create a stent structure, the polymeric tape provides a sort of graft covering. However, this graft covering is discontinuous and therefore cannot offer the advantages of a continuous graft covering extending for all or a major portion of the length of the implantable stent structure.
Huxel et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,494,908 describe a removable stent in the form of a helical winding wherein adjacent windings are in direct contact; removal is accomplished by grasping an end of the helix and unwinding the helical form. The helical form of the Huxel et al. device is made from a soft, flexible fiber that is provided with an outer coating of a bioabsorbable material to render it rigid for insertion into a body conduit. The device becomes thinner and flexible over time in order to allow the stent to be removable after a pre-determined time has passed. U.S. Pat. No. 5,514,176 to Bosley et al. teaches a somewhat similar device in the form of a removable stent-graft made from a series of helical windings with the adjacent windings in contact with each other. An exterior coating of silicone is provided to seal between the adjacent windings. Removal is accomplished by unwinding the device whereby the coating is removed simultaneously with the helical winding.
Camrud et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 6,258,117, teach a multi-section stent which incorporates a connecting structure that can separate. This ability to separate adjacent segments of the connecting structure however is promoted as a means to add flexibility to the implanted device rather than as a way to atraumatically remove portions of it. Removability of the segments is not taught or suggested. Iwasaka et al. in US Patent Application Publication No. 2003/0114922 describe a stent-graft having a series of discrete, ring-like stent structures along its length. The device is removed from a body conduit by grasping its distal end with a retrieval device and everting it from the distal end by pulling it through itself in a proximal direction. The device is removed in its entirety rather than being removed segmentally.
WO00/42949 teaches the construction of an impermeable stent-graft that is primarily intended for biliary applications. This stent-graft is not described as being removable.
The present invention relates to removable, implantable devices such as removable stent-grafts or removable filter devices (e.g., embolic filters or vena cava filters). Such devices are intended for applications wherein it may be deemed necessary to remove the device at some time following implantation. Such applications may include stent-grafts for implantation in urethras, in biliary ducts, in the vascular system, the large or small intestine, or in the esophagus or trachea. It may be desirable for a stent-graft to be removable in applications where the stent-graft has been inserted to prevent obstruction of a duct by anastomotic stricture or by a tumor, particularly prior to determining if the tumor is malignant or benign. It may be desirable for such a stent-graft to be removable if its intended purpose was temporary, such as for delivery of a therapeutic agent such as drugs or radioactive materials to a specific site for a limited time. It may be also be of value to enable the stent-graft to be removed in the event that it does not effect its intended purpose and must be replaced by another device.
Devices of the present invention comprise a structural support, such as a stent component, provided with a covering of a graft material. Adjacent elements of the structural support are spaced apart, i.e., not in continuous direct contact with each other when the device is in a relaxed state without any deforming force applied to it. The covering graft material generally extends between the ends of the device and covers the spaces between the adjacent elements of the structural support.
The stent-graft of the present invention has a continuous luminal surface, meaning that, prior to removal, the graft material covering the stent component extends in a substantially continuous fashion between the opposing ends of the device. While the graft material may be separable between adjacent windings of the stent component during removal (as by splitting or tearing) as will be further described, the graft material is substantially integral prior to removal and does not include gaps between adjacent windings of the stent component (as shown by, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,384) prior to removal. The continuous luminal surface does not preclude the possibility of openings through portions of the graft material at desired locations for purposes of the particular stent application.
The graft material covering the stent component may be provided on the exterior surface of the stent component, the luminal surface of the stent component, or may cover both the exterior and luminal surfaces.
The device of the present invention is removable by gripping an end of the helically-wound structural support with a retrieval device and applying tension to the structural support in the direction in which it is intended to be withdrawn from the site of implantation. The design of the device is such that the structural support (e.g., stent component) is extended axially while the adjacent portion of the graft separates between windings of the structural support. For a stent-graft, for example, the axial extension of the stent component, with adjacent portions of the graft still joined to the stent component, allows the device to be "unraveled" (or "unwound") and removed through a catheter of diameter adequately small to be inserted into the body cavity that contained the previously-deployed stent-graft.
The stent-graft is cohesively removable (i.e., is cohesively disassembled), meaning that it is removed in its entirety, without loss of pieces or the formation of separate remnants during the removal (e.g., the unraveling) process.
The stent-graft is remotely removable, in that it may be grasped at one end for removal by a retrieval device inserted from a more distant point of entry into a body. Further, the removal is substantially or entirely atraumatic to the body conduit in which the device had been originally deployed. This is because the unravelable stent graft lends itself to removal with minimal force and to being removed through a relatively small diameter catheter.
This "unravelable" stent component may also enable the delivery of an intraluminal graft to an intended site and deployment of the intraluminal graft securely against the luminal surface of that site. Following deployment, the stent component may be removed (simultaneously with the delivery system, or alternatively, separately removed at a later time), leaving the graft component implanted at the site.
In still another embodiment, the stent-graft of the present invention may be delivered and deployed at a desired site, with permanently attached but separate stent components also deployed and intended to be left implanted permanently at, for example, the ends of the stent-graft. Another stent component extending along the remaining length of the device not supported by the permanent stent components may then be removed following successful deployment and implantation. This temporary stent component may be useful, for example, to assure that the device is implanted without twisting or other misalignment, and thus removed once it has served its temporary purpose.
Still further, the stent-graft or the stent component thereof may be made to be removable in lengthwise sections or segments.
The stent component is preferably metallic and more preferably is stainless steel or nitinol. It may be balloon expandable or self-expanding. The graft material that covers the stent component may be of a variety of implantable materials such as nylon, polyethylene terephthalate or polytetrafluoroethylene, and is preferably of expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) made as taught by U.S. Pat. No. 3,953,566 to Gore. Alternatively, either or both of the stent component and the graft component may be made of any of a variety of resorbable materials. These resorbable materials may optionally be used in combination with various non-resorbable materials for particular applications as desired.
FIGS. 3 and 3A-3D show side views of alternate embodiments of engagement fittings that protrude from either or both ends of the stent-graft.
In the embodiment shown by
The wire used to fabricate stent component 14 is preferably nitinol wire of, for example, about 0.23 mm diameter. A preferred nitinol wire is wire of this diameter (available from Nitinol Devices & Components Inc., Fremont Calif.) that has been 45% cold worked and electropolished. Most preferably, the stent component is formed from a single length of wire for simplicity and lowest possible profile. One method of forming the wire into the desired serpentine shape is to use a mandrel of similar diameter as the intended diameter of the desired tubular form of the stent-graft. The mandrel is provided with appropriately located pins which protrude radially from the exterior surface of the mandrel in locations corresponding to the intended locations of the apices of the serpentine shape. A suitable length of the wire is then wrapped around the pins protruding from the mandrel surface creating the helically wound serpentine shape that results in the form of stent component 10. Selected pins pertaining to optional raised apices 22 r may be placed on appropriately elevated surfaces to achieve the desired amount of elevation. The general form of and method of making such a wire stent are described in WO 97/21403 (see, e.g., FIGS. 1A-2 of WO 97/21403 for the wire form which for purposes of the present invention does not require the additional coupling member 8 or linking member 20). This wire and mandrel assembly may be placed into an oven for any desired heat-treating. Immediately following removal from the oven, the wire and mandrel assembly is quenched in water at about room temperature, following which the formed stent is removed from the mandrel.
The use of the serpentine winding of stent component 14 shown in
As also shown by
It is apparent that there are a variety of ways of orienting the raised apices to achieve differing desired amounts of anchoring of the deployed stent-graft. Variables include the angle of deviation of apices from parallel to the longitudinal axis of the stent component, the number of raised apices, the height of raised apices, and whether all or any portions of particular apices are raised.
It is generally preferred that raised apices alternate with adjacent apices which are not raised (i.e., adjacent on the same continuous section of stent wire) in the interest of providing a good bond between the stent component and covering graft material. This is particularly true with respect to the embodiment of
Finally, it is apparent that the use of raised apices as described is only one means of providing anchoring for a stent-graft. It is further apparent that, for some applications, anchoring means such as apices may be undesirable.
The attachment of the covering material to the stent component may be accomplished by methods including those described by U.S. Pat. No. 5,735,892 to Myers et al. Mechanical attachment may be by methods such as by the use of sutures. The covering material will preferably be attached to the stent using an adhesive such as, for example, fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) which is effective as a meltable thermoplastic adhesive. It is apparent that a variety of adhesives may be used (including thermoset adhesives) as long as the adhesive chosen is adequately biocompatible. The adhesive may be applied to the stent in either solid (powdered) or liquid form by various methods including powder coating, dipping or spraying. Liquid forms may be diluted if desired with appropriate solvents as necessary for the chosen method of application. The adhesive-coated stent component may be heated to ensure uniform coating of the stent component by causing melting of the thermoplastic adhesive.
Alternatively, the coating material applied to the ePTFE film from which the stent covering is made, may also be relied on for joining of the graft material to the stent component.
As shown, the thin, flexible covering material (graft material 18) is disrupted by the tensile force applied to the stent-graft 10 by the remotely operated instrument 27. As the graft material 18 is disrupted, it remains cohesively attached to the adjacent portion (or element) of stent component 14 which is simultaneously being uncoiled. This disruption, or unraveling, of the graft material 18 and uncoiling of stent component 14, results in minimal trauma to the vessel from which it is being removed as the stent coil diameter is reduced from its expanded state during the disassembling and retrieval process. Further, the graft material 18, attached to the stent component 14, forms into a thin ribbon which fits into a capturing catheter that has been positioned in close proximity to the end of the implanted device 10. This thin ribbon resulting from the unraveling process may have a length that is 100%, 200%, 300%, 400%, 500% or even greater than the length of the deployed stent-graft prior to removal.
The retrieval catheter 30 need only be adequately large diametrically to accommodate the anticipated width of the strip of the stent-graft being removed, i.e., adequately large to accept the substantially straightened serpentine wire form with a small amount of attached graft material. The catheter thus may be smaller in outside diameter than the catheter used previously to initially deliver and implant the device, and likewise smaller than the compacted diameter of the stent-graft itself during delivery to the implantation site (prior to diametrical expansion of the stent-graft during deployment, i.e., the small delivery profile).
FIGS. 3 and 3A-3D show alternate embodiments of the engagement fittings 26 that protrude from either or both ends of the device 10. These fittings facilitate secure attachment of the ends of the device 10 to an appropriate tool (e.g., removal tool 27) for use in initiating and completing the cohesive disassembly of the device 10. Examples of engagement fittings 26 include a ball as shown in
Numerous means for rendering the graft material 18 able to be cohesively disassembled can be contemplated.
The use of a covering graft material with anisotropic strength properties wherein the graft material is oriented with the direction of greatest strength in the circumferential direction (as described above with the ePTFE film) provides the resulting stent-graft with good hoop strength. Following deployment at a desired site, such a device may be amenable to further expansion using a balloon catheter if it is deemed necessary by the physician.
Another embodiment of this invention provides for partial disassembly of the device 10 in situ to allow for shortening of the overall device length, wherein one or more pieces of the device may be cohesively disassembled from the remainder of the stent-graft.
Other short-term adhesives are also possible, such as hydrogels (e.g., a 5% solution of polyvinyl alcohol, by weight volume in water). These may be useful, for example, to join together parts of a stent-graft where it may be desired to include components in the construction that are necessary for implantation and deployment, but not needed functionally following deployment. Such components might be longitudinally oriented struts that would ensure that the device is implanted without being twisted. Once deployed, these longitudinally oriented struts could be removed so as not to occupy space within the lumen of the device. These components could be joined to the stent-graft during manufacturing by a temporary adhesive such as a hydrogel, which would be designed to dissolve upon exposure to warm body fluids within a relatively short time such as about 15 minutes, after which they could be removed from within the device. Removal could be accomplished with removal devices as previously described.
A stent component was produced by winding a 0.25 mm diameter nitinol wire (SMA Inc, Santa Clara Calif.) onto an 8 mm diameter wire forming fixture, creating a stent component as shown in
A sacrificial 7 mm inside diameter, 0.1 mm thick ePTFE tube that had been previously heated above 380� C., was pulled onto an 8 mm diameter mandrel, which involved slight stretching of the ePTFE tube. This tube was intended to serve as a release aid when stripping the final construct from the mandrel and would subsequently be discarded.
One layer of a thin ePTFE film provided with a discontinuous coating of FEP was then wrapped around the sacrificial tube. The ePTFE film was of a type produced in accordance with U.S. Pat. No. 5,476,589 to Bacino; it has a greater strength in the longitudinal direction than in the transverse direction. This film was further modified by application of a discontinuous coating of FEP as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,159,565 to Campbell et al. The film was applied with the ePTFE side down (toward the mandrel) and with the direction of greater strength oriented circumferentially (i.e., perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the mandrel). Edges of the film (parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tube and mandrel) were slightly overlapped.
The stent component was carefully fitted over the ePTFE film and tube covered mandrel. Localized heat from a soldering iron was then applied to the wire, causing the FEP wire coating to re-flow and attach to the FEP-coated ePTFE film. When the entire stent component had been joined to the underlying ePTFE film in this manner, one additional layer of the same FEP-coated ePTFE/FEP film is applied over the stent frame. This outer film layer was applied with the FEP side down toward the stent and with the direction of greater strength oriented circumferentially (perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the mandrel). Longitudinal edges of the film were again slightly overlapped.
The mandrel and construct residing upon it was then subjected to a thermal treatment in an air convection oven set at 320� C. for 5 minutes. After removal from the oven and being allowed to cool to about ambient temperature, the stent-graft was stripped from the mandrel and the sacrificial ePTFE tube was removed from within the stent-graft and discarded. The graft ends were then trimmed as necessary using scissors.
The resulting 8 mm diameter stent-graft was chilled by spraying with Micro Freeze™ (Micro Care Corp., Bristol Conn.) and then diametrically compacted at a temp of −10� C. in a refrigeration chamber. Compaction was effected using a collet or iris type of diametrical compaction device, such as taught by U.S. Pat. No. 6,629,350. The stent-graft was compacted only to a diameter of about 4 mm, adequate to allow it to be inserted into a length of silicone tubing was intended to simulate the lumen of a biliary duct. This silicone tubing (part no. T050PLAT256X236, Jamak Corp., Weatherford Tex.) was of about 6 mm and about 0.25 mm wall thickness. After insertion of the entire length of the stent-graft into the lumen of the silicone tubing, the stent-graft was deployed within the tubing, gripping the luminal surface of the tubing.
The resulting 8 mm diameter stent-graft was demonstrated to be easily and completely removed through the application of a tensile force applied to the device. Removal was effected using a Cordis Brite Tip™ 5 french guide catheter through the proximal end of which had been inserted a length of 0.2 mm diameter nitinol wire that had been doubled back on itself. When the doubled wire was fully inserted, the doubled end of the wire was allowed to extend a short distance beyond the distal tip of the catheter while the two free ends extended from the proximal end. The wire-containing catheter shaft was then inserted into a length of translucent polymer tubing of 2.5 mm inside diameter and 0.035 mm wall thickness. The doubled end of the wire, forming a small loop, was placed over the engagement fitting located at the end of the stent component, after which tension was applied to the wire and catheter assembly by pulling on the proximal end of that assembly with respect to the translucent polymer tube through which it had been inserted. During the application of this tensile force to the stent, the silicone tubing containing the stent was held restrained (resisting the tensile force) in a human hand. The wire-and-catheter assembly was slowly withdrawn in a proximal direction, into the translucent polymer tube. The tensile force, applied to the engagement fitting located at the end of the stent component, caused the stent-graft to unravel and be cleanly withdrawn into the translucent polymer tube, generally as shown by
While particular embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein, the present invention should not be limited to such illustrations and descriptions. It should be apparent that changes and modifications may be incorporated and embodied as part of the present invention within the scope of the following claims.
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