A method, apparatus, and computer useable medium that provides, among other things, a standardized test protocol for screening and evaluation of attentional impairment using EEG data. Further, the method, apparatus, and computer program product enhances existing psychological, behavioral, and physiological EEG data acquisition systems by introducing a sequential stochastic model procedure, and an intelligent data interpretation component capable of assessing EEG inconsistencies associated attentional impairments. Potential users of this product will be any person or organization that diagnoses or treats persons with attentional or cognitive impairments. The method can be used for initial screening and diagnosis of disorders associated with impaired attention, such as ADHD, as well as for treatment and evaluation of the effects of treatments, such as medication or additional therapies.

Impairments in cognitive ability and attention are pervasive and potentially debilitating components of many disorders, conditions, injuries and diseases, including mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in persons with pre-dementia, dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies, Alzheimer's Disease, traumatic brain injury, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and cognitive/attentional declines associated with chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and HIV infection [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]. Most of these disorders are assumed to be pathology-based and therefore amenable to intervention, especially if diagnosed early. Despite the staggering number of such conditions, the significance of such cognitive and attentional impairments in these conditions, and the importance of early, accurate, and comprehensive assessment and diagnosis, there is currently no such procedure or set of standards to employ to quantify such impairments, either when diagnosing the disorder or examining effectiveness of treatment.
For example, the recent NIH Consensus Statement on Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder [9] concluded that ADHD is difficult to diagnose, considered a common problem, and is associated with many negative consequences, both for the patient and society, and has been inconsistently associated with neuroimaging and EEG anomalies that have been non-diagnostic in nature.
ADHD is one of multiple disorders associated with impairments in attention. Although this document may particularly identify attentional disorders associated with ADHD, the present invention shall be applied to any disorder with associated attentional impairments. With respect to dementia, recent research and a review of the literature conclude that the frequency of post stroke dementia and cognitive decline varied sharply when different systems of diagnostic classification and methods were used [10]. Furthermore, recent findings support the need for validation not only of the criteria, but also the need for validated measures to diagnosis dementia and cognitive impairment post stroke [10, 11, 12], and Alzheimer's disease [13]. In addition, cognitive abnormalities commonly occur in patients with HIV infection [14]. Among otherwise healthy HIV-positive patients, cognitive deficits are thought to be infrequent [15], but some investigators suggest that more sensitive measures may be needed to detect the mild cognitive decline during the asymptomatic stage [16].
Diagnostic Dilemma
There are numerous disorders and diseases associated with impairment of attention and cognitive functioning, however, the diagnosis and quantification of impairment of attention in any disease or disorder is typically difficult. Some examples include: attentional impairments associated with ADHD, HIV infection, Alzheimer's Disease, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and dementia.
With respect to ADHD, the DSM-IV [17] states "The essential features of ADHD is a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that is more frequent and severe than is typically observed in individuals in a comparable level of development." Evidence of six of nine inattentive behaviors and/or six of nine hyperactive-impulsive behaviors must have been present before age seven, and must clearly interfere with social, academic and/or occupational functioning. Consequently, the diagnosis of ADHD is highly dependent on a retrospective report of a patient's past behavior and subjective judgements on degree of relative impairment. Due to the subjective nature of assessment, precision in diagnosis has been elusive. ADHD is complex and influences all aspects of a person's life. It can co-exist with and/or mimic a variety of health, emotional, learning, cognitive, and language problems. An appropriate, comprehensive evaluation for ADHD includes a medical, educational, and behavioral history, evidence of normal vision and hearing, recognition of systemic illness, and a developmental survey. The diagnosis of ADHD should never be made based exclusively on rating scales, questionnaires, or tests [18].
Prevalence
Since ADHD cannot be strictly defined, and precisely and objectively measured, its true prevalence cannot be accurately determined. While the DSM-IV estimates the prevalence of ADHD in school-age children as between three percent and five percent, other community survey studies suggest it may be as high as 16 percent [19]. ADHD occurs more commonly in males than in females, with ratios ranging from 4:1 to 9:1. Of all child referrals for mental health services, one-third to one-half is thought to be attributable to ADHD.
According to recent projections [20], Alzheimer's disease will affect increasing numbers of people as baby boomers (persons born between 1946 and 1964) age. The annual number of incident cases is expected to more than double by the midpoint of the twenty-first century: from 377,000 in 1995 to 959,000 in 2050. The proportion of new onset cases that are age 85 or older will increase from forty percent in 1995 to 62 percent in 2050.
It is clear from the number of persons suffering from attentional or cognitive difficulties or deficits, that there is a need for accurate diagnosis and validation of treatment efficacy. It is also clear that the portion of the population who will be suffering from cognitive decline or impairment will continue to increase with the overall aging of the population and the increased diagnosis of attentional disorders. There is therefore a need in the art for a comprehensive, flexible, and an effective diagnostic measure of attentional abilities.
Negative Consequences
The hallmarks of ADHD are hyperactivity, impulsivity, and an inability to sustain attention. The DSM-IV distinguishes three types: predominantly inattentive type, predominantly hyperactive-impulsive type, and combined type. In addition to the core clinical symptoms of ADHD, high levels of co-morbidity have been found with learning, oppositional defiant, conduct, mood, and anxiety disorders. Furthermore, it is estimated that the majority of children diagnosed with ADHD exhibit significant behavioral problems during adolescence and manifest continuing functional deficits and psychopathology into adulthood. One real-life consequence of ADHD is a five-fold increase in automobile crashes [21].
Early diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and additional progressive disorders associated with attentional impairment is especially important because patients with early stages of dementia may show reversal of their cognitive deficits and neurochemistry abnormalities after treatment [8].
Neuroimaging and EEG Findings Related to ADHD
In spite of these well-documented problems, the mechanisms and etiology of ADHD remain methodologically difficult to study, with different studies yielding inconsistent results. Most investigators accept that ADHD exists as a distinct clinical syndrome and suggest a multifactorial etiology that includes neurobiology as an important factor. Zametkin and Rapoport [22] identified eleven separate neuroanatomical hypotheses that have been proposed for the etiology of ADHD. Most studies have concluded that either delayed maturation or defects in cortical activation play large roles in the pathophysiology of ADHD. For example, studies of cerebral blood flow determined by single-positron emission computerized tomography have demonstrated decreased metabolic activity in suspected attentional areas of the brain [23]. These, as well as additional neurophysiological findings, have been interpreted as evidence of delayed maturation and cortical hypoarousal in regions of the prefrontal and frontal cortex, the two predominate etiological theories underlying ADHD. Unfortunately, while neuroanatomical findings lend support to the notion that ADHD is a distinct clinical syndrome and add to our understanding of the etiology of ADHD, neuroimaging techniques are too expensive, restricted to a few centers, and lack clear specificity and sensitivity in diagnosis of ADHD. There is therefore a need in the art for an inexpensive and clear system and method for diagnosis of ADHS and other impairments.
There are a few basic methods of analyzing EEG data that have been employed in previous research—visual inspection of raw data and quantitative analyses of EEG data, including spectral and coherence methods of analysis. To date, none of these methods have revealed pervasive or consistent patterns of EEG abnormalities with sufficient specificity or sensitivity to separate children with ADHD from normal subjects. The first of these methods of analysis involves visual inspection of raw EEG data. As long ago as 1938, Jasper, Solomon, and Bradley, used this method and reported EEG abnormalities in children with minimal brain dysfunction (an outdated term used to describe children with hyperactivity and poor attentiveness as well as learning disabilities and conduct disorder). In parallel with the development of the computer, researchers have applied a second method of EEG analysis employing quantitative techniques. Quantitative EEG is a mathematical analysis of voltage-time series data with the intention of extracting useful information not readily apparent to visual inspection. Spectral analysis is a common technique of quantitative EEG. It mathematically transforms, via Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), raw amplitude-time data into its component frequencies. During the 1970s several laboratories utilized a combination of visual inspection and quantitative techniques, and reported differences between the EEGs of hyperactive and normal children. Among the differences discovered were: a higher percentage of abnormal EEG patterns (abnormal usually meaning excessive slow wave activity) in clinical subjects than in controls; more power in the 0 to 8 Hz spectrum in hyperactive children compared to normal controls; less power in the 10 Hz range for hyperactives than controls; and less beta and weaker stimulus-locked alpha attenuation in hyperactive than in non-hyperactive children. These early studies were typically confounded by inconsistent and often inadequate assessment procedures and methodologies. It is therefore not surprising that early research demonstrated no pervasive or consistent patterns of EEG data to discriminate hyperactive, inattentive, or impulsive children from controls.
Noticeably absent in the literature of that time, however, was information concerning extensive EEG frequency components obtained from several groups of clinical and control children engaged in tasks manipulating attention. Numerous investigators have reported that only when subjects are engaged in behavioral paradigms (particularly those manipulating attention) do electrophysiological differences appear between normal and hyperactive or LD children. Partially in response to this deficit in the research literature, Dykman et al. [24] investigated the EEGs of four groups of boys (10 hyperactive, 10 learning-disabled, 10 with both hyperactivity and LD) engaged in a complex visual search task. Spectral analysis of EEG data indicated that LD boys, hyperactive boys, and boys with a mixed diagnosis displayed less beta and less stimulus-locked alpha attenuation than normal boys. Thus, research in the 1980s-1990s began to address and correct issues of uniformity of diagnosis, methodology, and accuracy in EEG acquisition, both in terms of theoretical understanding and technical application. In an attempt to clarify some of the EEG differences between hyperactive and normal subjects, Satterfield, Schell, Backs & Hidaka [25] considered the impact of age upon EEG in two groups of normal (n=60) and hyperactive, inattentive, and impulsive males (n=138) ages 6-12, by examining follow-up EEGs on a subset of the hyperactive and normal subjects four years after the initial EEG. Their findings indicate that EEG power spectral intensities of normal male children decrease with increasing age. However, EEG power declines slower with increasing age in hyperactive subjects. Overall, instead of clarifying the issues, Satterfield et al. conclude that ". . . electrophysiological differences between hyperactive and normal male children are complex and vary markedly with age." They further warn that "Computation of group averages which include data from children of a wide age range may obscure rather than clarify the electrophysiological correlates of this disorder."
More recent studies employing spectral analysis of EEG have also shown varying patterns of EEG activity in ADHD subjects. Mann, et al. [26] tested 25 nine to twelve year-old boys with predominantly inattentive-type ADHD, and found increased theta at both absolute and relative percent power calculations, and decreased beta in temporal and frontal sites. Janzen et al. [27] compared EEG differences between eight ADD males and eight normal control males ages 9-12. Results demonstrated that the ADD males had higher theta amplitudes for all sites. However, unlike Mann et al., Janzen et al. found no differences between groups for beta-all amplitudes. Clarke et al. [28] performed automated EEG on subjects (ages 8-12) classified into groups of 20 ADHD-Combined Type, 20 ADHD-Predominantly Inattentive Type, and 20 controls. Overall, they found evidence of increased absolute and relative theta in all ADHD subjects, with the ADHD combined type showing a significantly greater amount of theta power than the predominantly inattentive-type. In addition, Clarke et al. found a decrease in alpha activity, but elevated theta present in all brain regions measured and not confined to frontal regions as previous studies had reported. In contrast to Mann, et al. they report less posterior absolute beta power in posterior regions. In an interesting study by Ackerman, et al. [29] a group of 56 ADD/ADHD children who had normal reading skills were employed as a control group, and their EEGs compared to EEGs of 119 children with reading disorders (some of whom had a co-morbid diagnosis of ADD/ADHD). Subjects included 86 males and 33 females between the ages of 7.5 and 12 years. Coherence analysis of EEG data is an additional method of quantitative analysis employed in a smaller number of studies, with equally inconclusive findings. Coherence analysis involves a cross-correlation that measures the relationship of activity at one site of the brain to another. In one of the largest studies procured to date, Chabot and Serfontein [30] tested 407 children with attention deficits with and without hyperactivity, with and without learning problems, children with attention problems who failed to reach DSM-III criteria for the disorder, and 310 controls (ages 6-17). They first employed spectral analysis and observed patterns of excess theta in frontal regions and increased alpha (relative power) in the posterior regions for the clinical groups versus controls. They then employed coherence analysis and reported that one-third of the non-control children showed signs of interhemispheric dysregulation characterized by this pattern of excessive theta/alpha power in the right temporal and premotor (frontal) areas.
Overall, although numerous studies have examined ADHD versus non-ADHD children using EEG, techniques in study design vary widely. Of the studies above, sixty percent involve only male subjects, eight of eleven studies used electrode caps for EEG acquisition, and only three employed a clinical control group in addition to a normal control group. Only seven of the studies specifically evaluate EEGs of diagnosed ADHD children (versus children displaying attentional deficits and no hyperactivity). Of these studies, five did report increased theta wave activity. However, these findings were not consistently found to involve similar brain regions (two in frontal region, one parietal region, one anterior region, and one all sites). Two of the seven studies reported decreased alpha wave activity, while two reported increased alpha relative power, and the remaining three reported no significant alpha wave findings. Again, of the seven studies involving ADHD diagnosed subjects, one reported decreased absolute beta in the posterior regions, one reported decreased relative beta in the posterior regions, one reported decreased beta in the right frontal region, two reported increased beta wave activity, and two reported no significant beta findings. The presence of theta and the absence of beta may be the neural substrate of the inability to shift between tasks in order to focus on the task at hand. This is affirmed in recent papers that hypothesize that an ADHD individual has difficulty in responding to the target task, not difficulty with ignoring peripheral stimuli [31]. Overall, the differences in EEG spectra between affected and unaffected children remain inconsistent and nonspecific enough to prevent their use as a diagnostic tool. In fact, in their 1993 review, Goldstein and Ingersoll [38] concluded that consistent differences in EEG have not been documented between those with and without ADHD.
There is therefore a need in the art for a method and apparatus for assessing attentional impairments of persons. The present invention provides a method for evaluating and quantifying comprehensive data from persons with attentional disorders. This data includes EEG information when transitioning from one cognitive task to another, behavioral information, cognitive performance, and history of symptoms. The data is examined within a sequential stochastic procedure, and used to diagnosis attentional disorders and evaluate treatment response.

Method, apparatus, and computer program product for assessment of attentional impairments

University of Virginia Patent Foundation


A band coupling structure incorporating conductive wires, in the case in which the bands are coupled with each other, the edge portion of the connection pin is abutted to and electrically connected to the connection pin fitting section, and one coupling part and another coupling part of the band coupling section can rotate to each other in the width direction of the bands on the axis of the band coupling section by locking the band coupling lock pin with the lock pin locking section.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a band coupling structure incorporating conductive wires used for portable compact information terminals that receive many kinds of information by utilizing radio waves, such as a radio controlled wristwatch, a wristwatch-type pager, a portable telephone, a portable television, and a portable radio.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electronic watch that receives standard radio waves, that is a radio watch that receives standard radio waves (carrier waves) including time information and that indicates accurate time by extracting time information from the radio waves, has already been known.
In addition, a wristwatch-type radio receiver that calls with radio or that exchanges information by receiving/transmitting electronic data has also already been known. Such a radio watch and a wristwatch-type radio receiver, in which an antenna (conductive wire) configuring a receiving section is enclosed in a main body case or a wrist band, have already been put on the market.
However, in the case in which an antenna is enclosed in a main body case made of conductive material such as metal, a magnetic flux generated around the antenna is absorbed in the conductive material and a resonance phenomenon is prevented. As a result, the receiving function of the antenna is greatly deteriorated to the degree that the antenna cannot receive the standard radio waves.
For some radio watches, a proposal has been made to prevent the receiving function of the antenna from being deteriorated even if a main body case made of conductive material is used. For some wristwatch-type radio receivers, however, an antenna may be enclosed in a wrist band to satisfy desired antenna characteristics such as a gain.
That is to say, the opening area of an antenna is enlarged to improve an antenna gain. In general, a frequency of radio waves to be received for a wristwatch-type radio receiver is higher than that for a radio controlled wristwatch. For instance, a frequency of radio waves that are used by a radio watch is in the range of 40 to 60 kHz. On the other hand, a frequency of radio waves that are used by a wristwatch-type pager, which is one of wristwatch-type radio receivers, is in the range of 100 to 300 MHz. Such difference in frequencies is related to an amount of information to be transmitted. That is to say, a transmission rate of information is made preferably higher to efficiently transmit and receive a large amount of information. Consequently, a frequency should be preferably made higher to make a transmission rate higher.
A most simple tuning means for receiving radio waves is to make the length of an antenna equivalent to wave length. Since electromagnetic waves are transmitted in a space at a speed same as that of light (300,000 km per second), wave length can be obtained by dividing a light velocity by a frequency. For instance, the length of an antenna is set to 1 m in the case in which a frequency is 300 MHz. However, it is difficult to lengthen an antenna to be 1 m for a wristwatch-type radio receiver. Therefore, in many cases, many kinds of tuning means are utilized while an antenna is made shorter than wave length. As one of such many methods, it is known that an opening area of an antenna is enlarged.
However, in the case in which an antenna that includes a large opening area is enclosed in a main body case, a main body is enlarged, resulting in the deterioration of portability, an external appearance, and attractiveness as a product. Therefore, for many products with a high frequency of radio waves to be received, an antenna is enclosed in a wrist band to make an opening area as large as possible.
Many types of wristwatch-type radio receivers provided with an antenna in a wrist band have been proposed (see the Patent Document 1, namely, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 5 (1993)-183454, for instance). The wristwatch-type radio receiver described in the Patent Document 1 has a configuration as shown in FIG. 12.
A wristwatch-type radio receiver 100 is provided with a wristwatch-type radio receiver main body 104 including a liquid crystal panel 102 that displays received messages. The bands 106 and 108 made of a nonconductive member such as leather and vinyl leather to be worn on a wrist are attached to the wristwatch-type radio receiver main body 104.
The antenna members 110 and 112 made of a thin metal plate are installed in the bands 106 and 108, respectively. The antenna members 110 and 112 are connected to a circuit of a receiving apparatus (not shown) installed in the wristwatch-type radio receiver main body 104.
A hook metal fitting 116 is attached to the free edge of the band 106, and a link metal fitting 114 is attached to the band 108 in such a manner that the link metal fitting 114 can be slid and fixed to the desired position.
By the above configuration, the wristwatch-type radio receiver can be worn on a wrist by engaging the hook metal fitting 116 of the band 106 with the link metal fitting 114 of the band 108.
On the rear surface of the band 106, a conductive projection 118 is formed at the position to which the hook metal fitting 116 is attached.
By the above configuration, in the case in which the hook metal fitting 116 of the band 106 is engaged with the link metal fitting 114 of the band 108, the projection 118 touches the antenna member 112 exposed through a hole 120 of the band 108, thus electrically connecting antenna members 110 and 112 to each other. As a result, the antenna members 110 and 112 can form a loop.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. HEI 5 (1993)-183454 (Pages 2 and 3, and FIG. 1)
In such a configuration in which the conductive projection 118 of the band 106 touches the antenna member 112 of the band 108, a structure for fixing the bands 106 and 108 to each other are different and separate from a structure for maintaining the electrical connection of antennas. Consequently, the bands 106 and 108 cannot rotate (swing) to each other in the width direction of the bands to each other around the contact section 122 between the conductive projection 118 and the antenna member 112 as shown by the arrows A in FIG. 13.
Accordingly, in the case in which the wristwatch-type radio receiver 100 is worn on a wrist, the movement in the width direction of the bands 106 and 108 (the direction of the arrow A) has no margin as described above. As a result, it is impossible that the band position is finely adjusted in such a manner that the wristwatch-type radio receiver is suitably worn according to the size and shape of wrists depending 6n persons, thus resulting in unpleasant wear and occasionally unfitness.
In consideration of the circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a band coupling structure incorporating conductive wires to be used for receiving radio waves in portable compact information terminals that receive many kinds of information by utilizing radio waves. For such a band coupling structure, the bands can rotate (swing) to each other in the width direction of the bands at a band coupling section, the movement of the bands in the width direction of the band has a margin, the band position can be finely adjusted in such a manner that the wristwatch-type radio receiver is suitably worn according to the size and shape of a worn section of a human body such as a wrist, unpleasant wear and unfitness can be prevented, a satisfactory electrical connection of conductive wires can be maintained even in the case in which the bands rotate to each other, and the bands can be easily attached to or detached from a worn section of a human body such as a wrist.

Band coupling structure incorporating conductive wires


Systems and methods are provided to manage risk associated with access to information within a given organization. The overall risk tolerance for the organization is determined and allocated among a plurality of subjects within the organization. Allocation is accomplished using either a centralized, request/response or free market mechanism. As requested from subjects within the organization for access to objects, i.e. information and data, are received, the amount of risk or risk level associated with each requested is quantified. Risk quantification can be accomplished using, for example, fuzzy multi-level security. The quantified risk associated with the access request in combination with the identity of the object and the identity of the subject are used to determine whether or not the request should be granted, denied or granted with appropriated mitigation measures.

The traditional multi-level secure (MLS) mandatory access control is based on the Bell-LaPadula model, which is described in David E. Bell and Leonard J. LaPadula, Computer Security Model: Unified Exposition and Multics Interpretation, Technical Report ESD-TR-75-306, The MITRE Corporation, Bedford, Mass., HQ Electronic Systems Division, Hanscom AFB, Mass., June (1975). In the Bell-LaPadula model, each subject or object is tagged with a <sensitivity_level(SL), categories_set(CS)>tuple. All such tuples in a system form a partial-order relation set where <SL1, CS1>≧<SL2, CS2>IFF SL1≧SL2 and CS1⊃CS2. Information can flow from a source to a destination only if tagdestination≧tagsource. The source or destination can be either a subject or object. Therefore, a subject can read an object only if tagsubject≧tagobject. A subject is usually a person or an application running on behalf of a person. The sensitivity level associated with a subject reflects the degree of trust placed in the subject. The categories set associated with the subject specifies the categories of objects the subject has a need to know or to access. A subject's sensitivity level is also called the subject's clearance.
An object can be a data storage element such as a file or a data transportation apparatus such as a network connection. The sensitivity level associated with an object indicates how sensitive the data contained in that object are or the magnitude of the damage incurred by an unauthorized disclosure of the data. The categories set associated with the object specifies the categories to which the data belong.
The traditional MLS model has been in practice since before computers came into wide existence. The MLS model is easy to understand and facilitates easy access control decisions based on the model by simply comparing two tags. Thus, the MLS model provides a basis for quantification of the risk associated with allowing subjects access to objects. If the tags associated with a subject and an object correctly reflect the subject's trustworthiness and need-to-know and the object's sensitivity and categories, then the access control decision is likely to avoid leakage of the information in the object and therefore the risk associated with such leakage. In short, the model is geared toward risk avoidance.
In many organizations, especially organizations in the national security and intelligence arena, the ability to rapidly process, share and disseminate large amounts of sensitive information in order to support informed decision making to rapidly respond to external events is important to the central mission of those agencies. Current access control models, includes MLS models, do not provide a sufficient level of flexibility to deal with the dynamic environments and needs of these organizations. For example, a complex organization with multiple, hierarchically organized departments, each holding information and data needs to be able to organize and share this information among the various departments. Understanding the significance of isolated events and formulating an effective response may require users and management in the organization to pool together information available within multiple departments, i.e., to "connect the dots". The information that needs to be pooled together would depend on the external event and the analysis approach adopted, which cannot be predicted in advance.
Traditional access control policies based on roles aligned with the organizational chart can degrade the effectiveness of the response. Studies of such organizations have concluded that existing security policy models are too rigid and do not allow necessary information to be shared. An example of a study is found in HORIZONTAL INTEGRATION: Broader Access Models for Realizing Information Dominance, JASON Program Office, JSR-04-132, MITRE Corporation (2004). As a reaction, some organizations have set up a complex mix of loose and ad-hoc policies that may result in an unaccountable risk of information leakage. The problem is due to the fact that existing access control policies specify access decisions statically, and the environments in which the policies are applied are dynamic. Thus the ideal case where an organization continually optimizes access control based on risk vs. benefit trade-offs while capping overall risk cannot be realized.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Risk adaptive information flow based access control

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


The present invention provides an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus including a bio-signal analyzing section sequentially acquiring a bio-signal from a bio-signal acquiring section over a plurality of cycles to evaluate stability of a heart function in one cycle between particular signal waveforms of the bio-signal and one cycle between particular signal waveforms adjacent to the one cycle between the particular signal waveforms, selecting the one cycle between the particular signal waveforms and one cycle between the particular signal waveforms adjacent to the one cycle between the particular signal waveforms as a test period for the heart function based on the content of the evaluation, and associating the selected test period with a time phase of the bio-signal.

Heart functions are closely correlated not only with electrocardiogram waveforms (electrocardiograms) but also with bio-signals periodically changing due to motions of a heart such as pulses, blood pressures, and heart sounds, so that those bio-signals are used to perform a heart function test. The hear function test involves displaying section images of organs with an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus over several cycles of the periodically changing bio-signal and computing measurement data representing the hear functions such as the bloodstream state, bloodstream rate, annulus rate, atrium volume, and heart wall motions.
It is presumed that the heart function test should desirably be performed with a plurality of cycles of the bio-signal remaining stable. Thus, ultrasonic measurement data including ultrasonic image data is acquired in association with the changes of the bio-signal and is once stored in a storage section such as a cine memory. Then, for example, a tester retrieves the cycle in which the bio-signal is stable while seeing the bio-signal and the reproduced image of the ultrasonic measurement data, and sets the retrieved cycle to a test period to perform the heart function measurement.
In a case with arrhythmia having unstable pulses, the electrocardiogram waveforms stored in the cine memory are reproduced, and the tester advances frames one by one using an input unit to retrieve the period with stable pulses while seeing the electrocardiogram waveforms.
In Non-Patent document 1, time intervals (R-R time) between two adjacent R waves from one R wave (heart beat) to the next R wave are sequentially measured on the basis of electrocardiogram waveforms, and a tester manually retrieves with an input unit, as a conforming period, the period in which the ratio between two adjacent R-R times is approximately one, and specifies the R-R time immediately after the conforming period as a test period. The hear function measurement is performed in the test period. The measurement is shown to be valid as the measurement value in the case with arrhythmia.
According to the method described in Non-Patent document 1, however, the retrieval of the conforming period requires the tester to watch the displayed image to determine whether or not the ratio between the two adjacent R-R times falls within the allowable range to retrieve the conforming period while he manually reproduces the bio-signal with the input unit. This causes time and effort and a burden on the tester, and in addition, when the tester erroneously retrieves the conforming period, he may retrieve an inappropriate test period as a result.
On the other hand, Patent Document 1 has proposed that the waveforms from a certain R wave to the second earlier R wave are taken on the basis of the history of electrocardiogram waveforms, the difference between the two R-R times included therein is calculated, and when the time difference is equal to or lower than a preset threshold value, that period is evaluated as a conforming period in which pulses are stable.

Ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus and method of retrieving and displaying heart function test period


A crystalline semiconductor film having crystal grains of large grain size or crystal grains in which the position and the size are controlled is formed to manufacture a TFT, whereby a semiconductor device that enables a high-speed operation is realized. First, a reflecting member is provided on a rear surface side of a substrate on which a semiconductor film is formed (semiconductor film substrate). When a front surface side of the semiconductor film substrate is irradiated with a laser beam that penetrates the semiconductor film substrate, the laser beam is reflected by the reflecting member to irradiate the semiconductor film from the rear surface side. With this method, an effective energy density is raised in the semiconductor film, and an output time is made long. Thus, the cooling rate of the semiconductor film is made gentle and crystal grains of large grain size are formed. Further, the front surface side of the semiconductor film substrate is irradiated with the laser beam by using a substrate on which a reflecting layer is partially formed as the reflecting member, whereby the semiconductor film is partially irradiated with the laser beam from the rear surface side. Thus, a temperature distribution is generated in the semiconductor film, and the location where a lateral growth is generated and the lateral direction can be controlled. Therefore, the crystal grains of large grain size can be obtained.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a laser irradiation method of annealing a semiconductor film using a laser beam (hereinafter referred to as laser annealing) and a laser irradiation apparatus for performing the laser annealing (apparatus including a laser and an optical system for guiding a laser beam output from the laser to a member to be processed). Further, the present invention relates to a semiconductor device manufactured by the steps including the laser annealing step and a method of manufacturing the semiconductor device. Note that the semiconductor device mentioned through the specification includes an electro-optical device such as a liquid crystal display device or a light emitting device and an electronic device including the electro-optical device as its component.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, techniques of crystallizing a semiconductor film formed on an insulating substrate such as a glass substrate or improving the crystallinity thereof by performing laser annealing have been widely studied. Silicon is often used for the semiconductor film.
The glass substrate is at low cost and has a lot of processability in comparison with a synthetic quartz glass substrate that has been conventionally used in many cases, and has an advantage that it easily enables the manufacture of a substrate with large area. This is a reason that the above-mentioned study is made. Further, the reason a laser is used in crystallization from choice is that the melting point of the glass substrate is low. Laser can give high energy only to the semiconductor film without largely raising the temperature of the substrate.
Since a crystalline semiconductor is formed of a large number of crystal grains, it is also called a polycrystalline semiconductor film. The crystalline semiconductor film formed by performing laser annealing has high mobility, and thus, a thin film transistor (TFT) is formed using the crystalline semiconductor film. For example, the TFT is widely used for a monolithic liquid crystal electro-optical device or the like in which TFTs for a pixel portion and for a driver circuit are formed on a glass substrate.
Further, the method, in which a pulse laser beam of an excimer laser or the like with large output is processed in an optical system so as to have a shape of a spot of several by several centimeters square or a linear shape of 10 cm length or more on an irradiation surface, the laser beam is scanned (or the irradiation position of the laser beam is made to move relatively to a surface to be irradiated), and laser annealing is performed, attains high mass production and is excellent from the industrial viewpoint. Thus, the method is used from choice.
In particular, when the linear beam is used, laser irradiation can be conducted over the entire irradiation surface with scanning only in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the linear beam, which is different from the case where the spot laser beam that requires scanning in the front and rear directions and in the right and left directions is used, which leads to high mass production. The reason the scanning is performed in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction is that the direction is most effective. Owing to the high mass production, the laser annealing method in which the linear laser beam that is obtained by processing a pulse oscillation excimer laser beam in an appropriate optical system is used currently becomes the main stream of a manufacturing technique of a liquid crystal display device using a TFT.
However, the crystalline semiconductor film manufactured by the laser annealing method is formed from a plurality of crystal grains, and the position and the size of the crystal grains are random. The TFT manufactured on the glass substrate is formed by separating the crystalline semiconductor film with island-like patterning in order to realize element isolation. In this case, the crystalline semiconductor film can not be formed with the designation of the position and the size of the crystal grains. There exist numerous recombination centers and trapping centers which derive from an amorphous structure, a crystal defect or the like exist in an interface of the crystal grain (crystal grain boundary) compared with the inside of the crystal grain. It is known that when a carrier is trapped in the trapping center, the potential of the crystal grain boundary rises, which becomes a barrier to the carrier, whereby the current transporting property of the carrier is lowered. The crystallinity of the semiconductor film in a channel forming region has a great effect on the characteristic of the TFT. However, it is hardly possible that the channel forming region is formed of a single crystal semiconductor film without influence of the crystal grain boundary.
Further, it is known that growth distance of the crystal grain is in proportion to the product of a crystallization time by a growth rate. Here, the crystallization time indicates the time until the completion of crystallization of a semiconductor film from the generation of a crystal nucleus in the semiconductor film. Further, assuming that the time until the completion of crystallization from melting of the semiconductor film is a melting time, if a cooling rate of the semiconductor film is made gentle by extending the melting time, the crystallization time becomes longer. Thus, the crystal grain of a large grain size can be formed.
In order to form the channel forming region by the single crystal semiconductor film without influence of the crystal grain boundary, various attempts for forming the position-controlled crystal grain of large grain size are made in the laser annealing method. First, a solidifying process of the semiconductor film that has been subjected to irradiation of a laser beam is explained.
It takes time in a degree until solid phase nucleation occurs in a liquid semiconductor film that has been completely melted by laser beam irradiation. Numberless and uniform (or nonuniform) nucleations occur and grow in a completely melted region, whereby the solidifying process of the liquid semiconductor film is completed. Obtained in this case are crystal grains which are random in position and size.
Further, in the case where the semiconductor film is not completely melted by the laser beam irradiation and solid phase semiconductor regions remain partially, crystal growth begins at the solid phase semiconductor regions immediately after the laser beam irradiation. As described above, it takes time in a degree until the nucleation occurs in the completely melted region. Thus, a solid-liquid interface, which is the tip of the crystal growth, moves in a horizontal direction to the surface of the semiconductor film (hereinafter referred to as lateral direction) until the nucleation occurs in the completely melted region, whereby the crystal grain grows several tens of times as long as the film thickness. This growth ends with the occurrence of numberless and uniform (or nonuniform) nucleations in the completely melted region. Hereinafter, this phenomenon is referred to as a super lateral growth.
In an amorphous semiconductor film or a polycrystalline semiconductor film as well, an energy region of a laser beam where the super lateral growth is realized, exists. However, the above-mentioned energy region is very narrow, and the position where a large crystal grain is obtained can not be controlled. Further, the regions except for the region of the large crystal grain are microcrystalline regions where numerous nucleations occur or amorphous regions.
As described above, if a temperature gradient in the lateral direction can be controlled (a heat flow is made to occur in the lateral direction) in the laser beam energy region in which the semiconductor film is completely melted, the growth position and the growth direction of the crystal grain can be controlled. Various attempts are carried out in order to realize this method.
For example, James S. Im et al. of Columbia University show a sequential lateral solidification method (hereinafter referred to as SLS method) in which a super lateral growth is realized at an arbitrary location. In the SLS method, a slit-shape mask is shifted every shot by a distance (approximately 0.75 μm) in which the super lateral growth is conducted to perform crystallization.
Further, Matsumura, M. et al. of Tokyo Institute of Technology announced a method of forming position-controlled crystal grains of large grain size in the 47th Applied Physics Association Lectures. In the method, an insulating layer of which an upper surface has a square shape is embedded in an amorphous silicon film, and an insulating film is formed on the amorphous silicon film. In conducting irradiation of a laser beam, energy of the laser beam is made to have a gradient by using a phase shift mask, and the portion above the insulating layer is irradiated with the laser beam with low energy. That is, the amorphous silicon film below the insulating layer is cooled most fast and crystal nuclei are generated there after the irradiation of the laser beam because of a light shielding effect of the insulating layer and the energy gradient due to the phase shift mask. On the other hand, since the amorphous silicon film of other regions is still in a melted state, the crystal nuclei grow to the melted region and the crystal grains of large grain size which are position-controlled are formed.
There are various kinds of laser beams, and in general, crystallization is conducted using a laser beam of which a light source is a pulse oscillation type excimer laser (hereinafter referred to as excimer laser beam). The excimer laser has an advantage that it has large output and repeat irradiation with high frequency is possible. Further, the excimer laser beam has an advantage that an absorption coefficient to a silicon film is high.
KrF (248 nm wavelength) or XeCl (308 nm wavelength) is used as an excitation gas in order to form the excimer laser beam. However, gases such as Kr (krypton) and Xe (xenon) are very costly. Thus, there is a problem in that an increase of manufacturing cost is incurred with the high frequency of gas exchange.
Further, an exchange of attached devices such as a laser tube for conducting laser oscillation and a gas refining device for removing an unnecessary compound generated in an oscillation process is needed once in two to three years. Many of these attached devices are expensive, and there is also a problem in that the increase of manufacturing cost is incurred.
As described above, a laser irradiation apparatus using the excimer laser beam has high performance, indeed. However, the maintenance involves a lot of trouble, and also, there is a defect that the laser irradiation apparatus has high running cost (here, the running cost indicates the cost generated with operation) as a laser irradiation apparatus for mass production.
Then, in order to realize a laser irradiation apparatus with running cost lower than that of the excimer laser and a laser annealing method using the laser irradiation apparatus, there is a method of using a solid laser (a laser that outputs a laser beam with a crystal rod as a resonant cavity).
The reason for the use of the method is that the present solid laser has large output but has a very short output time. There are LD (laser diode) excitation, flush lamp excitation and the like as excitation methods of the solid laser. A large current needs to be flown through the LD in order to obtain large output by the LD excitation. Therefore, the life of the LD becomes short, and as a result, the LD excitation costs highly in comparison with the flash lamp excitation. Because of the above reason, most of solid lasers for the LD excitation have small output, and are in the development stage for attaining industrial lasers with large output in the present situation. On the other hand, a flash lamp can emit very strong light. Thus, the laser excited by the flash lamp has large output. However, in the oscillation by the flash lamp excitation, electrons excited by instantaneously input energy are released all at once, and thus, the laser output time becomes very short. As described above, the present solid laser has large output but has the very short output time. Therefore, it is difficult that the formation of the crystal grain, of which the grain size is equal to or larger than that of the crystal grain formed by laser crystallization using the excimer laser, is realized by laser crystallization using the solid laser. Note that the output time indicates half-width in one pulse through this specification.
Here, crystallization of a semiconductor film is conducted using a YAG laser that is a typical solid laser. The YAG laser with flash lamp excitation is used. The laser beam of the YAG laser is modulated into second harmonic by a nonlinear optical element, and then, the second harmonic is processed to have a linear shape of 10 cm length or more in an optical system to thereby irradiate a silicon film. The grain size of the crystal grain formed by laser annealing using the YAG laser has been much smaller than that of the crystal grain formed by using the excimer laser. The state of the crystal grains formed using the YAG laser is shown in FIG. 6. When a TFT is manufactured using a crystalline semiconductor film having the above crystal grain, a large number of crystal grain boundaries exist in a channel forming region that has an important influence on the electrical characteristic of the TFT, which becomes a factor in reduction of the electrical characteristic. As described above, the fact that the present solid laser has large output but has a very short output time can be given as the reason that only a small crystal grain is formed by laser annealing using the solid laser. Further, as another reason, the fact is given that only the energy density lower than that suitable for crystallization is obtained in case of the linear shape of 10 cm length or more. Of course, as the countermeasure against this case, it is considered that laser annealing is performed using the laser beam condensed to the energy density suitable for crystallization. However, it is desirable that the laser annealing with the YAG laser is conducted with at least approximately the same process efficiency as the laser annealing with the excimer laser. In order to achieve this, it is preferable that a laser beam is processed into the linear beam of which the length is approximately equal to or larger than that of the laser beam of the excimer laser.
Further, in the SLS method, a precise control of micron order is needed for the technique of relative positioning between a mask and a substrate, and thus, the complicated laser irradiation apparatus is required in comparison with normal one. Further, there is a problem on throughput in the case where the SLS method is used in manufacturing a TFT applied to a liquid crystal display having a large surface area.
Moreover, in the method announced by Matsumura et al., a phase shift mask for making an energy gradient of a laser beam needs to be used. Therefore, the precise control of micron order is needed for the technique of relative positioning between the phase shift mask and an embedded insulating layer, and also, the complicated laser irradiation apparatus is required in comparison with normal one.

Laser irradiation method and method of manufacturing a semiconductor device

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


The present invention provides a diagnostic and control system for a patient support, wherein the patient support includes one or more of a plurality of electronic elements. Such elements may include load sensors, tilt sensors, actuators for adjusting patient support angles, in addition to other electronic elements. The diagnostic and control system can enable the specific control of each of these electronic element for desired operation thereof and further can enable monitoring of the operating conditions of these electronic elements and additional patient support conditions.

Temporary and long term care of a patient generally requires that the patient be supported for the duration of the treatment. Currently available hospital beds are equipped with a number of complex mechanical and electrical subsystems which provide positioning, weight monitoring, and other functions related to patient's care. Despite their inherent complexity, these systems need to be easy to interact with and used by the caregiver. The ease of use and operation is of critical importance, particularly in emergency situations. Due to the complexity and required minimal downtime for these forms of beds, the status of such systems needs to be constantly monitored, which currently is performed by technicians in order to ensure desired functionality of the patient support is maintained. This form of monitoring and potentially diagnosis of problems with a patient support can be both time consuming and costly.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,897,780 to Ulrich, et al., entitled "Patient support Status Information System for Hospital Beds" discloses an information distribution system for a hospital, including a patient support having a signal generator for generating a first signal indicative of a condition of the patient support.
Therefore there is a need for a control and diagnostic system for integration into a multifunctional patient support that can overcome the identified problems in the prior art and provide the desired functionality with a reduced level of human intervention.
This background information is provided to reveal information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance to the present invention. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present invention.

Diagnostic and control system for a patient support


Various embodiments include wafer level chip scale package (WLCSP) structures and methods of tuning such structures. In some embodiments, the WLCSP structure includes: a printed circuit board (PCB) trace connection including at least one PCB ground connection connected with a PCB ground plane; a set of ground solder balls each contacting the printed circuit board trace connection; a set of chip pads contacting each of the ground solder balls in the set of ground solder balls; a chip ground plane connecting the set of chip pads; and a signal interconnect interposed between two of the set of ground solder balls, the signal interconnect including: a signal trace connection electrically isolated from the PCB ground plane; a signal ball contacting the signal PCB trace connection; a chip pad contacting the signal ball, and a signal trace connection on a chip contacting the chip pad.

As silicon technologies have advanced, the bandwidth at which circuits utilizing those technologies can perform has also advanced. Packaging these circuits (e.g., those capable of bandwidths up to approximately 100 Giga-Hertz (GHz)) can be particularly challenging as silicon technologies have advanced. Some conventional approaches have involved using wafer level chip scale packaging (WLCSP) for some millimeter-wave circuit products. WLCSP involves mounting a chip directly on a printed circuit board (PCB), eliminating the need for a package carrier (employed in older approaches).
However, conventional WLCSP has shortcomings, including for example: a) standard conventional WLCSP uses relatively large ball diameters (approximately 250 micrometers (um) for 400 um pitch-minimum ball pitch on PCB for current cost effectiveness) and height (approximately 200 um for 250 um ball diameter). This conventional WLCSP has been shown to incur a −10 dB return loss bandwidth of approximately 70 GHz; and b) specialized conventional WLCSP designs use relatively small ball diameters, e.g., approximately 30 um to approximately 100 um, which may extend the bandwidth of the packaging to approximately 100 GHz. However, the specialized designs have higher manufacturing costs (relative to the standard designs), can cause wafer test issues due to the small ball size, and can also have performance inconsistency between designs utilizing and not utilizing PCB pads, which may result in wafer test yield issues.

Millimeter wave wafer level chip scale packaging (WLCSP) device

International Business Machines Corporation


A backlight includes a case, pluralities of light sources, pluralities of needles, pluralities of supporting portions, a first optical sheet, a second optical sheet, and pluralities of first microstructures. The light sources are disposed inside the case, the needles are disposed on the bottom surface of the case, and the supporting portions are disposed on the needles. The first optical sheet is supported on the top of the needles. The second optical sheet placed under the first optical sheet has pluralities of holes, and the needles penetrate the holes. The second optical sheet is supported on the supporting portions. The first microstructures are disposed on the first optical sheet or on the second optical sheet to provide a light condensing function.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a backlight module and particularly to a backlight module which has two optical sheets.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years, the traditional cathode ray tube display (commonly called CRT display) has been gradually replaced by a liquid crystal display (LCD). The main reason is that the LCD releases far less radiation than the CRT display. Moreover, the production cost of the LCD has dropped significantly in recent years. In general, the LCD includes a backlight module and a liquid crystal panel. The backlight module mainly aims to provide a light source for the LCD.
Refer to FIG. 1 for a conventional backlight module 100 which includes a case 110, a cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) 120, a diffusion plate 130, an optical film 140 and a plurality of needles 150. The CCFL 120 is located in the case 110 which has a reflective sheet (not shown in the drawing) on the inside surface to use light generated by the CCFL 120 more effectively. The diffusion plate 130 mainly diffuses the light generated by the CCFL 120 so that the light can be projected more evenly to the liquid crystal panel (not shown in the drawing) without creating uneven luminosity on the display of the LCD. The needles 150 aim to support the diffusion plate 130 to prevent it from warping due to its own weight.
In addition, the optical film 140 further includes a brightness enhancement film (BEF) 144. As the diffusion plate 130 cannot fully overcome the uneven luminosity, a diffusion film 142 is added to evenly diffuse the light. Moreover, light exited from the diffusion film 142 has a greater light exit angle. Hence, the BEF 144 is disposed on the diffusion film 142. The BEF 144 has a thickness about 0.062 mm to 0.375 mm and a plurality of prism structures 144a formed at an upper side thereof to converge light. Thus, the exit angle of the light emitting from the BEF 144 becomes smaller. Therefore, the luminosity within the visual angle of the backlight module 100 is enhanced.
Due to manufacturing process and material, the BEF 144 often is the most expensive item in the backlight module 100. In order to reduce the total cost of the backlight module 100, some producers use a less expensive prism plate to replace the BEF 144. However, the prism plate is thicker and, thus, the total thickness of the backlight module 100 also becomes thicker. Hence, how to use the prism plate without increasing the thickness of the backlight module 100 is an issue remained to be resolved in the industry.

Backlight module having two optical sheets


The semiconductor device includes a device isolation structure formed in a semiconductor substrate to define an active region, a bridge type channel structure formed in the active region, and a coaxial type gate electrode surrounding the bridge type channel structure of a gate region. The bridge type channel structure is separated from the semiconductor substrate thereunder by a predetermined distance in a vertical direction.

The present invention relates to a memory device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a semiconductor device having a coaxial type gate structure and a method for fabricating the same.
When the channel length of a cell transistor is decreased, the ion concentration of the cell channel structure is generally increased in order to maintain threshold voltage of the cell transistor. Due to the increase in the ion concentration of the cell channel structure, an electric field in the source/drain regions of the cell transistor is enhanced to increase leakage current. This results in the degradation of the refresh characteristics of a DRAM structure. In addition, as the semiconductor device shrinks to smaller sizes, it is difficult to solve problems regarding the short channel effect ("SCE"). Therefore, new structures of the transistor such as a recess gate transistor and a fin channel transistor have been proposed to increase the channel length of the cell transistor.
However, these structures of the semiconductor device can not completely surround the channel structure of the transistor, which causes problems in gate controllability and the performance of the device. Accordingly, there is a need for a new structure of the transistor in order to improve the gate controllability and performance of the device.

Semiconductor device and method for fabricating same


A contact fuse is provided. The contact fuse includes a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor and a control circuit having outputs coupled to a plurality of terminals of the MOS transistor. The control circuit is operable to forward bias a body-source junction during a programming operation and operable to short the body-source junction during a sensing operation. A method of operating a contact fuse is also provided.

Fuse elements are commonly used in integrated circuits to improve manufacturing yield or customize a circuit. Large numbers of fuses are presently used to implement increasingly sophisticated integrated circuit programming. The implementation of a particular design can require the blowing of thousands of fuses of an integrated circuit. To obtain high numbers of properly programmed devices, the fuses must be blown with an extremely high yield. Continuing refinements in the materials and processes used to fabricate integrated circuits with increasingly smaller and faster transistor components present constant new challenges to fuse designs.
In addition, a large process variation during fabrication operations usually results in either under-programming or over-programming from die to die and from wafer to wafer. Under-programming may be caused by a high resistance of the pre-burn fuse element and/or weak transistor. Over-programming may be caused by a low resistance of the pre-burn fuse element and/or strong transistor. Both of these results are undesirable. Under-programming leads to an incorrect result because a fuse is not completely blown. Over-programming may cause collateral damage, as well as recovery of open fuses, leading to low manufacturing yield and reduced reliability.
It is within this context that the embodiments arise.


An information display system has a display screen which is substantially transparent to a selected band of wavelengths of light and can be mounted on a window. A projector projects an image of light of the wavelengths to which the display screen responds onto the screen to reflect or transmit the selected wavelengths of light from the screen. The screen is formed as a holographic optical element which reflects the light such that an observer is able to see the projected image from the display screen only if his eyes are within a predetermined area, while observers outside of the area see only a substantially transparent display screen on the window.

Head-up display (HUD) systems have been developed for aircraft in which the pilot can view the surroundings of the aircraft through a transparent screen on which is superimposed additional visually observable information in either alpha-numeric or symbolic form. Various types of display screens have been proposed, including holograms which transmit light from a projector toward the position of the observer's eyes. An example of such a system is shown in the U.S. Pat. No. to Freeman, 4,261,635.
Holographic optical element systems have also been developed which utilize a hologram to reflect or transmit light from a projector to a specific design eye location, such as within a cockpit of an airplane. The image is redirected only to an area at which the viewer may observe the image and is not directed to other areas, as exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,798,426 and 5,037,166 to Malcolm and Neuperger, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. The display screen is a holographic optical element which behaves as a reflector or transmitter of high efficiency for a specific, narrow bandwidth of light and which may be translucent or optically clear to all other visible light.
A typical projector for projecting light onto a holographic optical element display screen for cockpit type displays is a cathode ray tube (CRT) with a phosphor coating having a spectral emission at or near the responsive wavelength of the display screen, and a relay lens assembly. Such systems are effective since the CRT projector is mounted relatively close to the display screen and the pilot is seated close to the display screen. However, the light projected from the CRT may not be sufficient in situations where the display screen is more distantly spaced from the projector or from an observer than is typical in airplane cockpit situations, or where it is desired to have a display screen that is substantially larger than those typically contained within a cockpit.

Information display system having transparent holographic optical element


An improved fishing rod holder (10) made of wire includes a U-shaped cradle (24) loosely suspended from an arm (20) attached at the upper end of a vertically extending leg (18), the leg is further secured at the bottom end to a base (15). In accordance with the invention the fishing rod holder is especially adapted to be reactive and responsive under the subtle conditions of ice fishing. Second (30) and third (50) embodiments are also disclosed.

Various fishing rod holders have been available heretofore for holding fishing rods. Some are adapted for holding a single rod; others for holding multiple rods at once, either during transport or during fishing. Further, some fishing rod holders are only suitable for use on a boat when fishing on open water, while others may only be suitable for use when fishing off of a dock or from a shoreline instead of on open water.
Fishing rod holders that are particularly adapted for ice fishing have also been available heretofore because the requirements for ice fishing are different. Ice fishing rods tend to be short and light. The line is light. The bait is usually small and light. A different technique is required as well because ice fishing takes place through a hole in the ice while the fisherman sits in a fish house or out in the open on a frozen lake. The fish often tend to be sluggish and less active during the winter, which in turn can make it difficult to determine whether a fish has taken the bait.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,322,148 and 5,038,511 are representative of the prior art in this regard. The '148 patent to Coulman shows an ice rigger apparatus in which an indicator flag is released if a fish takes the bait. This is typically known as a tip up.
The '511 patent to Gessner shows a collapsible fishing red holder that is simply adapted to hold the rod off of the ice without any indication whether a fish has taken the bait.
While some ice fishing rod holders of the prior art are responsive to a fish taking the bait and pulling the line down, they are not adapted to indicate when a fish just nudges the bait sideways or even takes it but doesn't pull the line down. The prior fishing rod holders are not sensitive enough to detect this, and even if a bobber is being used and the fisherman is staring right at it, any movement of the bobber could be too subtle for the fisherman to notice.
A need has thus arisen for a new and unique reactive fishing rod holder that is particularly adapted for the conditions of ice fishing.


An extraction cleaner having a cleanout tool for use with a surface cleaning apparatus such as an extraction cleaner or vacuum cleaner includes a nozzle cleaning implement and a brush cleaning implement.

Extraction cleaners are well-known surface cleaning apparatuses for deep cleaning carpets and other fabric surfaces, such as upholstery. Most carpet extractors comprise a fluid delivery system and a fluid recovery system. The fluid delivery system typically includes one or more fluid supply tanks for storing a supply of cleaning fluid, a fluid distributor for applying the cleaning fluid to the surface to be cleaned, and a fluid supply conduit for delivering the cleaning fluid from the fluid supply tank to the fluid distributor. An agitator can be provided for agitating the cleaning fluid on the surface. The fluid recovery system usually comprises a recovery tank, a nozzle adjacent the surface to be cleaned and in fluid communication with the recovery tank through a working air conduit, and a source of suction in fluid communication with the working air conduit to draw the cleaning fluid from the surface to be cleaned and through the nozzle and the working air conduit to the recovery tank. Other surface cleaning apparatuses include vacuum cleaners, which can have a nozzle adjacent the surface to be cleaned in fluid communication with a collection system and an agitator can be provided for agitating the cleaning fluid on the surface.

Extraction cleaner and cleanout tool for the same


A system, device and method that is configured to operate an active noise reduction system for a motor vehicle, where there is an adaptive feed-forward noise reduction system input sine wave at a frequency to be cancelled, and where the adaptive feed-forward noise reduction system includes an adaptive filter that outputs noise reduction signals that are used to drive one or more transducers with their outputs directed to reduce engine noise, and further includes an input transducer with an output signal that is a source of a control signal for the adaptive filter. The output signal of the input transducer is filtered before it reaches the adaptive filter so as to reduce the level of the output signal of the input transducer at one or more frequencies that are close to the frequency of the input sine wave.

Engine harmonic cancellation systems are adaptive feed-forward noise reduction systems that are used in motor vehicles, for example in cabins or in muffler assemblies, to reduce or cancel engine harmonic noise. Engine harmonic cancellation systems often use one or more microphones as input transducers. A sine wave at the frequency to be cancelled is also used as an input to an adaptive filter. The adaptive filter can alter the magnitude and/or the phase of the input sine wave. The output of the adaptive filter is applied to one or more transducers that produce sound (i.e., loudspeakers) that is acoustically opposite to the undesirable engine harmonics that are to be canceled. The aim of the system is to cancel the microphone signal at the frequency or frequencies of interest. In order to do so, the loudspeaker outputs have a negative gain.
Because the transfer function of the volume in which noise is being cancelled can change over time, such engine harmonic cancellation systems can significantly amplify noise at frequencies that are close to the frequency of the input sine wave. Schemes that are aimed to mitigate this noise amplification problem result in reduction of the cancellation performance of the system.

Motor vehicle adaptive feed-forward noise reduction


The Electric Jetpack Device has multiple electric ducted or clustered electric jets to create enough/sufficient controlled thrust with battery power alone. It is a lightweight vertical take-off with the electrical power of rechargeable batteries for a safe, vertical lift off vehicle. It is capable of carrying an average human or equivalent payload and flying for several minutes per charge. Motors and propellers are powered by the batteries and managed through an Electronic Speed Controller and a flight controller. The Flight Controller balances thrust and limits roll from side to side. By moving the control handles connected and mounted to an aluminum frame, the device and craft is directed. The pivots tilt the cluster of jetpacks slightly forward or back. The frame is connected to a harness, in which the pilot is strapped. The craft is modular and can be connected to another craft creating a “quadcopter” set-up.

An extensive search for similar devices yielded no remarkable results. As far as known, there are no Electric JetPack Devices or the like that are functionally equivalent. Further none demonstrate the electrical power from batteries in a lightweight, belt-like cluster of small, multiple electric JetPack thrusters or framework and ducted propellers to propel a person into flight with vertical take-off integral wind turbine recharging capability. It is believed that this product is unique in its design and technologies.
In the early 1960 years jetpacks were developed with which a single person can move the fly. Disadvantage of this, devices based on the reaction principle is the very short flight time, the high energy consumption and the fact that due to the strong development of heat, the pilot must wear insulating protective clothing. In addition, the pilot has a defect in the drive had no opportunity to land controlled. Vertical take-off end of aircraft, such as helicopters belong to the rotorcraft. In this case, generated by one or more motor-driven rotary-wing lift and propulsion. The operation of a modern helicopter is significantly more expensive compared to a fixed-wing aircraft with comparable payload. Therefore, the usual fields of application limited to military purposes and the area of air rescue.
Today, there are vertical take-off and propulsion mechanisms. Some are relatively small and are designed to be strapped onto a person's back while others are larger and can be used to power an aircraft, such as a helicopter or an airplane. A small power pack used to lift a person is sometimes referred to as a jetpack. Jetpacks usually include some kind of motor or engine which can utilize air velocity or water velocity to lift and propel a person through the air. Some propulsion mechanisms can utilize a power driven shaft with radiating blades, propellers, vanes, wings, etc. placed so as to thrust air or water in a desired direction when spinning to generate sufficient force to lift and propel a person through the air. Many of these devices operate on fossil fuels, such as hydrogen, gasoline, propane or high-octane jet fuel, while others infrequently rely on electrical batteries.
Regardless of the different designs, there is constant effort by engineers to create a more efficient propulsion mechanism. Thus, the need exists to provide a simple and cost-effective VTOL aircraft for at least one person. Now a propulsion mechanism has been invented which can generate sufficient lift and mobility to propel a person or an aircraft, such as a helicopter or an airplane, through the air in an efficient and cost-effective manner.


A software verification system including a cloud service, a plurality of test nodes, a client manager, and an expediter is disclosed. The cloud service is a commercially available shared resource service having two or more physical machines, each of which is configured to host a plurality of virtual machines. Each test node is one virtual machine running a platform. The client manager manages a verification session between one of the clients and the verification system. The expediter recognizes the available platforms for use by the test nodes in a cloud service pool of servers and a local pool of servers. When a clients requests the verification session to use a specific platform, the expediter obtains a network address of an available test node running the specified platform and connects the requesting client to the available test node running the requested platform. If the requested platform is not available, a new virtual machine, located in the local pool of servers, having the requested platform is started and connected with the requesting client.

A web application generally refers to a server hosted software application that is accessed via a client resident web browser running over a network such as the Internet. Web application may also refer to such server software application that is coded in browser supported languages, such as HTML, JavaScript, Java, etc., and reliant on the client web browser to render the application executable. Accordingly, web applications may exemplarily include any of web pages, web sites, remotely executable applications and application modules, scripts, objects, applets, interfaces and the like, and any and all other instruction sets or procedures that can be remotely executed on a server through a browser interface at a client in network communication with the server with the results of such execution being returned to the client and rendered at the browser interface.
In a cloud service, which conventionally is a commercially available shared resource service, a single physical machine will be configured to host a plurality of virtual machines. Typically, a provider of the cloud service will have multiple physical machines, each of which hosts respective ones of the plurality of virtual machines.
Generally, any one of the virtual machines may be made available to a network connected client, generally upon presentation and authentication of credentials needed to access the cloud service, such that a connection can be established between the network client and the available virtual machine. Once the connection has been established, the network connected client may launch, run or execute one or more programs on the connected virtual machine at which substantially all I/O operations occur under the control of the network connected client as if such programs were being executed locally.
Additionally, the client, prior to launching and running any application in the cloud service may specify either or both of a particular release version of such application and a particular release version of the operating system upon which such application is to run. Taken together, the application and operating system version are referred to herein as a platform. Upon request by the network connected client for a particular platform, the cloud service determines if such platform currently exists and is otherwise idle, and therefore available for connection with such client.
Should the requested platform be available, the cloud service will accommodate the request and connect the client to the virtual machine having the requested platform. However, in the event no such idle virtual machine having the requested platform is available, then the cloud service will issue a run command to start a new virtual machine with such platform.
Typically, the cloud service may have an image cache of virtual machine images from which an image of such platform can be copied, should an image for such platform already exist. If an image does exist for the specified platform, the image is copied to the physical machine and the new virtual machine is started from such image, as is conventionally known. Once the image is copied and the virtual machine is available for use, the physical machine then sends an indication thereof to the cloud service. The cloud service may then in turn notify the network client of the availability of the virtual machine, thereby allowing connection by the network client to such virtual machine.
However, a significant time delay exists from the time that the cloud service issues the run command to the time the new virtual machine is running and available for connection with the client. This inherent time delay disadvantageously limits the ability of the client to execute a desired application on the virtual machine in real time.
Moreover, if an image of the desired platform does not exist in the image cache, then the cloud service must start a new virtual machine, and once started then configure it for such platform. It should be recognized by those skilled in the art that the time interval from which a request for a specific platform is made until such time a virtual machine is started, configured to have the specified platform, and finally made available to the network client would be unacceptably excessive.
Even when the virtual machine with the desired platform can be started from an image copied from the image cache, the inherent time delay is nonetheless disadvantageous to users who need access to multiple platforms provided by the cloud service in real time. For example, such users may include web application developers who need to verify that their applications will execute properly on any one of the potential platforms that may exist on any one of a variety of clients of various makes and models used to access such applications.
In the above referenced related application, a web application verification system for such developers is disclosed. The disclosed verification system is useful to verify in real time the compatibility of a web application on a test node of a specified platform. Exemplarily, the web application is to be hosted on a server generally accessible to Internet users, each having any one of the variety of network clients as discussed above. To perform the test, the web developer will go through the verification system command test nodes, each of which may be a virtual machine of a respective specified platform in the cloud service, to access the hosted web application and perform various test operations thereat. Results of the test operations may be recorded at each of the test nodes and made available to the web developer through the verification system.
More particularly, the disclosed verification system includes, in addition to the test nodes, a client manager and an expediter. The client manager is operative to manage a session between the verification system and the network client that has connected to the verification system. The expediter is made cognizant of all available test nodes and their respective platforms in the cloud service.
During the session, the developer at the developer client will for each compatibility test to be run specify the desired platform on which test commands selected by the developer are to execute. If a test node having the specified platform is currently available, the expediter will inform the client manager of such availability by giving to the client manager the location of such test node, typically specified by its URL, so that the client manager can connect thereto.
In the event a test node for the specified platform is not currently available when requested, the expediter will endeavor to launch a new test node having such platform. However, in the cloud service as described above, the wait time until such server is launched and becomes available to the client may result in excessive delay, typically on the order of tens of minutes.
To mitigate such delay, the related application discloses therein that the verification system may further include a local server pool, which may be local test nodes configured as either or both of static or virtual machines. In the event the expediter is unable to locate one or more test nodes of the required platform in the cloud service, the expediter will look to the local server pool and make one of its test nodes that matches the required platform available to the client.
In the event the local pool does not currently contain a test node of the requisite platform, the expediter is operative to cause a new test node with such platform to be launched in the local pool and then be made available to the session client, as discussed above. Since a test node in the local server pool can be launched in only several seconds, the wait time until it becomes available to the session client is accordingly minimal, thereby allowing the test to proceed in real time.
As the test node in the local pool is made available, the expediter will also request the cloud service to provide an additional test node matching the platform of the local pool test node currently in use. As soon as the test node in the cloud service becomes available, the expediter, as disclosed in the related application, will direct all further tests to the cloud service test node of the identical platform configuration. Accordingly, as disclosed in the related application, the local pool acts as a short term "burst" server, wherein the virtual machines running in the pool are to be maintained optimally as idle.

Real time verification of web applications


The present invention relates to novel active compound combinations comprising at least one known compound of the formula (I)

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to novel active compound combinations comprising firstly at least one known compound of the formula (I) and secondly at least one further active compound from the class of pyrethroids, which combinations are highly suitable for controlling animal pests, such as insects and unwanted acarids.
Description of Related Art
It is known that phthalic acid amides (Ryanodine receptor inhibitors class) have insecticidal activity (see, e.g., EP 0 919 542, WO 2004/018410 or WO 2010/012442). Cyano group containing phthalic acid amide-based compounds and their preparation are further disclosed in WO 2012/034472.
Furthermore, it is already known that numerous heterocycles, organotin compounds, benzoyl-ureas and pyrethroids have insecticidal and acaricidal properties. However, the activity of these compounds is not always satisfactory.

Active compound combinations having insecticidal properties

Abstract: in which X, R1 to R4, A, n, Y, and m are as defined in the description, and at least one further known active compound from the class of the pyrethroids, which combinations are highly suitable for controlling animal pests such as insects and unwanted acarids.


A broad-range light-detection system. In some embodiments, the system includes apparatus and methods for detecting light with high accuracy over a broad range of intensities. In other embodiments, the system includes apparatus and methods for automatically scaling the detection range to improve detection based on the intensity of the detected light. In yet other embodiments, the system includes apparatus and methods for detecting light with increased speed, particularly in applications involving analysis of successive samples.

The invention relates to light detection, and more particularly to a broad-range light-detection system.
Systems that involve the detection of light are used in a variety of contexts. In particular, systems that involve the detection and subsequent analysis of light are used in performing optical spectroscopic assays, including luminescence and absorption assays. These assays are used to characterize the components and properties of molecular systems, and recently have been used in high-throughput screening procedures to identify candidate drug compounds. Optical spectroscopic assays include fluorescence polarization (FP), fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET), fluorescence lifetime (FLT), total internal reflection (TIR) fluorescence, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP), and their phosphorescence analogs, among others. Optical spectroscopic assays also include absorption assays.
Unfortunately, light detection systems suffer from a number of shortcomings. Such systems may be limited in range, so that they accurately detect light only within some relatively narrow range of intensities. Such systems also may require user intervention to alter the detection range, if the range may be altered at all. Such systems also may be limited to either discrete or analog detection, so that either they discretely count individual quanta or photons of light, or they integrate an analog value corresponding to such quanta, but they do not do both. Such systems also may require significant periods of time to make measurements. These shortcomings may be found singly or in combination, and these shortcomings may be particularly significant in the context of high-throughput screening, where it may be necessary to perform tens or hundreds of thousands of measurements per day.
The invention comprises a broad-range light-detection system. In some embodiments, the system includes apparatus and methods for detecting light with high accuracy over a broad range of intensities. In other embodiments, the system includes apparatus and methods for automatically scaling the detection range to improve detection based on the intensity of the detected light. In yet other embodiments, the system includes apparatus and methods for detecting light with increased speed, particularly in applications involving analysis of successive samples.


This disclosure provides a memory system and device for synchronizing response across multiple memory devices, whether arranged serially upon a single data bus, in parallel across multiple data busses, or both. A memory controller periodically configures the system by separately placing each memory chip into a configuration mode. While in this mode, the chip is polled by the controller along the corresponding data bus, and the chip responds with a reply. The controller uses this reply to compute elapsed time between polling and the reply. Using all of the chips, the controller determines the maximum response time, in terms of elapsed clock cycles. Based on this maximum time, and the individual response times for each chip, the controller then programs each chip with a number which defines chip-based delay for responses to data read operations. In this manner, successive data reads can be performed on successive clock cycles without awaiting prior completion of earlier data reads. In addition, in a multiple data bus system, the controller is not delayed by having to wait for all simultaneous data reads across a wide bus. The disclosure provides a memory system for dealing with response skew over integer clock cycles and can be used with other systems for synchronizing clock cycle phase across multiple memory devices, for example, as set forth by U.S. Pat. No. 4,998,262.

As computers and their central processing units ("CPUs") become capable of executing instructions more rapidly, this ability carries with it a need for increased memory size and speed, and also bus size. The need has given rise to much design effort directed toward optimizing current and future memory device designs to provide quick memory response. Commonly-recognized current examples of memory devices include dynamic random access memories ("dRAMs"), read only memories ("ROMs") and synchronous random access memories ("SRAMs"), as well as mechanical and optical devices, such as CD-ROMs.
In performing a typical data read operation, a memory controller (usually the CPU or a dedicated memory controller in larger systems) sends a read command to a particular memory chip. This command is propagated to the chip along one or more lines of a command bus. When received by the particular chip, the command causes the chip to locate and direct an output from its internal memory array onto a data bus, as a return data signal intended for the memory controller. The output then propagates along the data bus, which may or may not travel the same route as the command bus. In the example just given, there are four sources of time delay, including the propagation time of a read command from the controller to the chip, the time required for the chip to power its internal registers and channel the proper output onto the data bus, and the time required for propagation of the output back to the controller. The fourth source of time delay, present in systems which have split data busses (e.g., with separate, parallel data busses carrying bit-groups of different significance), is controller delay caused by slow retrieval along one of the parallel data busses. Typically, design efforts have focussed only on reducing the second of these times, that is, on improving internal routing and processing of instructions within memory chips.
The design efforts mentioned above, however, while continually providing more responsive memory devices, do not enable synchronization across multiple busses, nor do they eliminate the possibility of simultaneous bus contention among multiple memory chips, a problem explained with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
Bus Contention.
FIG. 1 illustrates a hypothetical memory system 21 which is accessed by a CPU 22. The memory system 21 includes a memory controller 23, a command bus 25, a data bus 27, and two memory devices 29 and 31 which are, in the example of FIG. 1, RAM chips. The command bus includes a system clock signal 33, issued by the controller, a data read signal 35, and an address bus 37. Each of the RAM chips 29 and 31 are presumed to be at different distances from the controller 23 from the standpoint of bus wiring, such that commands take a slightly different amount of time to reach each chip. FIG. 2 provides timing diagrams for purposes of explaining the problem of simultaneous bus contention.
It is desired for the memory system 21 to operate as quickly as possible, so the controller 23 will issue three data read commands on consecutive clock cycles; the first and third of these commands are directed to each of the aforementioned RAM chips 29 and 31, and the second command is unimportant to the present discussion and, so, it is indicated by a dash (-). It is presumed that the system clock has a frequency of 250 megahertz, so the width of each square pulse of FIG. 2A has an associated "high" time of 2 nanoseconds. FIG. 2B illustrates the issuance of two data read operations 39 and 41 by the memory controller, respectively labeled "X" and "Y," which then propagate along the command bus toward their intended RAM chip destinations.
FIG. 2C indicates timing of command "X" response by a first one 29 of the RAM chips, whereas FIG. 2D indicates timing of command "Y" response by the second one 31 of the RAM chips. The first chip 29, as indicated by FIG. 2C, receives its command "X" 8 clock cycles after it has been propagated, and beginning on the ninth clock cycle, takes 20 nanoseconds to retrieve and place its output "D-X" onto the data bus. By contrast, the second chip 31, as indicated by FIG. 2D receives its command "Y" only 7 clock cycles after it has been propagated, and it also takes 20 nanoseconds to place its output "D-Y" onto the data bus. If the output for each RAM chip 29 and 31 takes the same amount of propagation time to return to the controller as was the case for the commands to originally reach the RAM chips, then both outputs "D-X" and "D-Y" will arrive at the controller 23 at the same time, as indicated by a hatched block 43 of FIG. 2E. It will be noted that the address bus and data bus have been indicated, in this example, to have similar propagation times associated with them, though this result will not necessarily be the case in memory system designs in which the command bus and data bus are separately routed. Further, while only two memory devices are indicated above, it will readily be seen that the problem of bus contention is particularly complicated as the number of memory devices is increased, and as CPUs become more and more efficient, operating at multi-hundred megahertz frequencies and greater.
There exists a definite need for a memory system which permits simultaneous response along multiple, parallel data busses. Also, there exists a definite need for a system that avoids simultaneous bus contention between multiple memory devices along one data bus. Preferably, such a system would address situations where propagation times for reaching individual chips may differ by an entire clock cycle or greater. By avoiding multiple device bus contention, it is hoped that memory controllers, such as CPUs and dedicated memory controllers, can perform data read and write operations on consecutive clock cycles, thereby keeping pace with CPU design, and the tendency toward increased computer speed and memory capacity. The present invention solves these needs and provides further, related advantages.