An exhaust gas purification system provided with a trapping device (6) arranged on an engine exhaust passage and trapping particulate matter in the exhaust gas, an ozone generator (21) for generating ozone, and an ozone adsorbent (22) able to adsorb ozone, wherein at least part of the ozone generated by said ozone generator is adsorbed by said ozone adsorbent and, when particulate matter trapped on said trapping device should be removed, ozone adsorbed on the ozone adsorbent is desorbed from the ozone adsorbent and supplied to the trapping device. Due to this, it is possible to use an ozone generator with a relatively low ozone generating ability to burn off PM trapped on a filter etc. efficiently.

In general, exhaust gas of a compression ignition type internal combustion engine (diesel type internal combustion engine) often contains so-called PM (particulate matter) formed mainly of carbon (C). This PM becomes a cause of deterioration of visibility and deposition of stain on buildings. For this reason, many internal combustion engines provide their exhaust passages with particulate filters (hereinafter referred to as "filters") etc. so as to trap the PM in the exhaust gas, and burn off the PM trapped on the filters by adding fuel to the exhaust gas, and burning the added fuel on the filters, or by using heaters to heat the filters, etc. to make the filters high in temperature.
However, if raising the temperature of a filter to burn off the PM in the exhaust gas in this way, the amount of fuel consumption increases with both the methods of adding fuel and heating by a heater and therefore deterioration of the fuel economy is invited. Therefore, in recent years, note has been taken of the point that ozone enables PM to be burned off even at a low temperature, and methods of using plasma to generate ozone and running the generated ozone into the filters etc. to remove the PM trapped on the filters etc. have been proposed.
Japanese National Patent Publication (A) No. 2005-502823 discloses an exhaust gas purification system providing a plasma generator at an upstream side of a filter in the exhaust, using this plasma generator to generate ozone or nitrogen dioxide, running the generated ozone or nitrogen dioxide into the filter, and burning the PM trapped on the filter. In this exhaust gas purification system, when the temperature of the exhaust gas is lower than a certain temperature threshold value (for example, 200° C.), the plasma generator mainly generates ozone, while when it is that temperature threshold value or more, the plasma generator mainly generates nitrogen dioxide. This is done because the power consumed when generating ozone is larger than the power consumed when generating nitrogen dioxide, so ozone is only generated in a temperature range where the ability of nitrogen dioxide to oxidize the PM is low, that is, a temperature range lower than the above temperature threshold value.
In this regard, the temperature of the exhaust gas in a compression ignition type internal combustion engine is a comparatively low. States of a temperature lower than the temperature threshold value continuing are not uncommon. For this reason, in the exhaust gas purification system, in many cases, the plasma generator generates ozone to burn off the PM trapped on the filter and therefore the power consumption becomes great.
Further, if trying burn off PM by ozone after a certain degree of PM has been trapped by the filter, a large amount of ozone would have to be generated in a relatively short time. If trying to generate a large amount of ozone in a short time, not only will the power consumption become large, but also the plasma generator will have to have a high ozone generating ability which will therefore end up inviting an increase in production costs.

Exhaust gas purification system utilizing ozone


A seamless tube useful in making a roofing batten is extruded from a polymeric material consisting essentially of a major amount of poly(ethylene terephthalate) and a minor amount of at least one polyolefin, flattened in a vacuum sizer so as to define two plies, and milled and drawn so as to orient the tube longitudinally. As milled and drawn, the tube is oriented so as to have a tensile strength of at least about 25,000 psi in a longitudinal direction. The plies are punched so as to have holes therethrough at spaced intervals along the tube. When used to make a roofing batten to coact with conventional fasteners, such as roofing screws, the tube exhibits superior characteristics of split resistance and pull-through resistance.

Roofing battens are used widely in securing flexible membranes to underlying materials. Mechanical fasteners, such as roofing screws, are passed through the battens, which may be pre-punched with holes to accommodate such fasteners. Typically, roofing battens comprise metal, wooden, or polymeric strips.
A polymeric material having particular utility in making a roofing batten is disclosed in Kish et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,963,430. As disclosed therein, the polymeric material comprises a major amount of poly(ethylene terephthalate) and a minor amount of at least one polyolefin, such as polypropylene. As disclosed therein, such material can be substantially mono-axially oriented so as to have a tensile strength of at least about 25,000 psi in the oriented direction.
Other roofing battens made from polymeric materials are disclosed in Russell et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,211 and in Schauffele U.S. Pat. No. 4,445,306. One possible arrangement of roofing battens on a roof is disclosed in Kelly U.S. Pat. No. 4,736,562.
It is disclosed in the copending patent application (Hasan et al. U.S. Ser. No. 07/294,324 filed Jan. 6, 1989) noted above that, as compared to a roofing batten having a single ply, a roofing batten having two plies with a combined thickness equal to the thickness of the single ply provides increased pull-through resistance when used with mechanical fasteners.
Heretofore, for purposes disclosed in the copending application noted above, it has been preferred to make a roofing batten with two plies, in one piece, from a wide strip by folding such strip longitudinally and using an adhesive to bond half portions of such strip to each other. It would be highly desirable to eliminate such strip-folding and adhesive-bonding steps.
A need has been created, to which this invention is addressed, for a better method of manufacturing a roofing batten with two plies.

Seamless tube useful to make roofing battens for incorporation within a building structure system


Compounds of formula (I): in which A, B, X, Ar1, R8 and R4 have any of the meanings given in the specification, are inhibitors of p38 useful in the treatment and prevention of various disorders mediated by p38.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to inhibitors of p38 MAPK and related kinases, pharmaceutical compositions containing the inhibitors, and methods for preparing these inhibitors. The p38 inhibitors of this invention are useful for the treatment of p38 MAPK-mediated diseases and conditions.
2. Description of the State of the Art
A number of chronic and acute inflammatory conditions have been associated with the overproduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Such cytokines include but are not limited to tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β), interleukin 8 (IL-8) and interleukin 6 (IL-6). Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic disease where TNF-α and IL-1β are implicated in the onset of the diseases and in the progression of the bone and joint destruction seen with this debilitating condition. Recently approved therapeutic treatments for RA have included soluble TNF-α receptor (ENBREL™) and IL-1 receptor antagonist (ANAKINRA™). These treatments work by blocking the ability of their respective cytokines to bind to their natural receptors. Alternative methods for treating cytokine-mediated diseases are currently under investigation. One such method involves inhibition of the signaling pathway that regulates the synthesis and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as p38.
P38 (also known as CSBP or RK) is a serine/threonine mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) that has been shown to regulate pro-inflammatory cytokines. P38 MAPK was first identified as a kinase that becomes tyrosine phosphorylated in mouse monocytes following treatment with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). A link between p38 MAPK and the response of cells to cytokines was first established by Saklatvala et al., (Cell, 1994, 78:1039-1049), who showed that IL-1 activates a protein kinase cascade that results in the phosphorylation of the small heat shock protein, Hsp27, probably by mitogen-activated protein activated protein kinase 2 (MAPKAP kinase-2). Analysis of peptide sequences derived from the purified kinase indicated that it was related to the p38 MAPK activated by LPS in mouse monocytes (Han, J., et al., Science, 1994, 265:808-811). At the same time it was shown that p38 MAPK was itself activated by an upstream kinase in response to a variety of cellular stresses, including exposure to UV radiation and osmotic shock, and the identity of the kinase that directly phosphorylates Hsp27 was confirmed as MAPKAP kinase-2 (Rouse, J., et al., Cell, 1994, 78:1027-1037). Subsequently, it was shown that p38 MAPK was the molecular target of a series of pyridinylimidazole compounds that inhibited the production of TNF from LPS-challenged human monocytes (Lee, J., et al., Nature, 372:739-746). This was a key discovery, which has led to the development of a number of selective inhibitors of p38. MAPK and the elucidation of its role in cytokine signaling.
It is now known that multiple forms of p38 MAPK (α, β, γ, δ), each encoded by a separate gene, form part of a kinase cascade involved in the response of cells to a variety of stimuli, including osmotic stress, UV light, and cytokine mediated events. These four isoforms of p38 are thought to regulate different aspects of intracellular signaling. Activation of p38 is part of a cascade of signaling events that lead to the synthesis and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α. P38 functions by phosphorylating downstream substrates that include other kinases and transcription factors. Agents that inhibit p38 MAPK have been shown to block the production of cytokines including, but not limited to, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8 and IL-1β in vitro and in vivo models (Adams, J. L., et al., Progress in Medicinal Chemistry, 2001, 38:1-60).
Peripheral blood monocytes (PBMCs) have been shown to express and secrete pro-inflammatory cytokines when stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in vitro. P38 inhibitors efficiently block this effect when PBMCs are pretreated with such compounds prior to stimulation with LPS (Lee, J. C., et al., Int. J. Immunopharmacol., 1988, 10:835-843). The efficacy of p38 inhibitors in animal models of inflammatory disease has prompted an investigation of the underlying mechanism(s) which could account for the effect of these inhibitors. The role of p38 in the response of cells to IL-1 and TNF has been investigated in a number of cells systems relevant to the inflammatory response using a pyridinyl imidazole inhibitor, such as: endothelial cells and IL-8 (Hashimoto, S., et al., J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther., 2001, 293:370-375), fibroblasts and IL-6/GM-CSF/PGE2 (Beyaert, R., et al., EMBO J., 1996, 15:1914-1923), neutrophils and IL-8 (Albanyan, E. A., et al., Infect. Immun., 2000, 68:2053-2060) macrophages and IL-1 (Caivano, M. and Cohen, P., J. Immunol., 2000, 164:3018-3025), and smooth muscle cells and RANTES (Maruoka, S., et al., Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., 1999, 161:659-668). The destructive effects of many disease states are caused by the over production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. The ability of p38 inhibitors to regulate this overproduction makes them excellent candidates for disease modifying agents.
Known inhibitors of p38 MAPK are active in a variety of widely recognized disease models. Inhibitors of p38 MAPK show positive effects in a number of standard animal models of inflammation including rat collagen-induced arthritis (Jackson, J. R., et al., J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther., 1998, 284:687-692); rat adjuvant-induced arthritis to (Badger, A. M., et al., Arthritis Rheum., 2000, 43:175-183; Badger, A. M., et al., J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther., (1996) 279:1453-1461); and carrageenan-induced paw edema in the mouse (Nishikori, T., et al., Eur. J. Pharm., 2002, 451:327-333). Molecules that block the function of p38 have been shown to be effective in inhibiting bone resorption, inflammation, and other immune and inflammation-based pathologies in these animal models. Thus, a safe and effective p38 inhibitor would provide a means to treat debilitating diseases that can be regulated by modulation of p38 signaling such as, but not limited to, rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
P38 MAPK inhibitors are well known to those skilled in the art. Reviews of early inhibitors have helped establish the structure activity relationships important for enhanced activity both in vitro and in vivo (see, e.g., Salituro, E. G., et al., Current Medicinal Chemistry, (1999) 6:807-823 and Foster, M. L., et al., Drug News Perspect., 2000, 13:488-497). More contemporary reviews have focused on the structural diversity of new inhibitors being explored as p38 inhibitors (Boehm, J. D. and Adams, J. L., Exp. Opin. Ther. Patents, 2000, 10:25-37).
International patent application, publication number WO 04/078116 discloses certain compounds as p38 inhibitors.
It has now been found that one of the compounds exemplified in WO 04/078116 is metabolized in vivo to afford a metabolite that is itself active as a p38 inhibitor. This, in turn has led to the finding of further novel p38 inhibitors.

P38 inhibitors and methods of use thereof


A method, apparatus, and computer program product for determining an amount of storage for a level of detail in a MIP map. It includes identifying a given level of detail; identifying a size for an immediately larger level of detail and a magnitude for each dimension of the immediately larger level of detail; and calculating the amount of storage based on the size and magnitudes without using a multiply operation or a precomputed table of offsets.

The present invention relates generally to computer graphics, and particularly to generating images using MIP maps.
In modern computer graphics systems, a given image may be drawn at a multitude of sizes. For example, to produce an image of a field of tulips, the system may generate an image of a tulip, and then draw the image many times to produce the field. Tulips in the foreground are drawn at a large size, while tulips in the background are drawn at a much smaller size due to their greater distance from the viewer. However, if each tulip image has the same number of pixels, the large tulips may appear blurry while the small tulips may be aliased.
In order to address these problems, and to speed generation of such a display, conventional systems employ a technique called "MIP mapping." The term MIP derives from the Latin phrase "multum in parvum" which means "many things in a small place." According to this technique, multiple versions of the tulip image are generated before rendering the image of the field of tulips. Each version is of a different size and includes an appropriate number of pixels to prevent blurring or aliasing when rendered at that size. Each version is said to be at a different MIP map level of detail (LOD). Together the versions constitute the MIP map for the tulip image.
With MIP mapping, a tulip of a certain size can be drawn by simply selecting the appropriate MIP map LOD. Each LOD is assigned a sequential number, with zero assigned to the LOD having the largest number of pixels (referred to as the "base LOD" or "base image"). Then a particular LOD can be selected by merely specifying its number. Some scaling of the selected LOD is still usually required. But because the selected LOD is close to the right size, only minimal scaling is necessary, thus reducing the time required to scale and the possibility of scaling errors.
Usually a high-resolution base image is subsampled in each dimension by a factor of 2, often all the way down to 1×1 pixels, to create the LODs. When map dimensions are powers of two, it's easy to find the beginning (and end) of a given LOD in memory given a base memory address. Otherwise, a more complex technique is required. One conventional solution is to calculate the amount of storage space for each LOD by simply multiplying the dimensions of that LOD to obtain the size of that LOD. Because the multiply is a time-consuming operation, these calculations are not performed at run time as each LOD is selected. Instead, the calculations are performed in advance to create an array of pointers. Each pointer points to the beginning memory address of one of the LODs. Then during run time, when a LOD is needed, the number of the LOD is used to index the array, which produces a pointer to the beginning address of that LOD in memory. One disadvantage of this technique is that a significant amount of memory is required simply to store the array of pointers. Another disadvantage is that significant time is required to use the array at run time.

Efficiently determining storage locations for the levels of detail of a MIP map of an image


Rate sensor having a plurality of generally planar masses, a drive axis in the planes of the masses, an input axis perpendicular to the drive axis, and sense axes perpendicular to the drive axis and the input axis. The masses are driven to oscillate about drive axes and are mounted for torsional movement about the sense axes in response to Coriolis forces produced by rotation of the messes about the input axis, with sensors responsive to the torsional movement about the sense axis for monitoring rate of rotation.

1. Field of Invention
This invention pertains generally to angular rate sensors or gyroscopes and, more particularly, to a dual mass rate sensor in which the masses are structurally constrained to oscillate in an anti-phase manner in both drive and sense modes, momentum is balanced, and the drive and sense modes are decoupled.
2. Related Art
In rate sensors or gyroscopes, the use of two coupled proof masses which oscillate in an out-of-phase manner in the drive mode is a common way of balancing the drive momentum in order to minimize the transfer of energy to the substrate. In addition, with the masses being driven in an anti-phase manner, the response of the masses to Coriolis forces will also be out of phase, which allows the effects of external vibrations to be cancelled.
Out-of-phase oscillation in the drive mode is commonly achieved by coupling the two proof masses together with a spring, which has some significant disadvantages. The resulting dynamic system has two resonances—a parasitic in-phase mode and the desired out-of-phase mode, with the in-phase mode always being lower in frequency than the out-of-phase mode. In addition, imperfections in fabrication often result in the masses being of slightly different size, which prevents them from oscillating with equal amplitudes. The unequal oscillations produce an imbalance in momentum and result in undesired transfer of energy to the substrate.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Torsional rate sensor with momentum balance and mode decoupling


System and method to administer an outbound automated call from a call center, including: starting playback of an automated message during a call from a caller to a callee, wherein the message comprises a first portion having a first level of importance and a second portion having a second level of importance, wherein the second level of importance is greater than the first level of importance; detecting that the caller has disconnected the call; stopping playback of the message; and determining whether the second portion of the message has been played. Embodiments may further include rescheduling the call if the second portion of the message has not been played.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to outbound call center calling, and, in particular, to a system and method for efficiently rescheduling call-back calls depending on whether or not a callee has listened to an important part of the message.
2. Description of Related Art
Automated outbound callers at an outbound call center are known in the related art. Such automated callers are often used to place calls and, if and when a callee answers, deliver a message such as by playing an automated message or by connecting to an agent who will read from a script.
However, when a callee answers such a call, there is no assurance that the callee will listen to the entire message. A callee may hang up (i.e., disconnect from the call) before the entire message has been played or spoken. Or, the callee may place the call on hold while the message is played or spoken.
Some messages may be important to assure delivery to a callee. Some messages may be delivered effectively in more than one segment. Some messages may have a portion which is more important to deliver than another portion. If the call is handled by a live agent, the agent can detect that the callee has disconnected or placed the call on hold, and take appropriate action. However, automated outbound dialers lack sufficient capability to detect when a call has been disconnected or put on hold, and then later place again the call by starting where the previous message left off.
Thus, a need exists to mitigate the shortcomings of the known art.

System and method for highly assured delivery of an important segment of an automated call


A method and apparatus for determining a longest prefix match in a segmented content addressable memory (CAM) device. The CAM device includes multiple CAM array blocks that each may be arbitrarily loaded with CIDR addresses. For one embodiment, each CAM array is a ternary CAM array that includes CAM cells storing CAM data, mask cells storing prefix mask data for the corresponding CAM cells, a CAM match line for indicating a match between a search key and the CAM data (as masked by the prefix mask data), and prefix logic circuits for comparing the logical state of the CAM match line with the prefix mask data. The prefix logic circuits determine the longest prefix in each CAM array block from among CAM entries that match the search key. The longest prefixes from each block are provided to compare circuitry that determines which of the longest prefixes is the longest for the entire CAM device. A block select circuit selects the CAM array block that stores the longest prefix for the entire CAM device for comparison with the prefix mask data in that CAM array block. The CAM index or address of the matching location may then be output from the CAM device. By restricting the search of the device-level longest prefix to only one CAM array block, power drawn by this comparison is reduced over searching all CAM array blocks in parallel.

The present invention relates generally to content addressable memory (CAM) devices.
The Internet Protocol (IP) is used to relay packets of information in the Internet. IPv4 is a common addressing scheme that includes a 32-bit binary address represented in dotted decimal notation of the form M.N.O.P where M, N, O, and P are decimal values ranging from 0 to 255. The 32-bit address is segmented into Network and Host address fields and can be implemented in a classfull or classless model. In the classfull model, the IPv4 address is segmented into Class A, B, and C addresses each having a number of the 32 bits designated for the Network address field and the remainder of the 32 bits designated for the Host address field. The classfull scheme has generally resulted in wasted addresses and large IP address tables.
In the Classless Inter Domain Routing (CIDR) scheme, the traditional classfull segmentation is replaced with an IP address that has a generalized network prefix that generally ranges from 13 to 27 bits of the 32-bit IPv4 address. The network prefix or mask indicates the number of left-most contiguous bits in the IP address that are used to filter an IP address in a routing table. That is, the network prefix indicates the number of higher-order or left-most contiguous bits in the IP address that participate in an address comparison with the routing table. A CIDR address is typically written as the IPv4 address followed by xe2x80x9c/Zxe2x80x9d where Z indicates the prefix length in decimal notation. An IPv4 address followed by the prefix length /Z will hereafter be referred to as axe2x80x9cCIDR addressxe2x80x9d.
Routing table entries typically include the IP addresses and their corresponding prefixes. FIG. 1 shows a routing table having five CIDR addresses where an xe2x80x9cXxe2x80x9d entry indicates that these bits do not participate in a search with a search key. Any search key whose most significant eight bits have the decimal equivalent of 168 will potentially match all of the entries. For example, 188.8.131.52/8, 188.8.131.52/12, and 184.108.40.206/16 all match the search key of 18.104.22.168. However, it is desirable that a search would yield 184.108.40.206/16 as this entry has the largest number of unmasked most significant bits that match the search key.
Routing table entries are typically stored in a CAM device that can rapidly perform a search against the search key to locate the longest matching CIDR address. As there may be multiple matching entries, CAM devices typically include a priority encoder that selects a matching entry that has the lowest logical or numerical address in the CAM array. For example, if a CAM device stores the table of FIG. 1 in a prearranged order such that 220.127.116.11/24 is stored in a lower logical address than 18.104.22.168/8 (as shown in FIG. 1), then the CAM device would correctly indicate the longest matching CIDR address as 126.96.36.199/16. If, however, the entries were stored in an arbitrary manner as indicated in FIG. 2, then the CAM device would incorrectly indicate a match of 22.214.171.124/12 as this entry is located at a lower logical address than 184.108.40.206/16 and 188.8.131.52/8. 188.8.131.52/12 is not, however, the longest matching CIDR address. Thus, CIDR addresses are generally pre-sorted or prearranged prior to entry into a CAM device such that the CIDR address with the longest network prefix is located in the lowest logical address of the CAM device, and the CIDR address with the shortest network prefix is located in the highest logical address of the CAM device.
A considerable amount of time is generally required to prearrange all of the CIDR address entries prior to loading the entries into a CAM device. Additionally, a considerable amount of time and overhead is also generally required to maintain the order of the routing table when entries are deleted or overwritten, or when new entries are to be added. A typical routine for updating the table includes a bubble sorting algorithm that generally takes many clock cycles to read the entries in the table, compare the entries, and then reload the table. Another approach segments the CAM array into separately addressable hierarchical blocks that each store entries associated only with certain prefixes. However, this approach has the disadvantages of wasting unused CAM locations, and of limiting the number of entries into any one block. This approach also requires that the CAM array be loaded with CIDR addresses in a prearranged fashion.
A method and apparatus for determining a longest prefix match in a content addressable memory (CAM) device is described. The CAM device includes a CAM array that may be arbitrarily loaded with CIDR addresses that are not prearranged prior to their entry into the CAM device. For one embodiment, the CAM array is a ternary CAM array that includes CAM cells storing CAM data, mask cells storing prefix mask data for the corresponding CAM cells, a CAM match line for indicating a match between a search key and the CAM data (as masked by the prefix mask data), prefix match lines, and prefix logic circuits for comparing the CAM match line with the prefix mask data. The prefix logic circuits determine the longest prefix among the CAM locations that match the search key, regardless of where the matching locations are logically located in the CAM array. The longest prefix is then compared against the prefix mask data stored in the mask cells to determine the location in the CAM array that stores the CIDR address corresponding to the longest prefix. The CAM index or address of the matching CIDR address may then be output from the CAM device. Additionally and/or alternatively, additional or associated data stored at the CAM index may be accessed. The additional or associated data may be, for example, routing information for the stored CIDR address.
A method and apparatus for determining a longest prefix match in a segmented content addressable memory (CAM) device is also described. The CAM device includes multiple CAM array blocks that each may be arbitrarily loaded with CIDR addresses. For one embodiment, each CAM array is a ternary CAM array that includes CAM cells storing CAM data, mask cells storing prefix mask data for the corresponding CAM cells, a CAM match line for indicating a match between a search key and the CAM data (as masked by the prefix mask data), and prefix logic circuits for comparing the logical state of the CAM match line with the prefix mask data. The prefix logic circuits determine the longest prefix in each CAM array block from among CAM entries that match the search key. The longest prefixes from each block are provided to compare circuitry that determines which of the longest prefixes is the longest for the entire CAM device. A block select circuit selects the CAM array block that stores the longest prefix for the entire CAM device for comparison with the prefix mask data in that CAM array block. The CAM index or address of the matching location may then be output from the CAM device. By restricting the search of the device-level longest prefix to only one CAM array block, power drawn by this comparison is reduced over searching all CAM array blocks in parallel.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detailed description, which follows below.

Method and apparatus for determining a longest prefix match in a segmented content addressable memory device


A system and method for generating an overlay torque command for an electric motor in an EPS system for use in a collision avoidance system. The method uses model predictive control that employs a six-dimensional vehicle motion model including a combination of a one-track linear bicycle model and a one-degree of freedom steering column model to model the vehicle steering. The method determines a steering control goal that defines a path tracking error between the current vehicle path and the desired vehicle path through a cost function that includes an optimal total steering torque command. The MPC determines the optimal total steering torque command to minimize the path error, and then uses driver input torque, EPS assist torque and the total column torque command to determine the torque overlay command.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a system and method for providing an overlay torque command to control an electric power steering (EPS) motor and, more particularly, to a system and method for providing an overlay torque command to control an EPS motor, where the method employs a six-dimensional vehicle motion model including a one-track linear bicycle model and a one-degree of freedom steering column model for modeling vehicle steering to determine a steering control goal and provide model predictive control (MPC) that determines an optimal total steering column torque from which the overlay torque command is determined.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Advances in sensor and actuator technologies have enabled the development of driver assistance systems (DAS) to prevent road accidents, especially those caused by driver's mistakes or inattention. Several types of DAS, such as anti-lock braking system (ABS), electronic stability control (ESC), adaptive cruise control (ACC), lane departure warning (LDW) system, lane change assist (LCA), forward collision alert (FCA), and lane keeping assist (LKA), are already in production vehicles. Active safety technology is currently becoming a major area of research in the automotive industry. Collision imminent braking is an effective way of avoiding or mitigating collision by applying brakes. On the other hand, collision avoidance steering may allow collision avoidance in some situations when braking alone can only mitigate it.
Collision avoidance systems are known in the art for providing automatic steering of a subject vehicle to avoid a slower or stopped object in front of the subject vehicle in the event that the vehicle driver does not take evasive action on his own. Known collision avoidance systems provide warnings to the vehicle driver and depending on whether the driver takes evasive action, may provide automatic braking and/or automatic steering. If the system determines that automatic steering is necessary to avoid a collision, the system must calculate a safe steering path for the subject vehicle to provide the steering control. Some of those systems are able to detect lane markings so as to calculate the steering path of the subject vehicle to make a lane change for collision avoidance purposes. Those collision avoidance systems also provide steering commands that cause the subject vehicle to follow the calculated steering path to provide the vehicle steering.
The object detection sensors for these types of systems may use any of a number of technologies, such as short range radar, long range radar, cameras with image processing, laser or LiDAR, ultrasound, etc. The object detection sensors detect vehicles and other objects in the path of a subject vehicle, and the application software uses the object detection information to provide warnings or take actions as appropriate. The warning can be a visual indication on the vehicles instrument panel or in a head-up display (HUD), and/or can be an audio warning or other haptic feedback device, such as seat shaking. In many vehicles, the object detection sensors are integrated directly into the front bumper or other fascia of the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,190,330, titled, Model Based Predictive Control for Automated Lane Centering/Changing Control Systems, issued May 29, 2012, assigned to the assignee of this application and herein incorporated by reference, discloses a system and method for providing steering control for lane changing or lane centering purposes in an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle driven system. U.S. Pat. No. 8,527,172, titled, Vehicle Collision Avoidance and Warning System, issued Sep. 3, 2013, assigned to the assignee of this application and herein incorporated by reference, discloses a collision avoidance system that employs combined automated braking and steering.
U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2013/0218396 to Moshchuk et al., assigned to the assignee of this application and herein incorporated by reference, discloses a system and method for providing enhanced vehicle control including providing automatic steering assistance. The '396 application describes a collision avoidance system that employs a steering model using a four-dimensional one-track linear bicycle model to model the vehicle dynamics. The four-dimensional model is used to generate a road wheel angle command necessary to control an electric power steering (EPS) system to provide the steering assistance, where the road wheel angle command is converted to a torque command that is applied to the electric motor in the EPS system. The '396 application uses proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control to convert the road wheel angle command to a torque command for the EPS system. However, employing PID control for this purpose requires extensive tuning to achieve good performance and robust operation at all vehicle speeds. Tuning of the PID control is time consuming and the steering control resulting therefrom may become unstable during tuning. Further, compensation for a steering actuator delay is required.

Collision avoidance control integrated with EPS controller


A method of automatically determining window-level settings in a digital image of a subject. The method includes the steps of: accessing the digital image; obtaining body part or coil type information; determining a region of interest (ROI) within the digital image; producing and processing a ROI-histogram; defining a W-L value for a linear or non-linear image intensity range re-mapping; and a linear or non-linear re-mapping the image intensity range.

Magnetic Resonance (MR) images are acquired during medical examinations on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) apparatus and stored in digital form in image archives. The digital data of the MR image can be stored and transferred to other image display, analysis, and archiving systems by means of a computer network. The digital data is typically transmitted over a communication network using a DICOM Standard (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM), Part 3: Information Object Definitions, PS 3.3-2001).
The acquired pixel values in an MR image do not relate directly to the brightness and contrast of display for diagnostic use of the image, and frequently no information is provided about ideal window width (contrast) and window level (brightness) that should be applied to the image for this purpose. If the window width and level are present, very often this information is not optimal for diagnostic use. Therefore radiologists or technicians usually need to manually adjust window width and window level of these MR images (often referenced as window-level (W-L)) before the diagnosis can be performed on a display workstation. The manual adjustment procedures require the user's time and energy, particularly if a large number of MR slices are acquired for the patient. Even a single study may include hundreds or thousands of individual images, grouped into several series for different spatial views and/or acquisition parameters. Since the characteristics of the images in a given series are similar, some medical personnel in order to be efficient usually adjust W-L not for each slice individually but only for the most clinically important one in each series (often this is a slice in the middle of the acquired volume, or close to it). However, when W-L values are set to the same value for all images in the same series, the results may not be optimal for all the images and may require additional adjustment for diagnostic use.
Another consideration is that the range of gray scale used in conventional workstation monitors (typically, 8 bits) is oriented to the sensitivity of the human eye to small differences in light levels. However, the original image often has 1024 to 4096 or more gray levels (i.e., 10–12 or more bits). Therefore, a manual adjustment must be made without loosing diagnostically valuable features of the MR image. This is typically not a trivial task, particularly if there is more than one area of diagnostic interest within the image, and also when those areas significantly differ in intensity dynamic range. For these reasons, radiologists and MR technicians often differ in their subjective opinions about the W-L setting for the presentation of an image with best image quality. For MRI, there is no unanimous agreement on the best presentation of this data, so a universal solution of the problem of picking W-L values does not exist. This is often referred to as the "Window-Level problem" or "W-L problem".
Another consideration of the W-L problem are the characteristics of MR images. For example: (1) MR images are measurements of very low energy quantum processes. As such, the images are often noisy, with maximal and minimal pixel intensity values that vary from image to image, and also within a particular image, e.g. spikes and background noise. (2) There are different types of possible MRI acquisitions, for example, T1 or T2 weighted series. Each type of acquisition may require different parameters for optimal image display. (3) Image acquisition may be done with either (i) transmitting/receiving coils that surround the part of the patient being imaged (for example, head, extremity, or whole body) or (ii) surface coils for structures such as the neck and spine. (4) The size and mass distribution of individual patients can affect the values obtained from an MRI acquisition in complex ways. (5) Different users may prefer different "looks" of images with regard to image brightness and contrast. (6) The display monitor type (e.g., regular, flat panel), age (e.g., old, new), settings (e.g., gamma curve, etc.) have an effect on how an image area is displayed on a monitor.
One method to automatically set W-L values is to determine the maximal and the minimal intensity values of each MR image, and then to map the values to an output range [0, 255] in a linear fashion. This method, which is readily calculatable, does not work well for many MR images, in particular, for those acquired with surface coils.
There have been prior art efforts to automate the manual adjustment procedures to address the Window-Level problem for different medical modalities, (e.g. X-ray, CT, MRI). Those efforts may be classified into three groups. The first group comprises methods wherein the operator participates in image quality evaluation to find the W-L values. The second group comprises semi-automatic methods wherein the operator provides some input or are based on values that have been determined empirically from operator experience. The third group includes adaptive and automatic methods.
With regard to the first group, one known approach is sometimes referred to as "static contrast windowing". This approach places the midpoint of the 8-bit dynamic range at the average intensity value of the region of interest (ROI) in the image, which is usually defined with operator assistance. The intensity values that are below the contrast window are presented as black on the display and values above the contrast window are displayed as white. Intensity values within the contrast window are mapped to corresponding display brightness values using a straight-line transfer curve. Contrast windowing is "static" when the window and the transfer curve are fixed for the conversion of the entire image data array. Details within the intensity range of the contrast window are shown on the display using the 8 bits of dynamic range. The remaining portion of the image, however, are displayed as either "too white" or "too black", with no details perceivable in the presentation. When other areas of interest are not represented properly at the selected W-L setting, more than one presentation of the image may be needed, each with a different contrast window to properly represent important anatomical details at all brightness levels.
Another approach sometimes used in X-ray CT practice employs a transfer curve having two contrast windows applied to a single image. This dual window approach uses two grayscale ramps or "windows" in a single display, where one window is set to encompass the brightness levels around bone and the other window is set to cover the brightness levels around soft tissue. With this approach, the anatomy shown in CT images is generally known to the user. As such, a trained user knows a priori what region of an image is soft tissue and what is bone, so that the simultaneous display of two gray ramps in the same image is not confusing to the user. However, in any anatomic regions which are intermediate in brightness between the windowed soft tissue and bone, the X-ray CT image values may be displayed using parts of both grayscale ramps, which can be very confusing. This limits the applicability of dual ramp presentation of CT. A common method of displaying such images uses separate presentations of the same image using the full bone range applied to the image in one display area, and the soft tissue range is applied to another image in a separate display area. However, neither a dual-ramp presentation or multiple presentations with fixed W-L settings may be acceptable for MRI, since the digital values of images are not calibrated to be independent of the individual examination as they are in CT. As discussed above, the proper Window-Level for any particular image depends on a variety of factors that vary from image to image, from series to series, and from patient to patient.
One technique intended to enable the operator to select a static window is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,077 (Burke). The medical imaging equipment produces an image of the subject under study and presents a graph of the image's histogram, which indicates the distribution of brightness levels of the image pixels. Using a trackball, the operator manipulates a contrast window which is displayed on the histogram and which enables the operator to select brightness ranges in the image for contrast enhancement.
With regard to the second group (i.e., the semi-automatic algorithms), U.S. Pat. No. 5,900,732 (Felmlee) relates to an automatic windowing method for MR images. The method includes producing a histogram of the reconstructed image; removing histogram bins with less than a threshold (T) number of pixels; calculating a window level by determining the mean intensity of the remaining histogram bins; and calculating the window width WW according to a fixed relationship. While this method may have achieved a certain degree of success in its particular application, the method requires a manual step of setting the threshold T, and therefore, requires the involvement of an MRI technician or radiologist in the task of setting the W-L.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,835,618 (Fang) relates to a method for dynamic range re-mapping for optimum image display. This method employs a user-defined parameter for both additive and multiplicative algorithms, as well as a "mixing" algorithm for the dynamic range re-mapping, thus requiring an involvement of medical personnel into the technical details of adjusting W-L.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,357,549 (Maack) relates to a method of dynamic range compression of an x-ray image wherein a non-linear mapping function is employed to determine the equalization value for each pixel in the image. This method's final output is dependent on a lowpass filtered signal from the local neighborhood around each pixel. A disadvantage of this method is the limitation of being able to display only one range of image data that is of primary interest with the best gray scale presentation; a disadvantage particularly if more than one range needs to be displayed simultaneously.
One non-linear method for image intensity correction in MRI is described in Handbook of Medical Imaging, 2000. This method is based on intensity non-uniformity (INU) field estimation using the log-transformed image histogram as a probability density function (PDF) approximation. This field is iteratively smoothed with a B-spline function and is used for intensity correction by means of mapping the original histogram to the one sharpened by deconvolving a Gaussian blurring kernel.
With regard to the third group (i.e., adaptive or automatic algorithms), one known method for mapping data brightness levels to a display having a limited dynamic range is known in the art as adaptive contrast enhancement. One variant is "adaptive histogram equalization" (AHE). Unlike methods which are "static", the AHE method does not employ a fixed contrast window for the entire image. Instead, the AHE method looks at each datum intensity value in the acquired data array one at a time and compares it with the values in a local surrounding spatial area, or "context region". The length and width of the context region may, for example, range from one sixth to one sixtieth of the length and width of the entire image data array. While there are many variations on the calculations employed with this method, generally the centered datum value is mapped to a display brightness, which provides contrast with respect to the other data values that are generally within the same context region. The calculations are performed, in principle, at each pixel location in the image data array with respect to its surrounding context region and the method is, therefore, computationally intensive. The AHE method and some variations are described in "Algorithms For Adaptive Histogram Equalization", Pizer, S. M., Austin, J. D. et al., SPIE Vol. 671, Physics and Engineering of Computer Multidimensional Imaging and Processing, 1986.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,305,204 (Ohhashi) relates to a digital image display apparatus with automatic window level and window width adjustment. With this apparatus, a pixel value of a digital image data is converted into brightness by using a suitable conversion function, and displaying an image within an optimum window. This pure neural network based method may not be reliable or accurate when encountering a new kind of input image which has not been seen in the training set of the neural network.
Another method which employs a neural networks for automatic window-level adjustment in MRI is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,995,644 (Lai). A further method which employs a neural networks is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,175,643 (Lai).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,268,967 (Jang) relates to a method for automatic foreground and background detection in digital radiographic images. The method includes the step of detecting edges in the image signal based on a morphological edge detector.
Accordingly, while the apparatus and methods described above may have achieved certain degrees of success in their particular applications, the manual methods in W-L adjustment can lead to variations in image quality because individual operators have different opinions regarding a preferred presentation of specific MRI images data. In addition, the manual adjustment requires time, therefore reducing throughput of the medical imaging system for diagnosis. The semi-automated methods employ manual selection of parameters or require the operator to evaluate one or more criteria of an image or study. Prior art adaptive methods may also need some operator participation or at least some prior information to train the system, which produces final W-L parameters for display.
As such, there exists a need for an apparatus and method which overcomes the problems described above. The present invention is directed to overcoming the problems described above. In particular, the present invention is directed to a fully automated method. The method is based on modeling radiologist's criteria for the appearance of MR images and comprises of a sequence of steps in W-L adjustment. This method performs both spatial image and histogram analysis and processing, and can include the steps of obtaining of the body part or coil type information, extraction of the region of interest (ROI) within the original digital image, a W-L definition based on pixel value distribution analysis within extracted ROI, and linear or non-linear re-mapping of the original image range of intensities to the gray scale range of the display.

Method for automated window-level settings for magnetic resonance images


A system and method for efficiently performing a white balance operation preferably includes an electronic camera device that captures image data using a imaging device. A color manager may then convert the captured image data into perceptual color space data. The color manager may next create a histogram of chromaticity vectors corresponding to pixels from the perceptual color space data. The color manager may then derive a neutral core vector corresponding to a neutral core peak from the histogram. The color manager may advantageously utilize the neutral core vector to identify a scene illuminant corresponding to color channel amplifier gains, and may then adjust the captured image data with the color channel amplifier gains to thereby complete the white balance operation.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to techniques for manipulating data, and relates more particularly to a system and method for efficiently performing a white balance operation in the field of digital imaging.
2. Description of the Background Art
Implementing efficient methods for manipulating data is a significant consideration for designers and manufacturers of contemporary electronic devices. However, effectively manipulating data with electronic devices may create substantial challenges for system designers. For example, enhanced demands for increased device functionality and performance may require more system processing power and require additional hardware resources. An increase in processing or hardware requirements may also result in a corresponding detrimental economic impact due to increased production costs and operational inefficiencies.
Furthermore, enhanced device capability to perform various advanced operations may provide additional benefits to a system user, but may also place increased demands on the control and management of various device components. For example, an enhanced electronic device that efficiently captures and manipulates digital image data may benefit from an efficient implementation because of the large amount and complexity of the digital data involved.
In certain electronic cameras that capture digital image data, a white balancing operation may be required. In practice, the human visual system does not perceive the same amount of light and the same colors that an electronic camera captures as image data. White balancing operations therefore adjust the image data captured by the electronic camera, so that a resultant captured image appears the same as the image that was originally perceived by the human eye.
Due to growing demands on system resources and substantially increasing data magnitudes, it is apparent that developing new techniques for manipulating data is a matter of concern for related electronic technologies. Therefore, for all the foregoing reasons, developing efficient systems for manipulating data remains a significant consideration for designers, manufacturers, and users of contemporary electronic devices.

System and method for efficiently performing a white balance operation


A contact probe, comprising: an electroconductive needle member; a tubular holder slidable receiving the needle member; a compression coil spring fitted on the needle member in the tubular holder to urge the needle member so as to project a forward end of the needle member from one end of the tubular holder; a stopper arrangement for restricting the extent to which the forward end of the needle member projects from the one end of the tubular holder; and a lead wire preferably continuous and integral with the needle member for electrically connecting the needle member to an external circuit. Owing to the use of the compression coil spring which may extend substantially the entire length of the contact probe, a favorable spring property can be obtained. The use of the compression coil spring surrounding the needle member permits generation of a large spring force, and the outer diameter of the contact probe is not required to be increased.

In modern facilities for manufacturing electronic products such as semiconductor devices and electronic systems, contact probe heads carrying a large number of contact probes and carried by a robot hand are widely used for inspecting electric performance of such electronic products by electrically accessing a large number of points of such electronic products. These contact probes are required to be extremely densely arranged so as to be able to access a large number of points of an extremely small electronic device.
FIG. 7 shows a conventional contact probe. In this contact probe 23, a tubular holder 21 is passed through and fixedly secured to a base board 22, and the tubular holder 23 receives a needle member 24 therein. A lower part or a rear part of the tubular holder 23 is crimped inwards so as to define a small diameter portion or an annular shoulder 27 which cooperates with a reduced diameter portion 28 provided in a middle part of the needle member 24 to restrict the range over which the needle member 24 can move. The front end of the needle member 24 projects from an end of the tubular holder 23, and a coil spring 25 is interposed between the rear end of the needle member 24 and the other end of the tubular holder 23 which is also crimped inwards. The upper end or the rear end of the tubular holder 23 is connected to a lead wire 26 leading to a testing circuit not shown in the drawing.
According to this prior art contact probe 21, since the compression coil spring 25 is disposed in series with the needle member 24, the overall diameter of the contact probe 21 can be minimized. However, since the length of the compression coil spring 25 is relatively small for a given length of the contact probe 21, the biasing force of the needle member 24 changes significantly as the needle member 24 is displaced. Also, to obtain a sufficient biasing force, the wire diameter and the coil diameter of the compression coil spring 25 must be increased, and this offsets the achieved reduction in the outer diameter of the contact probe.
Furthermore, the needle member is desired to be made of hard material such as tungsten or tungsten alloys, but such materials are often unsuitable for machining. Therefore, provision of a small diameter portion 28 in the needle member 24 could present a manufacturing problem.
Generally speaking, to achieve a high density, the structure of each contact probe is desired to be as simple as possible. Further, in order to control the contact pressure of such a contact probe, it is desired to increase the stroke of the contact member for a given length of the contact probe.
In some applications which require elimination of spurious noises, the contact member needs to be shielded over its entire length. This requirement tends to increase the complexity of the contact probe, and, hence, the dimensions of the contact probe.


A freeform varifocal optical assembly includes at least three optical modules including a first plurality of optical elements including Pancharatnam-Berry phase (PBP) lenses, polarization sensitive hologram (PSH) lenses, metamaterials, or combinations thereof. The plurality of optical elements of each optical module include a property associated with a Zernike polynomial. Each of the first and the three optical modules are configurable between a plurality of optical powers. The freeform varifocal optical assembly is configurable to output a predetermined wavefront in response to an input wavefront.

Optical devices, including head-mounted display devices, provide visual information to a user. For example, head-mounted displays are used for virtual reality and augmented reality operations. A head-mounted display often includes an electronic image source and an optical assembly.
Accommodation refers to a vision process in which the sciliary muscles and suspensory ligaments of a human eye cause the lens of the eye to bulge or flatten to focus objects on the retina. If accommodation of an eye is imperfect, parallel light rays incident on the lens can converge to a point behind the retina (hypermetropia, or farsightedness) or a point in front of the retina (myopia, or nearsightedness). To correct these visual defects, a converging lens of an appropriate focal length is placed in front of a hypermyotropic eye, and a diverging lens of an appropriate focal length is placed in front of a myopic eye. Lenses placed in front of the eye provide a spherical correction, the degree of which depends on the focal length of the lens in positive or negative diopters (D).
Higher order aberrations, such as astigmatism, coma, trefoil, quadrafoil, secondary astigmatism and the like, can cause refractive errors in which the eye does not focus light evenly onto the retina. Aberrations can cause images to appear blurry and stretched out, and can result in headaches, eyestrain, squinting, and distorted or blurred vision.


An ink-jet head is formed by laminating a passage unit including a plurality of individual ink passages running to a nozzle through a pressure chamber and a reservoir unit including an ink reservoir in which ink is stored and from which the stored ink is fed to the passage unit. The reservoir unit has a bonded portion bonded to the passage unit and a spaced portion spaced apart from and opposite to the passage unit which are formed on a bottom thereof. The spaced portion has a protrusion formed at an end thereof opposite to the bonded portion to protrude in a direction of the passage unit. FPC is drawn out from an opening between the protrusion and the passage unit and an adhesive is applied to this opening.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink-jet head for squirting ink at recording medium for recording a formed image and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the ink-jet head, ink from an ink tank is supplied to a pressure chamber through a common ink chamber, to impart squirting energy to the ink in the pressure chamber and then the energized ink is squirted from a nozzle. The head is provided with an actuator for imparting the squirting energy to the ink in the pressure chamber. The actuator is electrically connected to a flexible printed circuit (FPC). The actuator is driven under driving signal fed from a driver IC through the FPC.
A variety of actuators are in use, including a piezoelectric actuator and a capacitance type actuator. In the piezoelectric actuator, the actuator is disposed opposite to the pressure plate to form a partition wall of the pressure chamber, so that when the actuator is mechanically deformed, the pressure chamber is changed in volume to thereby impart the squirting energy to the ink in the pressure chamber. In the capacitance type actuator, a vibrating sheet is disposed to form a partition wall of the pressure chamber and the actuator is arranged to be spaced apart from and opposite to the vibrating sheet. When the vibrating sheet is deflected by electrostatic force generated by the drive of the actuator, the pressure chamber is changed in volume to thereby impart the squirting energy to the ink in the pressure chambers, as is the case with the piezoelectric actuator mentioned above.
Although there are presented a variety of actuators, including those as mentioned above, the existing actuators all suffer from the problem that when the ink adheres to the actuator, the ink squirting capability of the actuators reduces or fails. In order to minimize this problem, various techniques have been developed. Take an actuator having such a structure that FPC is bonded to the actuator and is further drawn to an outside of the head, for example. For this type of actuator, there has been proposed a technique of mounting a sealing member at a location where the FPC is drawn out, because the ink enters into the head from that location easily. According to this technique, the sealing member prevents the entry of the ink into the head, thus preventing the adhering of the ink to the actuator.
However, according to this technique, although the adhering of the ink to the actuator can be prevented, there is a possibility that the sealing member may enter into the head to cause adherence of the sealing member to the actuator. When the sealing member adheres to the actuator, the deformation of the actuator, the piezoelectric actuator in particular, is deteriorated. Further, in other types of actuators, such as a capacitance type actuator, as well, when the sealing member adheres to the actuator, the function of the actuator may deteriorate, as is the case with the actuator of the type noted above. Therefore, the existing techniques mentioned above are unsatisfactory for solving the problem of reduction of the ink squirting capability of the actuator.

Ink-jet head and producing method thereof


An ultra-miniature in-vivo electrode used for measuring the bioelectrical neural activity etc. in a living body with small cubic volume, slight burden to the living body, and high insulation performance, thereby facilitating long term stable measurements. Structurally the in-vivo electrode comprises conductors 13, 14 made of polymeric material having a through-hole 19 in each center so as to lead a measuring object 18; a intervening member 15 made of non-conductive polymeric material provided in between the conductors so as to insulate the periphery of the conductors; edge members 16, 17 provided in the outer edge of the conductors; a clad body 12 made of cylindrical insulant enclosing the periphery of them; measuring wires 21,22 to lead electricity to outside from each conductor 21, 22; a slit 26 which reaches the through-hole 19 from the outside surface being formed in all of the conductors, the intervening member, the edge members, and the clad body.

In conventional measurements of the neural activity of a living body, electrodes using such materials as biomolecular collagen and metallic silver wires are contacted to a nerve fascicle, and the measurement of a minimal current flow in the nerve fascicle is performed through insulated wires affixed to the electrode. These electrodes are used for the measurements of neural activities including peripheral nerves having the diameter of the order of millimeters, and sympathetic nerves to the heart and kidney having the diameter of the order of several hundreds micrometers. However, the sympathetic nerves to the other visceral organs such as the adrenal, splenic, and digestive organs etc. or the nerves distributing to skeletal muscles, skin, and brain/spinal chord have extremely smaller diameters on the order of less than 100 μm, and they are vulnerable to mechanical damages. Furthermore, it is difficult to maintain good insulation performance in the living body for longer than about one week, for which conventional measurements can be achieved. Finally, low signal levels of some microvolts measured in the small nerve bundle cause difficulties in achieving reliable signal processing.
As for an in-vivo electrode, which may enhance the reliability of signal processing, a microelectrode is disclosed by Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 157669/2000. The microelectrode has characteristic as shown in FIGS. 10a˜c and a signal processing electrical circuit assembled in the vicinity of the microelectrode. The patent application discloses a crank like electrode 101 having a horseshoe shape into which a neural axon bundle 100 is led in between with contiguity. Further in the application, a furcated electrode (See FIG. 10b-102) and a needle like electrode (See FIG. 10c-103) stabbing the neural bundle 100 are disclosed respectively.
Any of the crank like, furcated, and needle like microelectrodes described above can be applied only to a thick nerve bundle and has limits in stable measurements of neural activity. Further, the measuring object is a microscopic-level nerve fascicle in the living body; which can easily be mechanically damaged or killed. Furthermore, it is difficult to maintain good insulation performance of an implantable electrode for a long period of time and to keep it stably fitted to the thin nerve fascicle. Especially for the purpose of elucidating the neural regulation of the cardiovascular system, which is controlled by the brain and autonomic nerve system, it is necessary to simultaneously measure multiple autonomic nerve activities, which governs the above-described visceral organs. This invention is directed to provide an ultra-miniature in-vivo electrode, which facilitates multidimensional measurements without any damage to a thin nerve bundle. Moreover, this invention is directed to provide an ultra-miniature in-vivo electrode, which has high insulation performance facilitating long-term stable measurements.


The invention provides high molecular weight polymers used in small amounts as viscosity modifiers for aqueous/aqueous biphasic liquids. The viscosity of the biphasic is enhanced at least 20%, preferably at least 30% relative to same compositions without use of polymer. Further, the polymer is included without destroying the ability of dual phase compositions to form after product is left standing.

Biphasic liquids defined by the general fact that the liquid is divided into two phases are not new. In some of these liquids, one layer is an aqueous layer and the second layer is a water inmmiscible oily material, while in others both layers are aqueous based.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,718,609 issued to Weimer on Feb. 27, 1973 discloses a liquid detergent composition having an aqueous layer and a layer of liquid water immiscible oily material. When shaken, the liquid forms a temporary oil-in-water emulsion.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,810,478, issued to Olson Jr. et al. on May 14, 1974, discloses a two-phase shampoo composition made by preparing substantially polar and lipophilic portions of a shampoo composition.
Biphasic compositions comprising an upper and lower aqueous phase are also disclosed in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 6,429,177 issued to Williams et al. on Aug. 6, 2002 discloses biphasic compositions including 5 to 35% surfactant; 1 to 12% thickener; 4 to 20% polyalkylene glycol; and a sufficient amount of non-chelating mineral salt to induce phase separation.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,180,587 issued to Fuller et al. on Jan. 30, 2001 disclose multiphase cleansing compositions having at least 1% of a polymer or copolymer selected from the group consisting of polyacrylate, polystyrene sulfonate, polyvinylpyrrolidone, maleic anhydride and their mixtures.
EP 0,116,422 to Harmer published on Apr. 6, 1988 also discloses multi-layered compositions in which two liquids are dispersible and which separate on standing. Sodium hexamataphosphate is a preferred biphasic inducing agent required in these compositions.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,787,511 issued to Patel et al. on Sep. 7, 2004, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,727,209 issued to Pereira et al. on Apr. 27, 2004, the current inventors reported that polydextrose of molecular weight between about 600 and about 3,000 Daltons, used alone or in combination with a salt such as MgSO4 and/or sucrose, induced biphasic liquid formation. While these compositions are adequate, they do not have a particularly high viscosity, particularly the type of viscosity suitable for liquid cleansers targeted to personal cleansing (e.g., shower gels and shampoos). One of the goals of the subject invention was to provide small amounts (e.g., under 1% by wt.) of high molecular weight polymers which could raise the viscosity to levels more suitable for such shower gels and/or shampoos.
In a co-pending application filed on Dec. 28, 2004 to Patel et al., applicants disclose specific biphasic inducing agents (BIA) that can be used alone or in combination with polydextrose and/or salt. Two classes of the new BIA are specific polysaccharides that surprisingly have much higher molecular weights than the optimal polydextrose oligomers described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,787,511 and 6,727,209 noted above; and intermediate ethoxylates of fatty esters or fatty acids. These BIAs can be used alone and are used for purpose of economy or to provide opacity. The high MW polymers of the subject invention, by contrast, are always used as adjunct materials (i.e., less than 1% by wt.) and are specifically used to enhance viscosity of previously known biphasic compositions (for example as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,787,511 or U.S. Pat. No. 6,727,209). Moreover, they enhance viscosity while retaining ability to induce phase separation in the compositions.
As noted, the present invention relates to use of low amounts of high molecular weight polymers (e.g., thickeners of at least certain MW, wherein some class of viscosity building polymers are particularly preferred) to further enhance the viscosity of aqueous/aqueous biphasic liquids after they have been stirred/agitated and are in one phase. The amounts cannot be too high without destroying ability to adequately phase separate.

Low amounts of high molecular weight polymers for enhancing viscosity of aqueous/aqueous biphasic liquids

Unilever Home & Personal Care USA, division of Conopco, Inc.


An electrode layer for thin-film magnetic heads includes a Ta base sub-layer, an Au sub-layer functioning as a main conductive sub-layer, and a protective sub-layer, those sub-layers being disposed in that order. An Au electrode seed sub-layer containing any one of NiFeCr, NiCr, and NiFe is placed between the Ta base sub-layer and the Au sub-layer. The Au electrode seed sub-layer has a thickness of 40 to 100 Å.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrode layer for thin-film magnetic heads.
2. Description of the Related Art
Thin-film magnetic heads include electrode layers for applying currents to magnetoresistive sensors and detect magnetic fields leaking from recording medium using a magnetic resistance effect when currents are applied to the magnetoresistive sensors via the electrode layers. In the thin-film magnetic heads, in order to minimize the electrical resistances of components other than the magnetoresistive sensors, the electrode layers preferably contain a metal material, such as Au, having a small resistivity. In general, a known electrode layer containing Au includes a Ta base sub-layer for preventing Au from diffusing, an Au sub-layer functioning as a main conductive layer, and a Ta protective sub-layer for preventing smear from occurring, those sub-layers being disposed in that order.
In the Ta/Au/Ta multilayer structure, since the Au sub-layer is inferior in electromigration (EM) resistance, Au atoms are ejected from the Au sub-layer because electrons moving in the electrode layer collide with the Au atoms. Therefore, there is a problem in that cavities are formed in the electrode layer while a current is applied to the electrode layer over a long period time, that is, a thin-film magnetic head is used over a long period time. The cavities formed in the electrode layer causes an increase in the electrical resistance of the electrode layer, although the electrode layer contains Au with low resistivity.
In order to improve the EM resistance, some electrode layers have a Ta/Cr/Au/Cr/Ta multilayer structure in which Cr sub-layers are each placed between the Au sub-layer and the corresponding Ta sub-layers. However, in the electrode layers having such a structure in which the Au sub-layer is adjacent to each Ta sub-layer, there is a problem in that heat treatment such as resist-curing or annealing causes an increase in the electrical resistance.
The above electrode layers are disclosed in the patent documents described below.                Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-25013        Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-208744        Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-299725        Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-319722        U.S. Pat. No. 6,430,012 B1

Electrode layer for thin-film magnetic heads


The invention relates to a positioning apparatus (100) for positioning a light-guiding fiber (206) in a calibration port (208) of a medical apparatus (202) comprising at least one light source (204) for the light-guiding fiber (206), wherein the positioning apparatus (100) comprises an elongate body (102) with two end faces (110, 112) and at least one side face (116). A channel (104) for receiving the light-guiding fiber (206) is formed in the body (102), said channel extending along a longitudinal axis of the body (102) proceeding from a first end face (110). Here, according to the invention, provision is made for the body (102), at least in one portion, to consist of an opaque material in the region of the channel (104) and/or to be coated with an opaque material and for said body to have at least one cutout (113, 118), which extends from a side face (116) and/or the second end face (112) of the body (102) to the channel (104) such that radiation emitted by the light-guiding fiber (206) can only emerge from the positioning apparatus (100) in unimpeded fashion through the at least one cutout (113, 118).

Multifaceted variants of the use of laser radiation in medical technology are known. In addition to the better-known applications, such as, e.g., surgery or ophthalmology, the coherent monochromatic radiation of a laser source is increasingly also used in conjunction with corresponding medicaments that are activatable by electromagnetic radiation. A prominent example in this respect is photodynamic therapy (PDT).
A patient is administered a medicament within the scope of PDT, said medicament predominantly accumulating on tumor cells or bacteria. The medicament is activated by the absorption of electromagnetic radiation at a certain wavelength, said activation leading to the medicament developing a medicinal effect on the cells on which it has accumulated. By way of example, this allows tumors to be fought or regions of the human body afflicted by certain bacteria to be made visible.
In order to apply electromagnetic radiation or laser radiation to corresponding regions of the human body, the prior art has disclosed the practice of coupling corresponding laser radiation into a light-guiding fiber and output coupling said laser radiation from the light-guiding fiber at the location of the treatment in such a way that the region to be treated is impinged by the radiant flux guided through the fiber to the treatment region. Here, it is necessary to always ensure that the treated regions are impinged at a certain radiance of the laser radiation because an effective treatment is otherwise not possible. By way of example, if the introduced radiance is too low, the medicament is not activated, while a radiance that is too high risks injury of the irradiated tissue.
To this end, the prior art has disclosed a check prior to the start of a treatment, the radiant flux output coupled from a light-guiding fiber at a given input power coupled into the fiber being checked within the scope thereof. By way of example, to this end, the light-guiding fiber can be introduced into an integrating sphere such that the radiant flux radiated by the fiber overall can be detected. Since the fiber should subsequently be used for a medical treatment, and possibly an invasive treatment, it is necessary here to ensure that the medically required sterility of the light-guiding fiber is maintained, even during such a calibration process. To this end, the prior art has disclosed the practice of surrounding the light-guiding fiber with a sterile glass sleeve, which acts as a barrier between the sterile fiber and the non-sterile measuring device for ascertaining the power output coupled from the fiber and which positions the sterile fiber in a measuring device.
The methods known from the prior art for calibrating a laser source always have the problem that it is only the total radiant flux output coupled from the fiber that is ascertained, and not the radiance relevant to a treatment. Here, in the case of a certain radiant flux output coupled from a fiber overall, the radiance output coupled from the fiber may differ in different fiber types. However, this circumstance is not reproduced by the methods known from the prior art, in which only the total radiant flux output coupled from a fiber is detected. Consequently, the risk of an incorrect treatment for a patient on account of a wrong radiance continues to exist even after a correct calibration of a fiber to a desired output coupled radiant flux.

Positioning device for positioning a light-conducting fibre in a calibration port


A booting method and a computer system thereof, suitable for rebooting the computer system when a setting value of a basic input output system (BIOS) is modified, are provided. When a modified setting value causes a situation in which a main power is cut off in advance and the computer system is rebooted, a control command is sent to a signal generator for controlling the signal generator to generate a control signal through the BIOS. Then, the control signal is transmitted to a switch by the signal generator for controlling the switch to be turned on or turned off. Afterwards, a power-failure signal transmitted by a chipset is changed by the switch, such that a power supply provides the main power continuously to reboot the computer system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a booting method, in particular, to a method of rebooting a computer system when a setting value of a basic input output system (BIOS) is modified.
2. Description of Related Art
A chipset plays an extremely important role in a common computer system. Recently, along with the rapid development of the technology, the functions of the chipset become even powerful. The chipset manufacturer Intel has researched and developed a set of management engines with powerful functions on the produced chipsets, so as to remote control and manage the status of the local computer system.
As for a computer system using such chipsets (for example, Intel (ICH7, ICH8, and ICH9 series), when a user modifies a setting value, such as a memory setting value and a switch setting value of a network card, the computer system cuts off the main power and then is rebooted.
However, the main power provides power to devices of the computer system including central processing unit (CPU), hard disk, and optical disc drive, so that the motion of frequently cutting down the main power and then rebooting the computer system immediately may cause permanent damage on the hardware such as the hard disk. What's worse, important data may be lost.

Booting method and computer system thereof


A detecting system for detecting an under-test light of an under-test object includes a light spatial distribution unit, a chromatic-dispersion light-splitting unit and a detecting unit. The light spatial distribution unit is disposed on a side of the under-test object to receive the under-test light and form a plurality of point light sources. The chromatic-dispersion light-splitting unit is disposed on a side of the light spatial distribution unit to receive the point light sources and produce a light-splitting signal. The detecting unit is disposed on a side of the chromatic-dispersion light-splitting unit to receive the light-splitting signal and produce an optical field distribution of the under-test light.

Field of Invention
The invention relates to a detecting system and, in particular, to a detecting system of an optical field distribution.
Related Art
For the past few years, with the unceasing improvement in the process and material, many kinds of light sources, such as LED, are continuously developed. Due to the process factor, every light source or optical element has its peculiar optical field distribution. Besides, LED often has a problem of uneven spatial color distribution, so the optics designer needs to find out its optical field distribution and spatial color distribution and then can execute a precise design and optical simulation to fit the standard of the optical product. Therefore, every light source or optical element needs to undergo the test of spectrum and optical field distribution.
In the conventional art, a light distribution curve instrument is used to detect the spectrum and optical field distribution. However, the light distribution curve instrument is mostly a goniophotometer, which requires several executions of single-point scanning, so the detection takes a long time.
Therefore, it is an important subject to provide a detecting system which can replace the conventional goniophotometer and rapidly detect the spatial spectrum and optical field distribution of the light source or optical element.


A multifunctional enclosure is described having an elongated sleeve configured with an enlarged opening for the insertion of an elongated member of a medical probe. The multifunctional enclosure is configured to prevent the elongated member of the medical probe from swinging and becoming damaged during transport. The multifunctional enclosure may further comprise at attachment component for securing the medical probe to the multifunctional enclosure. Furthermore, at least one vent may be configured onto the multifunctional enclosure, such as on a first end closure portion. The vent may allow for adequate flow for sterilization and/or drying.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to multifunctional enclosures for medical probes including endoscopes or instruments and methods of using the enclosure including but not limited to: protecting the medical probe during transport, storing and cleaning the medical probe, enclosing and protecting the medical probe during sterilization, and providing a post procedural reservoir for cleaning and/or sterilizing fluid.
2. Background
Medical probes are routinely used for various medical procedures whereby they are inserted into the body and in many cases are equipped with a means to view inside the body. Medical probes are expensive instruments that typically comprise an elongated member that is inserted into the body. These elongated members are usually designed to be flexible to allow for maneuvering and locating the tip at a desired location in the body. The flexibility and length of the elongated members of the medical probe make them difficult to handle. The elongated portions of the medical probe may unintentionally swing and hit object during handling or transport and become damaged or contaminated. Medical probes must be sterilized or disinfected after each use, which requires a considerable amount of handling including transport to a cleaning facility, transport to and handling during sterilization/disinfection, transport to and handling during storage, and finally transport to and handling during medical procedures. After a medical procedure is complete, the contaminated medical probe may pose a contamination risk to the operating room, or other medical room. Body fluids and other body contaminates may drip or fling off of the elongated member of the medical probe, and create a cross contamination risk.
During sterilization/disinfection procedures, the medical probe, or in some cases the elongated member of the medical probe, may be placed into a sterilization/disinfection chamber, such as, steam, ethylene oxide, ozone or the like. Handling of the medical probe during these repetitive procedures introduces possible cross contamination by placing the device directly on surfaces where other devices have previously been located. In addition, these repetitive procedures subject the medical probe to damage, along the length, and especially to the highly sensitive tip of the medical probe.
There exists a need for a multifunctional enclosure for medical probes that can be used to protect the elongated member of the medical probe during transport, storage, cleaning, sterilization, and provide a post procedural reservoir for cleaning and/or sterilizing fluid.

Multifunctional enclosure for medical probes and method of use


Novel physiologically active substance, kanglemycin C, having a molecular weight of 326 and is isolated from the fermentation broth of Nocardia mediterranei var. kanulensis 1747-64 which belongs to the genus Nocardia. Kanglemycin C has an immunosuppressive activity and inhibits proliferation of tumor cells in vitro.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to kanglemycin C which is a physiologically active substance. More particularly, the present invention relates to kanglemycin C which is used as a novel immunosuppressant for the treatment of autoimmune hemolytic anemia, nephritis as well as the rejection of connecting tissue and viscera transplantation.
2. Related Art Statement
Immunosuppressants recently developed as having high selectivity possess an activity of specifically regulating the subgroup of a certain immune cell. Cyclosporin A which is a representative of such immunosuppressants selectively inhibits the proliferation of helper T cell clone and has thus achieved a remarkable result in the field of organ transplantation. With the achievement, cyclosporin A (Agents and Actions, 1976, Vol 6, 468-475) has been widely used in the clinic. However, cyclosporin A is accompanied by side effects such as acute (or chronic) renal intoxication, mild tremor, neural lesion, gingiva pachismus, loss of hair, etc.
FK-506 (Journal of Antibiotics, Vol 40, 1249 (1987)) which was found recently is a macrolide antibiotic (C.sub.44 H.sub.69 NO.sub.22) and has proven favorable results on an experimental level. However, due to its complicated process, it is likely that clinical application of this drug to the clinic might be limited.


An image sensor acquires a preparatory image that is lighted for a predetermined preparatory duration by a strobe. The preparatory image data corresponding to the preparatory image from the image sensor is processed and an average preparatory image luminance is determined based on the preparatory image data and weighting at least a subset of the preparatory image data. A supplemental strobe duration is generated based on the average preparatory image luminance and luminance weightings. The electronic image sensor may be activated to acquire an image with supplemental light provided by the supplemental strobe duration.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to a strobe lighting system used in the capturing of for digital images.
2. Related Art
Digital cameras for capturing digital images are commercially available and allow individuals to create digital images, rather than images on film as with traditional cameras. In a digital camera, an image sensor measures reflected light from an object that is processed into a digital image.
Typically, digital cameras and other imaging products utilize image sensors (also known as electronic image sensors) that are solid-state devices. Examples of image sensors include charge-coupled device (CCD), charge injection devices (CID) and complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) imagers. The image sensors typically have a number of cells or pixels arranged along vertical and horizontal dimensions commonly referred to as a matrix (also known as a pixel array). Image sensors typically utilize off-chip signal processing to improve signal to noise (S/N) performance and compensate for reset noise. Image sensors may be found in various pixel array configurations, including SIF or QVGA 320×240, CIF 352×288, VGA 640×480, SVGA 800×600, XGA 1024×768, SxGA 1280×1024, 2 Mega pixel, 3 Mega pixel and 16 Mega pixels.
Image information sensed by each pixel of an image sensor is converted into a digital signal. The digital signal is created from the image information stored in the pixels of the pixel array and is output serial using an arrangement of shift registers (in the case of CCD) or via a row and column selection (in the case of CMOS imager). After the image information is converted into a digital signal referred to as image data, the image data is stored in a memory. The image data may be post processed by a digital signal processor (DSP) to improve the quality of the digital image.
An image sensor capable of capturing color images increase the complexity of processing the digital image data. In one approach, the image sensor has a geometric arrangement of cells forming a pixel responding to three primary colors, eg., red, green and blue. Since each cell senses a particular color, various algorithms are used to interpolate the missing color information. Alternately, two or more image sensors having different color sensitivity may be utilized and the image data combined by a signal processor.
When taking photographs with a traditional film camera, it is often desirable to have additional lighting to illuminate a subject. A "flash" is often utilized with a camera to provided illumination of the subject. Consequentially, problems exist when too much light or not enough light is reflected from the subject (also known as a object) onto the file. The problems of under exposure and over exposure result when too much light or too little light reach the film. Similar lighting problems exist with digital photography using an image sensor in place of film.
An image sensor utilized to capture an image has the same problems with subject lighting as traditional film cameras. A supplemental lighting source, such as a strobe, may be utilized with digital camera having an image sensor. The duration of the supplemental light is determined based on an average value of a preparatory image data. However, the amount of light generated does not correspond to a particular area of interest in the image. For example, in a portrait, the subject is typically placed in an area of interest in the center of the image; however, the supplemental light is generated based on the entire image, including the background. The light from the background behind the subject affects the calculation of the supplemental light in the same manner as the subject, and as such reduces the visual quality of the image. Therefore a system is needed to generate supplemental light that accords more weight to an area of interest of the image.

Strobe lighting system for digital images


The present disclosure is directed to an expanding bone implant and, more particularly to an oral implant having radially extendable anchoring means.

The present invention relates to an expandable bone implant and, more particularly to an oral implant having radially extendable anchoring means.
Implant dentistry involves the restoration of one or more teeth in a patient's mouth using artificial components. Such artificial components typically include a dental implant and a prosthetic tooth and/or a final abutment that is secured to the dental implant. Generally, the process for restoring a tooth is carried out in three stages.
Stage I involves implanting the dental implant into the alveolar bone (i.e., jawbone or cortica) of a patient. The surgeon first accesses the alveolar bone through the patient's gum tissue and removes any remains of the tooth to be replaced. Next, the specific site in the alveolar bone where the implant will be anchored is prepared by drilling and/or reaming to accommodate the width/diameter of the dental implant to be inserted. Then, the dental implant is inserted into the hole, typically by screwing, although other techniques are known for introducing the implant in the jawbone.
After the implant is initially installed in the bone, a temporary healing cap/screw may be secured over the exposed proximal end in order to seal the internal bore of the implant. The patient's gums are then sutured over the implant to allow the implant site to heal and to allow desired osseointegration to occur. Complete osseointegration typically takes anywhere from three to ten months.
During stage II, the surgeon reaccesses the implant fixture by making an incision through the patient's gum tissues. The healing cap/screw is then removed, exposing the proximal end of the implant. Typically, an impression coping may be attached to the implant and a mold or impression is then taken of the patient's mouth to accurately record the exact position and orientation of the implant within the mouth. Stage II is typically completed by attaching to the implant a temporary healing abutment or other transmucosal component to control the healing and growth of the patient's gum tissue around the implant site. In a modified procedure, an abutment or other transmucosal component is either integrally formed with the implant or is attached to the implant during stage I. In such a procedure, stages I and II are effectively combined in to a single stage.
Stage III involves the fabrication and placement of cosmetic tooth prosthesis to the implant fixture. The plaster analogue provides laboratory technicians with a model of the patient's mouth, including the orientation of the implant fixture and/or abutment relative to the surrounding teeth. Based on this model, the technician constructs a final restoration. The final step in the restorative process is replacing the temporary healing abutment with the final abutment and attaching a final prosthesis to the final abutment.
The dental implant is typically fabricated from pure titanium or a titanium alloy and includes a body portion and a collar. The body portion is configured to extend into and osseointegrate with the alveolar bone. The top surface of the collar typically lies over, under, or flush with the crest of the jawbone bone. The final abutment typically lies on the top surface and extends through the soft tissue, which lies above the alveolar bone. As mentioned above, the abutment supports the final prostheses. Typically, the coronal or crown portion of the collar and the portions of the final abutment that extend through the soft tissue have machined- or polished surfaces. This is believed in the art to prevent the accumulation of plaque and calculus and facilitates cleaning.
Conventional dental implants that provide the foundation for a prosthetic tooth as described hereinabove require a substantially solid, dense bone in which to be inserted and/or installed and/or inlaid. If there is insufficient bone quantity, quality or density, for example soft and/or osteoporotic bone, conventional implants may suffer osseointegration failure, loosen and fail.
An expandable dental implant may comprise a screw which is torqued into a jacket having multiple deformable ends that expand into the surrounding bone; as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 6,332,778 (Choung), the contents of which is incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. The larger diameter provided by the expanded multiple ends, may aid in locking the implant in the osteoporotic bone.