The present invention provides electrophoresis systems and methods for forming at least one gel therein and for conducting electrophoresis on the gel without removing the gel from the electrophoresis system. The systems of the present invention include an electrophoresis platform which is a surface onto which one or more electrophoresis gels can be cast, and at least one gel casting/electrophoresis member for use in casting at least one gel on the electrophoresis platform and conducting electrophoresis on the gel. The present invention also includes optional members specific to other stages of the electrophoresis process, including a gel staining member and a gel drying member.

This invention relates to electrophoresis systems and methods for the separation of complex mixtures of charged molecules, particularly complex biological mixtures, with higher resolution and higher throughput.
Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis is the method of choice for analysis of complex protein mixtures, but its level of resolution is not yet adequate to detect many of the protein components from cells or tissues. There remains a need to detect more of the protein components of cells, tissues, and other complex biological mixtures. Electrophoretic separation on large format gels, e.g., greater than about 20 cm by 20 cm, can greatly improve resolution. However, the advantages of increased resolution resulting from large format gels is typically offset by the difficulties encountered in handling such large gels in conventional systems. Furthermore, known methods of electrophoresis are often limited by convenience so that routine analysis of large numbers of samples is not practical.
Accordingly, electrophoresis systems that will enable casting large format gels of controlled thickness, electrophoresis of multiple large format gels within a reasonable time without excess heat generation, and convenient manipulation of the gels through all steps of the electrophoresis process thereby providing greater resolution and higher consistency of results are being sought.


An irrigation device including a first interior water path defining member and a second exterior water path defining member, cooperating with the first water path defining member to define a circuitous water path including sequential water path components extending generally in three mutually perpendicular directions.

Various types of low volume water sprayers and drip irrigators are known for agricultural applications. Generally speaking, they all share certain common goals, provision of a generally low volume, low pressure output water flow at a generally uniform flow rate, notwithstanding variations in the input pressure, and resistance to clogging by impurities in the water.
It is well known that the use of a narrow passageway provides efficient pressure and flow rate reduction but involves the risk of clogging by particulate matter in the water. In this and other contexts a serpentine passageway has been found to provide enhanced pressure and flow rate reduction with a relatively wide passageway.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,466,462 describes a circuitous path flow restrictor including a fluid director member having a core and a plurality of fins extending from the core and defining alternately axially offset notches. The fluid director member is encircled by a containment member such that a serpentine fluid flow path is defined therebetween to provide a fluid flow resistance level equivalent to a simple orifice of much smaller diameter. The fluid director member can be made by a precision casting process for economy of manufacture.

Irrigator with mutually perpendicular water path components


The Trunk Caddy Insert (TCI) is an essentially rectangular storage system having a small rectangle along one long side to accommodate the tapered shape of many trunks and cargo areas. The Trunk Caddy Insert components interlock and snap together easily and securely to accommodate a variety of trunk spaces, cargo areas and personal preferences. TCI is manufactured in a variety of lengths, widths and configurations to accommodate the schematics of various motor vehicles on the market.

The prior art has put forth several designs for vehicular storage accessories. Among these are:
US Patent 2004/0118854 to Lawrence Kutun describes an apparatus for storing and organizing articles within a defined space. The apparatus is collapsible and includes exterior panels, a base panel and a panel opposite the base. The interior of the apparatus is composed of a plurality of panels that are arranged to form compartments of varying sizes.
US Patent 2004/0052605 to Gary Steven Strumolo describes a cargo containment apparatus formed from a series of individual panels linked together to permit deployment in a variety of configurations for containing cargo items within a larger cargo area of an automotive vehicle. The linked panels of the cargo containment apparatus are pivotable relative to one another to permit substantial flexibility in the apparatus to attain a shape that corresponds to the items to be transported in the cargo area. The panels are formed with bag hooks that are engagable with the handles of conventional plastic grocery bags and tote bags for effectively restraining movement within the automotive cargo area. Pins on the bottom surfaces of the panels engage the carpet in the automotive cargo area to restrict the movement of the cargo containment apparatus within the automotive cargo area.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,819,996 to Robert Patrick Coons, Jr. describes an improved organizer for the storage space of a vehicle, comprising exterior and interior wall members defining a plurality of storage area subdivisions. Slidable dividers are mounted in hollow wall members. The dividers are opened and closed to achieve the desired organizational configuration. To enhance security and organization of items, holes are provided along the top edges of the exterior wall members for the attachment of covers or straps. Gripping members are provided along the bottom edges of the exterior walls to prevent unwanted movement of the organizer in the storage space.
None of these prior art references describe the present invention.


A video processing apparatus includes: a line-based data encoder for performing line-based data encoding on an input signal to generate a line-based data encoded signal; and a video signal controller coupled to the line-based data encoder for receiving a first video signal and the line-based data encoded signal, decoding the line-based data encoded signal to generate a second video signal, and choosing one of the first and second video signals to generate an output signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to digital televisions (TVs), and more particularly, to a video processing apparatus and a method thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Within a digital television (TV), a controller chip typically utilizes a blending module to blend video data from different sources, e.g., video frames transmitted from content/service providers, logo information, scrolling banner information, caption information, and/or on-screen display (OSD) information generated by the digital TV. The blended data is then transmitted to a display panel for further display. Real time calculation and display for the video data from these different sources mentioned above require a portion of bus bandwidth of the digital TV.
An example of typically encoded information transmitted from the content/service provider is subtitle data, including logo information, scrolling banner information, and/or caption information. The subtitle data is decoded by a subtitle decoder and converted into corresponding image data. After certain processing operations such as scaling and/or filtering, the image data is then blended with the other video data mentioned above, e.g. the video frames and the OSD information. The amount of the image data generated in the scaling and filtering processing is considerably large. As a result, the bus bandwidth of the digital TV is heavily occupied, and therefore the overall display performance of the digital TV becomes significantly hindered.

Video processing apparatus and method thereof


A packer for use in subterranean wellbores provides efficient utilization of its cross-sectional area with mechanisms therein for anchoring, sealing, and torquing through the packer. In a preferred embodiment, a retrievable packer has a tubular mandrel, rubbers disposed on the mandrel, upper and lower compression members axially straddling the rubbers, a barrel-type casing slip, upper and lower wedges axially straddling the casing slip, a release mechanism, and a series of threaded load-distributing components which help to prevent collapse of the mandrel.

The present invention relates generally to retrievable packers for use in subterranean wellbores and, in a preferred embodiment thereof, more particularly provides a retrievable packer which may be torqued through, and which has high strength and a reduced cross-sectional area.
Retrievable packers are typically conveyed into a subterranean wellbore suspended from a service tool which is, in turn, suspended from tubing extending to the earth's surface. Such packers are generally utilized for two main purposes--to provide a releasable anchor for preventing longitudinal movement relative to the wellbore, and to provide a releasable annular seal between portions of the wellbore above and below the packer.
When the wellbore is lined with tubular protective casing, the anchor function of a packer is usually performed by hardened jaw-like gripping members known as "slips" which, contrary to their name, act to prevent slippage of the packer within the casing. The slips are typically designed to extend radially outward from the packer and, when extended, bite into the casing's inner surface. In this manner, the packer's slips permit forces to be applied to the packer without resulting in movement of the packer within the wellbore. A type of slip known as a "bidirectional" slip permits both tensile and compressive forces to be applied to the packer without producing longitudinal movement of the packer relative to the casing.
The sealing function of the packer is typically performed by multiple ring-shaped "rubbers" located in axially compressible annular recesses formed on the packer's exterior surface. When compressed, the recesses force the rubbers radially outward to seal against the inner surface of the casing. Generally, the axial compression of the recess coincides with the radially outward extension of the slips to thereby "set" the packer in the casing.
It will be appreciated from the foregoing that complex mechanical and/or hydraulic mechanisms are required to efficiently achieve the main functions of the packer. The mechanisms necessarily are located in cross-sectional areas between the inner and outer surfaces of the packer. In recent years it has become increasingly important to compress those mechanisms into smaller and smaller cross-sectional areas of packers to provide for increased flow area through the packers. For example, in some fracturing, acidizing, and gravel packing operations, and combinations thereof, it is highly desirable to utilize a packer having a large flow area therethrough, while simultaneously having the ability to seal against high pressures and resist movement due to high loads applied to the packer.
In past packer designs, as with most engineering designs, trade-offs were typically made in an effort to optimize the designs for intended uses of the packers. In general, a packer which had increased anchoring or pressure sealing capabilities would consequently have a reduced flow area. Conversely, a packer which had a large flow area would usually be restricted in its anchoring and sealing capabilities. These past packer designs are, therefore, unsuitable for use in those operations requiring large flow area, high pressure sealing, and anchoring against high loads.
Another desirable characteristic of retrievable packers is the ability to apply torque through the packer while running in or out of the wellbore. Such torque may be used to enable the packer to pass an obstruction in the casing, operate other equipment, etc. At times, it is also desirable for the packer to be rotated within the casing when torque is applied to the packer and for the packer to rotate as a unit, that is, with all, or substantially all, portions of the packer rotating together.
Mechanisms for permitting torque-through of a packer and for preventing relative rotation of packer portions, as with the anchoring and sealing mechanisms discussed above, are necessarily located in the cross-sectional area of the packer. Therefore, in the past, these features of a packer design typically resulted in decreased flow area, reduced anchoring ability, reduced sealing ability, or a combination thereof.
From the foregoing, it can be seen that it would be quite desirable to provide a packer which efficiently utilizes its cross-sectional area to thereby simultaneously achieve a large flow area, high resistance to axial and radial forces applied thereto, high pressure sealing capability, the ability to torque through the packer, and the ability to prevent relative rotation of portions of the packer. It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide such a packer.

Retrievable torque-through packer having high strength and reduced cross-sectional area


A conducting structure includes a dielectric matrix with a first surface and a second surface. At least one via extends from the first surface of the matrix to the second surface of the matrix. In the at least one via conductive members are formed which include conductive elements and an optional binder. The conductive elements have a maximum dimension of: (i) at least about 5% of a length of the via, and, (ii) at least about 10% of the width of the via. The size, shape and number of conductive elements in each via, as well as the composition of the binder, may be selected to provide a conductive element with a controlled electrical and/or thermal conductivity, and a controlled modulus, for a particular application.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention principally relates to the electrical and/or thermal interconnection of electronic components, such as integrated circuit devices, which have a large array of closely spaced conductive contact sites. More particularly, the present invention is an anisotropically conductive matrix of a dielectric material with at least one electrically and/or thermally conductive element extending therethrough to provide electrical and/or thermal conduction in at least one direction through the matrix. Even more particularly, the present invention is an elastomeric matrix having at least one via containing a conductive member made up of electrically and/or thermally conductive elements, preferably in a polymeric binder. The conductive elements have a maximum dimension of: (i) about 5% to about 120% of the length of the vias through the matrix, and, (ii) about 10% to about 100% of the width of the via. The size and shape of the conductive elements, as well as the properties of the binder and the matrix material, may be selected to provide a conductive member in each via with specified electrical and/or thermal properties and rigidity to form a reliable interconnection between the contact sites on the electronic devices.
2. Description of Related Art
To alleviate many of the problems associated with C-4 or solder ball connection systems while achieving a high density of electrical connections, it is desirable to have a flexible connection between an electronic device and the package to which the device is electrically interconnected and mechanically mounted. Many examples are known in the art of anisotropically conductive interposers for electrical connection which consist of a resilient dielectric matrix material having a discrete configuration of conductive elements extending transversely therethrough. While the properties of the dielectric matrix material play a significant role in electrical interconnection, it is also understood that the properties of the conductive elements also have a significant effect on the quality of the connection provided by the resilient interposer.
For example, the conductive members in the connector must be sufficiently resilient to accommodate differences in height among contacts on the electronic devices to be interconnected, to prevent undue stress on the fragile contacts, and to provide a reusable structure for testing and burn-in applications. However, the conductive members in the resilient connection system must be sufficiently rigid to provide contact wipe to penetrate surface films, debris and oxide layers on the mating contacts on the devices to minimize contact resistance.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,049,085 to Reylek describes an anisotropically conductive polymeric matrix including a polymeric layer or film, preferably adhesive in nature, with a plurality of conducting members therethrough. The conductive members, which are preferably tubular in design, are preferably made of metals deposited on the walls of the orifices in the polymeric layer at a thickness of about 100 .ANG. to about 0.005 inch (0.013 cm). The '085 patent states that as the thickness of the conductive surfaces increases, the conductor wall becomes stiffer and less deformable, which decreases contact efficiency by failing to accommodate variations in height and shape of the mating contacts on the electronic devices to be interconnected.
To accommodate such height/shape variations in the mating contacts, it is well known in the art that the conductive members in the resilient matrix may comprise a conductive powder in a resilient binder. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,008,300 to Ponn describes a multi-conductor element for interconnecting circuit boards and the like. Conductive material consisting of a slurry of a conductive powder in a resilient liquid vehicle is filled into the gaps created in an elastomeric matrix, with the conductive material protruding above the surface of the elastomeric matrix. The pressure engaged connections provided by the resilient contacts in the connector described in the '300 patent protect delicate electronic devices from damage during connection procedures and accommodate variations in the shape and structure of mating contacts, but the combination of a conductive powder in an elastomeric vehicle does not provide a conductive member that is sufficiently rigid to provide the preferred wiping action on the surfaces on the mating contacts. A similar lack of wiping action might be expected from the connector described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,312 to Casciotti et al., in which the conductive members in the elastomeric matrix material consist of a resilient gel loaded with conductive particles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,856 to Calhoun describes an electrically conductive adhesive tape with at least one flexible carrier web that has a low adhesion face bearing on an adhesive layer. The tape is formed with a plurality of perforations, each of which is filled with electrically conductive particles. The conductive particles may include metals, metal coated polymeric particles and graphite. The particles used in the examples of the '856 patent had a Fisher subsieve size of about 2.2 to about 7 .mu.m, and the particles were placed in vias in the adhesive matrix having a maximum breadth of about 0.1 mm and a depth of at least 0.5 mm. The conductive adhesive tape was capable of carrying about 10 amps/cm.sup.2 through its thickness.
In preferred applications, the perforations in the Calhoun '856 patent also contain not only the conductive particles, but an organic binder, which can bind the particles in each perforation into durable, column-like conductive members. The binder may be selected to influence the properties of the conductive member, e.g., to permit collapse of the columns when a connection is made, to provide resilience, or to add to the adhesive bond provided by the adhesive layer. When used, the binder typically contributes from about 1 to about 50% of the volume of the conductive member, although the volume fractions of conductive particulate may be adjusted to control electrical conductivity.
The '856 patent states that when the conductive particles in the vias are soft, moderate hand pressure applied to the mating contacts on the electronic devices to be interconnected can flatten the particles to provide a small, flat conductive area where each particle contacts another particle or an electrode. Thus, as with the other conventional connector systems with conductive particles discussed above, the conductive members in the '856 protect delicate electronic devices from damage during connection procedures and accommodate variations in the shape and structure of mating contacts. However, the combination of a conductive powder in an elastomeric vehicle distributes contact pressure uniformly, and is not sufficiently rigid to provide high local pressures at the contact surfaces to create a wiping action on the surfaces. In addition, the multiplicity of contact points among the small particles in the vias would be expected to create an excessively high resistance to current flow.
Thus, a need exists in the art for a conductive member having the resilience to provide reusability and to accommodate variations in the shape and structure of the mating contacts on electronic devices, but reserving some measure of rigidity to provide high local pressure and a wiping action at the surface of the mating contacts. The conductive member must also conduct significant amounts of current and/or thermal energy between mating contacts, and must have a low resistance to the flow of electrical and/or thermal energy.

Electrical and thermal conducting structure with resilient conducting paths

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


A method, system, and method of doing business in a standards-based medical imaging environment is described in relation to the communication of computer-aided detection (CAD) results among devices, with one embodiment relating to the DICOM standard. CAD results are fixably integrated into the pixels of a secondary image derived from a source image, and the secondary image is transferred using a DICOM Secondary Capture Image Information Object Instance (SCI-IOI). The DICOM SCI-IOI is transferred to a viewing workstation, whereby a clinician can open, manipulate, and view the secondary image in a side-by-side comparison with the source image or derivative images thereof. Advantageously, CAD results are communicated to the clinician in a DICOM-conforming manner independent of whether the viewing workstation supports standard DICOM accommodations, such as CAD Structured Report Information Object Instances (CAD SR-IOIs), for the type of CAD results that need to be presented. Optionally, an equipment information entity identifier in a CAD SR-IOI and/or the SCI-IOI can be modified to change or shield the identity of the manufacturer of the CAD processing unit.

The industrial standards process has generally been recognized as a permissible form of cooperation among otherwise competing enterprises. By promoting operational compatibility and apples-to-apples comparison of products and services, the standards process can lead to enhanced consumer choice, greater competition, and increased technological innovation. However, the possibility exists that a larger enterprise having an established market presence might only selectively activate certain features of an agreed-upon standard in order to obtain an advantage over market entrants or smaller competitors. For example, the larger enterprise might choose to impose certain conditions, such as bundling conditions, on the sale of a key system component before activating the supposedly "standard" features within that key system component. Purchasers of the key system component are thereby "forced" to purchase any complementary system components from that same larger enterprise, much to the detriment of market entrants and smaller competitors who relied on the existence of the agreed-upon standard in developing their own complementary components. At least in part, the present patent specification relates to an instance of this "selective standards activation" scenario that might be found, either presently or prospectively, in the medical imaging industry.
The DICOM standard (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) is defined and maintained by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, and is directed to providing a common framework for the acquisition, transmission, archiving, retrieval, and presentation of medical images of the human body and related patient data for a variety of imaging modalities and environments. As discussed in Horii, "A Nontechnical Introduction to DICOM," RadioGraphics 1997:1297-1309 (RSNA 1997), the DICOM standard is highly adaptable and continues to grow to accommodate advances in medical imaging technology. According to Horii, the fact that many of the medical imaging equipment manufacturers are global corporations has sparked considerable international interest in DICOM, with both European and Japanese standards organizations adopting substantial portions of DICOM. The DICOM standard is maintained and extended by the DICOM Standards Committee, which is an international, multi-specialty committee.
Currently, the DICOM standard consists of sixteen published parts, PS 3.1-2003 through PS 3.16-2003, describing different aspects of the DICOM standard. By way of example, the first published part is a 20-page document that can be fully cited as "National Electrical Manufacturers Association, Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM), PS 3.1-2003 Part 1: Introduction and Overview, (NEMA 2003)." This document can more briefly be cited as "PS 3.1-2003: Introduction and Overview," "PS 3.1-2003, " or, most simply, "PS 3.1, " it being understood that the latter is a reference to the current year, a past year, or a group of years according to the context. Among other published parts of the DICOM standard relevant to the present disclosure are the third part, "PS 3.3-2003: Information Object Definitions," the fourth part, "PS 3.4-2003: Service Class Specifications," the sixth part, "PS 3.6-2003: Data Dictionary," and the sixteenth part, "PS 3.16-2003: Content Mapping Resource."
Recent additions to the DICOM standard have been made to accommodate the field of computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) in which specialized computer programs analyze medical images to detect anatomical abnormalities, or lesions, therein. Sometimes used interchangeably with the term computer-aided diagnosis are the terms computer-aided detection, computer-assisted diagnosis, or computer-assisted detection. The outputs of CAD systems, generally referred to herein as CAD results, are sets of information sufficient to communicate the locations of anatomical abnormalities, or lesions, in a medical image, and can also include other information such as the type of lesion, degree of suspiciousness, and the like.
Examples of a mammography CAD system are presented in U.S. Pat. No. 5,729,620 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,917,929, which are incorporated by reference herein. An example of a chest CAD system is presented in WO02/056240, which is incorporated by reference herein. It is to be appreciated that, although particular references to mammography and chest CAD system are provided infra, the scope of the preferred embodiments includes any of a variety of CAD systems that receive 2D or 3D medical images of a body part and detect, automatically or with manual assistance, anatomical abnormalities therein. Examples include colon CAD systems, bone CAD systems, and other CAD systems.
It is to be further appreciated that although particular reference to x-ray mammography and chest CT imaging modalities is provided infra, the scope of the preferred embodiments includes any of a variety of imaging modalities that, either presently or prospectively, (i) are amenable to CAD analysis, and (ii) are accommodated by the DICOM standard (or other medical imaging standard) from a CAD perspective. Prospective examples may include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), and ultrasound, as well as less conventional medical imaging modalities such as thermography, electrical conductivity-based modalities, etc.
Among the recent CAD-related additions to the DICOM standard are additional Information Object Definitions (IODs), including the Mammography CAD Structured Report (SR) IOD and the Chest CAD SR IOD (PS 3.3, Annexes A.35.5, A.35.6). The Mammography and Chest CAD SR IODs are used to convey the detection and analysis results of mammography and chest CAD systems, respectively. The content may include textual and a variety of coded information, numeric measurement values, references to the image data from which the CAD results were obtained, and spatial regions of interest within that referenced image data. The Mammography/Chest CAD SR IODs accommodate data not only for presentation to the clinician, but also data that may be solely for use in subsequent mammography/chest CAD analyses.
The contents and formatting of the Mammography and Chest CAD SR IODs are constrained according to CAD-related additions to PS 3.16 in the form of templates, and context groups for the coded terminology. For example, the Mammography CAD SR IOD is constructed according to the "Template ID (TID) 4000 Mammography CAD Document Root Template" which, in turn, can implicate subordinate templates as needed, the subordinate templates having names such as "TID 4001 Mammography CAD Overall Impression/Recommendation Template," "TID 4009 Mammography CAD Individual Calcification Template," "TID 4010 Mammography CAD Calcification Cluster Template," and "TID 4011 Mammography CAD Density Template." Likewise, the Chest CAD SR IOD is constructed according to the "TID 4100 Chest CAD Document Root Template" which, in turn, can implicate subordinate templates such as "TID 4101 Chest CAD Findings Summary Template," "TID 4102 Chest CAD Composite Feature Template," and "TID 4105 Chest CAD Descriptors." Further information on the Mammography and Chest CAD SR IODs are provided in PS 3.3 at Annexes L and M, respectively.
Other additions to the DICOM standard made to accommodate CAD include the addition of specified Service-Object Pair (SOP) Classes. As known in the art, a SOP Class is a union of a specific set of DICOM Message Service Elements (DIMSEs) and a related IOD which completely defines a precise context for communication. For accommodation of CAD, there are now two Structured Reporting Storage SOP Classes—the Mammography CAD SR SOP Class and the Chest CAD SR SOP Class—instances of which transfer Mammography CAD SR Object Instances and Chest CAD SR Object Instances, respectively, from one device to another. (PS 3.4, Annexes B.5, O). There is also an additional Structured Reporting Media Storage SOP Class for each of the Mammography and Chest CAD SR IODs, instances of which are interchange and offline storage of Mammography CAD SR Object Instances and Chest CAD SR Object Instances, respectively (PS 3.4, Annex I). Finally, there are also additional SOP Class Unique Identifiers (UIDs) for the additional SOP Classes (PS 3.6, Annex A).
For clarity of presentation herein, where convenient, an information object (IO) or information object instance (IOI) shall be referred to independently of the SOP Class or SOP Instance of which they may be a part. The formation or presence of the appropriate SOP Class or SOP Instance can be inferred from the identity of the IO or IOI being described, together with the action being taken and/or the descriptive context. Also for clarity of presentation herein, where convenient, treatment of IOs or IOIs is without regard to their classification as normalized or composite, it being understood that their appropriate type, as well as the appropriate corresponding DIMSEs, SOP Classes, SOP Instances, etc., can be likewise inferred.
A typical configuration for a DICOM-based medical imaging system having CAD analysis features includes an image acquisition system (IAS), a CAD processing unit, and a viewing workstation (VWS). The IAS, CAD processing unit, and VWS are usually connected by a network, most commonly a TCP/IP based network, having sufficient bandwidth to accommodate transfer of medical images thereamong. The IAS is coupled to a physical image acquisition device (e.g., digital x-ray unit, CT unit, etc.) and receives the raw image data therefrom. The IAS populates the attributes of the relevant image information object, e.g., the Digital Mammography X-Ray Image Information Object or the CT Image Information Object, to form an instance of that object, which is generically referred to herein as a Source Image Information Object Instance (SI-IOI), it being understood that "Source" is substituted for the particular modality ("Digital X-Ray", "CT", etc.) as the preferred embodiments described herein extend to a variety of imaging modalities.
The SI-IOI is then transferred to the CAD processing unit, which performs CAD analysis on the digital image(s) contained in the SI-IOI. Based on the results of the CAD analysis, the CAD processing unit constructs the relevant CAD SR Information Object Instance (CAD SR-IOI), e.g., the Mammography CAD SR-IOI or the Chest CAD SR-IOI. The CAD SR-IOI is then transferred to the VWS. Depending on the particular system implementation, the original SI-IOI created by the IAS may be transferred directly from the IAS to the VWS or, alternatively, the original SI-IOI can accompany the CAD SR-IOI from the CAD processing unit to the VWS.
The VWS generates a display of the digital source image(s) contained in the SI-IOI, which are usually of diagnostic quality. The VWS also renders the CAD information contained in the CAD SR-IOI for presentation to a clinician. Rendering generally refers to the extraction of relevant CAD information from the CAD SR-IOI and the display of that information in a manner that facilitates clinician analysis of the medical image(s) upon which that CAD SR-IOI is based. In one known system, the VWS superimposes CAD markers and other CAD annotations derived from the CAD SR-IOI over the original digital images in the SI-IOI responsive to the clinician's pressing of a single toggle button. This provides a fast and easy method of offering a "second look" opportunity for the clinician in order to facilitate early detection of anatomical abnormalities.
A problem can arise, however, for market entrants or smaller enterprises seeking to market CAD processing units alone, their customers purchasing IAS and VWS units from other suppliers. More particularly, either presently or prospectively, a large enterprise having a substantial VWS market presence might harness that VWS market presence to bolster its share in the CAD processing unit market. In one scenario, this could be attempted by disabling the VWS from receiving and rendering CAD SR-IOIs, using either a software key or other disabling mechanism, unless the VWS customer also purchases their CAD processing unit from the VWS supplier. This effectively prevents the customer from purchasing their CAD processing unit from another source, because they would not be able to receive and view the results from the competing CAD processing unit in a DICOM-conforming manner. Rather, the customer would be required to view their CAD results in more awkward and workflow-inhibiting ways, such as by using paper CAD result printouts, or by placing an entirely additional CAD viewing workstation next to their VWS. This represents an undesirable scenario for the customer and, of course, for the provider of the competing CAD processing unit.
Another problem can be found in relation to new CAD processing capabilities as they arise, regardless of whether they are developed by a market entrant, a smaller enterprise, or a large existing enterprise. In particular, the ability of the DICOM standard to accommodate new CAD processing capabilities, in the form of appropriate CAD SR IODs, for example, can lag behind the introduction of the new CAD processing capabilities themselves. By way of example, while the DICOM standard may presently include Mammography CAD SR IODs and Chest CAD SR IODs, it may not presently include colon CAD SR IODs, bone CAD SR IODs, or, more generally, "anatomy X" SR IODs. By way of further example—although expected to be a less common scenario—a currently established CAD SR IOD might not yet accommodate a brand new form of CAD processing ability for that particular anatomical part, such as upon the discovery of new anatomical patterns shown to signify a future likelihood of disease. An enterprise wanting to market CAD processing units capable of the newest CAD capabilities would again be required to have their customers use the new machines in awkward and workflow-inhibiting ways, because existing the DICOM-conforming VWS units would not be capable of receiving and rendering the CAD results therefrom. Alternatively, the new CAD processing units and the existing VWS units would need private mutual modifications, most likely of the non-conforming variety, in order to accommodate transfer and rendering of the CAD results, which is generally undesirable in the long term.
Another problem can arise in that, even if the VWS manufacturer is not purposely attempting to disable CAD-related communication features, their VWS can simply be incompetently or erroneously designed, tested, and/or implemented such that structured reporting communications with the CAD processing unit are hindered. Also, for any of a variety of reasons, a given VWS installation may not be sufficiently backward-compatible or forward-compatible as needed to properly achieve the needed structured reporting communications with the CAD processing unit.
One known DICOM-based medical imaging system, developed prior to the adoption by the DICOM Standards Committee of general structured reporting including the above CAD SR IODs, uses the Radio Therapy Structured Set (RTSS) to communicate CAD results from a CAD processing unit to an VWS or other DICOM system. See R2 Technology, Inc., "DICOM Conformance Statement M1000-DM, V2.3A" (February 2001). However, as stated in a warning therein, "The use of RTSS by this device does not conform to the DICOM standard, as the data in the RTSS object is not radiotherapy related." Accordingly, use of the RTSS to communicate CAD results from a CAD processing unit entails non-conforming operation of both the CAD processing unit and the VWS (or other destination device), which is generally undesirable in the long term.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a method of doing business in which a CAD processing unit provider can integrate its CAD processing units into existing medical imaging systems in a DICOM-conforming manner, even where a VWS in the medical imaging system has had one or more of its DICOM CAD accommodations disabled for that CAD processing unit provider.
It would be further desirable to provide a medical imaging system in which CAD results are communicated, in a DICOM-conforming manner, from a CAD processing unit to a VWS for presentation to a clinician, even where the VWS cannot or will not properly receive or process any DICOM CAD structured reports, and/or a particular kind of DICOM CAD structured report, from the CAD processing unit.
It would be further desirable to provide a medical imaging system in which CAD results are communicated, in a DICOM-conforming manner, from a CAD processing unit to a VWS for presentation to a clinician, even where there is currently no mechanism to describe those CAD results using the current CAD accommodations of the DICOM standard, that is, when the DICOM CAD accommodations have not been amended or appended to cover the particular kind of CAD processing performed by the CAD processing unit.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Communicating computer-aided detection results in a standards-based medical imaging environment


A communication terminal supporting image communication having a storage for storing image files. The communication terminal performs a call while transmitting a real-time image to a called party in a first transmission mode, and performs a call while transmitting a specific stored image file to a called party, in a second transmission mode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a communication terminal supporting image communication, and in particular, to a device and method for selectively transmitting an image during a call.
2. Description of the Related Art
A communication terminal supporting image communication can transmit a photographic image taken using a camera during a call to the other party. The image communication function is very useful in that it allows a user to see the other party during a call. However, the image communication function is not always desirable. In those circumstances where a party does not wish to show his or her face, the image is transmitted regardless of the user""s intention, which may be construed as an invasion of privacy. For example, when the user is not dressed or without makeup, the user will not want his or her image transmitted.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a device and method for selectively transmitting an image file, in a communication terminal supporting image communication.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a device and method for storing images including paintings, photographs, etc. and documents in an image file and transmitting the stored image file in a communication terminal supporting image communication.
To achieve the above objects, there is provided a device and associated method for communicating images in a communication terminal adapted to store image files. The method generally comprises transmitting a real time image to the other party, in a first transmission mode; and transmitting a specific stored image file to the other party, in a second transmission mode.

Image communication device and method for communication terminal


Provided is a method for retransmitting data based on antenna scheduling in a MIMO system to which a spatial multiplexing technique is applied. The method includes the steps of: (a) at a transmitter side, modulating an input packet into transmittable data to transmit to a receiver side; (b) at the receiver side, estimating channel values from the packet transmitted from the transmitter side, and selecting transmitting and receiving antennas for transmitting the next packet from the estimated channel values; (c) detecting whether an error is present in the packet or not, and transmitting a feedback signal to the transmitter side, the feedback signal including information on whether or not to transmit the packet and a list of the selected transmitting antennas; and (d) at the transmitter side, retransmitting the transmitted packet or transmitting the next packet through the transmitting antennas designated by the receiver side depending on the feedback signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for retransmitting data based on antenna scheduling in a MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, as the mobile communication technology rapidly develops, a technique for increasing transfer speed of data to provide a service with a more enhanced quality is considered to be important. IMT-2000, which is the third-generation wireless communication, requires transfer speed of more than 10 Mbps during stop mode and more than 384 Kbps during moving mode. Further, the post-fourth-generation wireless communication requires transfer speed of more than 155 Mbps during stop mode and more than 2 Mbps during moving mode.
To satisfy such requirements, a MIMO system has been proposed which uses a plurality of antennas provided in both transmitter and receiver sides. The MIMO technique is divided into a spatial multiplexing scheme and a spatial diversity scheme. In the spatial multiplexing scheme, a transmitter and a receiver respectively have a plurality of antennas provided therein so as to simultaneously transmit data different from each other. Without increasing the bandwidth of the system, the data can be transmitted at high speed. In the spatial diversity scheme, identical data is transmitted through a plurality of transmitting antennas so as to obtain a transmission diversity gain.
The MIMO system can significantly enhance a communication capacity and transmission/reception performance and can provide a high transmission rate, without additional frequency allocation or increase in power. Researches on the MIMO system are actively carried out. The MIMO system is considered as a core technology of the next generation communication. However, the MIMO system is vulnerable to ISI (InterSymbol interference) generated during high-speed transfer of signals and frequency selective fading of frequency caused by multiple paths. Therefore, to overcome such a disadvantage, an OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) scheme is used together in the MIMO system.
The OFDM scheme attracts attention as a method which can satisfy high speed, a high quality, and large-volume communication required by the fourth-generation communication system. Since an OFDM signal has a plurality of sub-carriers in a frequency region and data is transmitted in parallel, the overall transfer speed is maintained as it is, and the transfer speed per sub-carrier can be reduced. Further, when a high-speed data stream is transmitted using a low-speed parallel carrier wave, a symbol interval is increased, so that the ISI is reduced. In particular, as a guard interval (GI) is used, the ISI can be almost perfectly removed. Further, as a plurality of carrier waves are used in the OFDM signal, the OFDM signal is not affected by the frequency selective fading. As two of the systems are combined, the advantage of the MIMO system is used as it is, and the disadvantage of the MIMO system can be removed by the OFDM system. This system is referred to as a MIMO-OFDM system.
Meanwhile, as an error control means for overcoming a packet transmission error which frequently occurs in a poor wireless channel when data is transmitted and received through the MIMO system, an ARQ (Automatic Repeat reQuest) protocol has been proposed. Recently, as a method for maximizing the efficiency, a hybrid ARQ (HARQ) protocol is being adopted as the standard protocol. In the HARQ protocol in which forward error correction (FEC) and the ARQ protocol are combined, error correction is performed by a receiver side through the FEC. If the error correction is failed, retransmission is carried out.
The HARQ protocol can be roughly divided into two schemes. The first scheme is referred to as a chase combining scheme. In the chase combining scheme, when an error is present in a received packet, a request for retransmission of the packet is delivered to a transmitter side. Then, the retransmitted packet and the packet having the error are combined so as to judge whether an error is present in the packet. The second scheme is referred to as an incremental redundancy (IR) scheme. In the IR scheme, a packet in which an error occurred is not retransmitted, but only additional redundancy bits are retransmitted so as to be combined with the packet where an error occurred. In this case, different redundancy bits are retransmitted at every transmission.
As the HARQ scheme is applied to the MIMO-OFDM system, an error of a packet can be effectively corrected in comparison with an existing MIMO-OFDM system, thereby enhancing the reliability of the system. In the HARQ scheme of the conventional MIMO-OFDM system, however, the packet where the error occurred is retransmitted through the same antenna. Therefore, when an error occurs in a packet transmitted through a specific antenna, an error may again occur in the packet retransmitted through the same antenna, thereby reducing the yield rate of the entire system. Further, when the retransmission is continuously requested due to some poor communication links, the entire system may be paralyzed in some cases.

Method and apparatus for retransmitting data based on antenna scheduling in MIMO system


A laser processing head includes a laser irradiation part, a collimating optical system for collimating laser light from the laser irradiation part, and a collecting optical system for collecting the laser light after passing through the collimating optical system. An optical system including the collimating optical system and the collecting optical system is configured such that the laser light after passing through the collecting optical system has coma aberration. The laser processing head further includes a first moving part for moving at least one of the laser irradiation part or the collimating optical system so as to change a relative position of the collimating optical system with respect to the laser irradiation part, in a first direction orthogonal to a center axis of the laser irradiation part or the collimating optical system, and a second moving part for moving the collecting optical system so as to change a relative position of the collecting optical system with respect to the collimating optical system, in a second direction orthogonal to a center axis of the collecting optical system.

In laser processing such as laser cutting and laser welding, a laser processing device is used, which includes a laser processing head for irradiating a workpiece with laser light from a laser oscillator.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a laser processing device that includes a cutting head including a laser incident part to which an optical fiber for transmitting laser light from a laser oscillator is fixed, and a lens through which the laser light emitted from the laser incident part passes. In the laser processing device, the laser light from the laser incident part is collected by the lens to increase an energy density of the laser light, thereby cutting a workpiece.
Moreover, in the cutting head for the laser processing device of Patent Document 1, a positional relationship between the laser incident part and the lens can be adjusted by moving or inclining the laser incident part and the optical fiber with respect to the lens. Thus, it is possible to change an energy intensity distribution of the laser light at a position where the workpiece is cut.

Laser processing head, laser processing device, and method for adjusting laser processing head


A method of detecting coded labels with at least two amorphous magneto-elastic tapes in a detection zone with a biasing magnetic field is described. The resonance frequencies and the modulation frequencies for each tape are detected at the same time. A tape whose detected resonance frequency is the same as the detected modulation frequency for another tape is registered as belonging to the same label. Further, the amplitude of the detected modulation frequencies of tapes belonging to the same label are detected to compute the angles between the tapes, which are part of the code.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of detecting labels present in a detection zone and exposed to a magnetic bias field in said zone, each label comprising a set of amorphous magneto-elastical strips, preferably at least two strips, said method comprising the steps of bringing the strips into oscillation by means of an excitation field and detecting the resonance frequencies of the strips.
2. Description of the Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98.
WO-A-93/14478 relates to a method and a device for remote sensing of objects. The objects are marked with at least one label comprising at least one electrical resonant circuit having an induction means and a capacitor means. The resonant circuit is excited to resonance at a resonant frequency, which is detected by the electromagnetic energy transmitted from the resonant circuit. An element of magnetic material having a varying permeability is inductively coupled to said induction element. The resonant frequency of the resonant circuit is affected by the permeability of the element of magnetic material, and this element of magnetic material is exposed to an external and spatially heterogeneous magnetic bias field through which the permeability of the element of magnetic material is controlled.
In the Swedish patent application No 9401449-5, which has not been published yet, there is shown a method of detecting labels with amorphous magneto-elastical strips, said strips being arranged in each label with a certain angular displacement between each other. According to the description of said patent application the following steps are taken in order to detect a label, having an unknown combination of angles. The elements in the label are forced into self-oscillation, their resonance frequencies thereby being detectable. The resonance frequency of an element or a strip is a function of the magnetic field or the magnetizing field strength exposing the element, and hence the magnetic field exposing each element may be determined. It should be noted that the magnetic field is a projection of the actual magnetic field along the element length extension; said magnetic field thereby constituting a component of the actual magnetic field.
There is no way of knowing beforehand which of the strips that belong to each respective label, and hence every possible combination of strips that could form a label must be tested, and for any such combination all angles must be searched so as to find out whether the combination in question constitutes a real label, i.e. a correct combination of strips forming a certain code.
Therefore, all possible combinations of magnetic field components are computed in a calculating unit. Possible combinations are determined by the predetermined sets of angles. Every component pair is used to put together a possible, actual magnetic field vector. Every possible combination provides several magnetic field vectors, and taken together the number of possible magnetic field vectors becomes large. In other words, all possible differential angles between all code strips in a label are computed and matched against each other with respect to a projected magnetizing field strength H.
All elements in a label are exposed to the same H-vector, and therefore each correct code combination among all the determined ones should give the same H-vector value. Every combination of codes or angles giving the same H-vector therefore may constitute a real label combination.
The above method is then repeated with different magnetic field conditions so as to filter out any incorrect (i.e. not real) combinations. Every new condition (strength, gradient, or direction) means several conditions that must be fulfilled for the combination in question to be correct. After a number of repetitions only the correct (real) codes remain, all labels present in the detection zone, even multiple ones with identical code sets, thereby being detected.
In the method described in said patent application every single decoding requires a substantial amount of calculation work, which must be repeated numerous times so as to obtain an accurate detection, and this is particularly true if the number of labels in the detection zone is large.

Method of detecting labels with amorphous magneto-elastical tapes


A safety and regulation valve unit for a gas installation, particularly a heating installation, comprises a duct through which the fuel can flow between an inlet and at least one outlet. An on-off fuel-valve is interposed in the duct between the inlet and the at least one outlet, and there is a movable device for controlling the valve as well as an actuator acting on the movable device in order to move it towards a first operative position in which it cooperates with the on-off valve in order to put the inlet into communication with the outlet. The actuator comprises a reversible motor with a rotor connected to a male-and-female screw coupling acting on the movable device to translate it towards the first operative position and to control the on-off valve.

The present invention relates to a safety and regulation valve unit for a gas installation, particularly a heating installation, comprising a duct through which the fuel can flow between an inlet and at least one outlet, on-off fuel-valve means interposed in the duct between the inlet and the at least one outlet, a movable device for controlling the on-off valve means, as well as actuator means acting on the movable device in order to move it towards a first operative position in which it cooperates with the on-off valve means in order to put the inlet into communication with the at least one outlet.
Valve units of the known type indicated above are normally operable manually or by means of electromagnetic control devices. In particular, in units operable by means of electromagnetic devices, the movement of the movable device can be controlled automatically. However, this control is achieved with the use of fairly complex electronic systems which generally operate by regulating the supply voltage of the control device. Moreover, with these systems fairly low forces and small movements of the movable device are achieved.

Safety and regulation valve unit for a gas installation particularly a heating installation


An electrical connector assembly includes two connector housings. One of the housings has a locking arm engageable with the other housing in the fully fitted condition. A spring member urges the housings apart unless in the fully fitted state. The locking arm is deflected to compress the spring member during fitting. In the fully fitted state the locking arm moves to an undeflected condition and the spring member consequently adopts a position which blocks further movement of the locking arm to the deflected state, thereby latching the connector housings with certainty against forcible separation on the engagement axis.

JP 4-306575 discloses a pair of connector housings which are prevented from remaining in a semi-fitted position, and which are latched in a fully fitted condition.
The semi-fitting preventing means in such a connector comprises a spring member on one of the connector housings, which is resiliently deformable in a direction opposite to the fitting direction of the connector housings, this spring member protruding towards and colliding with the other connector housing so that if the fitting operation ends in the half fitted state, both the connector housings are separated due to the force applied by the spring member, and as a result the semi-fitted state can be easily detected.
Latching in the fitted state is provided by a locking arm provided on one of the connector housings, which can be engaged with the other connector housing.
In this conventional case, in the fitted and latched state there is a possibility of the locking arm being forcibly deflected in the releasing direction where a large external force is applied in the separation direction of the connector housings. This may cause the connector to separate in an unintended fashion.
The present invention has been developed taking into account the above problem and aims at maintaining with certainty the latched state of a pair of connector housings which are in a correctly fitted state by preventing the movement of a locking arm in the releasing direction.


In the radiographic imaging device, a portion of a second effective imaging region at a first side or a second side of a sensor unit of a second radiation detection panel, and a portion of a first effective imaging region at a third side or a fourth side of the sensor unit of a first radiation detection panel, are overlapped in a radiation irradiating direction. A portion of a second effective imaging region at the third side or the fourth side of the sensor unit of the second radiation detection panel, and a portion of a third effective imaging region at the third side or the fourth side of the sensor unit of the third radiation detection panel, are overlapped in the radiation irradiating direction. The second radiation detection panel is disposed at a side opposite the radiation irradiating section side of the first radiation detection panel and the third radiation detection panel.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a radiographic imaging device.
2. Related Art
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2000-292546 discloses an X-ray image capturing device that is used in medical care. In this X-ray image capturing device, some of the imaging pixels of plural X-ray sensor units are connected in an overlapping manner, and a X-ray image capturing over a wide range is possible.
By the way, for reasons relating to manufacturing, there are limits on how large an X-ray sensor unit can be made. In order to make it possible to capture an image of the majority of a subject by irradiating X-rays a single time by using X-ray sensor units of the existing size, three X-ray sensor units must be connected. However, in an X-ray sensor unit, the imaging pixels are arranged in the form of a two-dimensional matrix. Further, driving circuits that read-out the captured information of the imaging pixels, and processing circuits that carry out signal processing on the read-out captured information, are disposed at the peripheries of the X-ray sensor units. Therefore, even if three X-ray sensor units are connected by merely making some of the imaging pixels overlap one another, the driving circuits and processing circuits exist at the places of connection. As a result, the X-rays are blocked by the driving circuits or processing circuits at the places of connection, and it is difficult to realize long-length image capturing in which three X-rays sensor units are connected at a radiographic imaging device.


An apparatus for providing a reactant comprises a reactant space and a reservoir space. The reactant space comprises a chemical complex capable of evolving the reactant when heated. The reservoir space, in turn, is in gas communication with the reactant space. The apparatus is operative to heat the chemical complex when a pressure of the reactant in the reservoir space is below a predetermined set-point, and to cool the chemical complex when the pressure of the reactant in the reservoir space is above the predetermined set-point.

Hazardous reactive chemicals are commonly used as reactants to promote chemical vapor deposition (CVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), and other processes. Some of these chemicals are particularly unstable and dangerous. For example, CVD and ALD growth of a variety of nitride films have been demonstrated with the aid of hydrazine (N2H4) as the nitrogen and reducing source with superior process performance and film properties over other, less reactive nitrogen sources. Nevertheless, the use of hydrazine in commercial CVD and ALD processes has been hampered by concerns about the safety implications of this extremely unstable, explosive, and hazardous chemical reactant.
Generally speaking, hydrazine is a low cost chemical widely used in the chemical industry for a variety of processes. Hydrazine and hydrazine derivatives are also being used as rocket propellants. Overall annual production of hydrazine typically exceeds 50,000 tons. With the exception of propellants, hydrazine is typically stored, transported, and used in the much safer aqueous solutions ranging from 35-64 weight-percent (wt %). For applications such as CVD and ALD, however, these aqueous solutions are typically disadvantageous. In particular, most applications require high-purity anhydrous hydrazine with its associated safety and toxicity issues. A spill of liquid anhydrous hydrazine may easily self ignite, raise the localized temperature and, as a result, the localized partial pressure, and ultimately detonate when the localized partial pressure in air exceeds 4.7% and the localized temperature exceeds 92 degrees Celsius (° C.). The explosion damage coupled with the spread of toxic NO and NO2 by-products can be catastrophic. The potential danger from anhydrous hydrazine spills makes it unpopular as a rocket propellant, let alone as an industrial chemical reactant. Accordingly, hydrazine derivatives such as monomethylhydrazine and dimethylhydrazine have been invoked as safer substitutions. Unfortunately, both derivatives have found very limited use in processes such as CVD and ALD due to their lower reactivity and the tendency to include carbon in films.
Hydrazine cyanurate (HC) is a stable complex of hydrazine that was developed and made public by Nachbaur and Leiseder for the purpose of purification and separation as early as 1971. When heated above 170° C., HC decomposes into the ingredients hydrazine and cyanuric acid (CA). Hydrazine production from HC depends on the temperature and the quantity of HC. In the temperature range between 170-245° C., the partial pressure of CA is negligible. Above 245° C., CA disadvantageously decomposes into hydrocyanic acid. Otherwise, when HC is relatively cold (i.e. below about 100° C.), it is stable and safe. These characteristics led others to propose HC for industrial hydrazine production purposes. More particularly, T. J. Kropewnicki et al. in "Hydrazine Cyanurate as a Nitrogen Source for Thin Nitride Film Growth," Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology A16(1), January/February 1998, pp. 139-144; and K. J. Taylor et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,465,350, entitled "Aluminum Nitride Film Formation on Integrated Circuits," propose forming hydrazine from HC for CVD nitridization reactions. Nevertheless, these references only set forth methodologies consisting of heating HC to an elevated temperature (e.g., 210° C.) and simply leaving it at this temperature while one or several CVD reaction sequences are allowed to run. No regard is paid to the consistency of the hydrazine supply within a given CVD sequence or from one sequence to the next, to the potential for the catastrophic accumulation of hydrazine in the reactor or the heated source due to overproduction and condensation, or to compensating for the drop in hydrazine production as hydrazine in the HC source is exhausted. As a result, even with these various attempts to harness hydrazine from HC, HC has seen no significant implementation in industrial deposition processes despite the many well known benefits of using hydrazine as a reactant and despite the availability of HC for over 35 years.
Low-volatility chemicals can be consistently maintained at a desired partial pressure when placed in an elevated temperature container. This stable vapor pressure at a given temperature ensures the consistency of chemical supply and an automatic, per-demand, supplementation of the source to maintain the desired pressure. For example, during processing, the source chemical is being drawn into the process chamber to effectively drive the partial pressure down and subsequently drive more chemical into the gas phase to maintain the equilibrium vapor pressure.
Evolving hydrazine from HC is fundamentally different. Hydrazine evolution from HC is a continuous process that produces substantial quantities of hydrazine for as long as the source temperature is sufficiently high. For example, about 1.8×10−8 grams/sec of hydrazine is produced per each gram of HC at 170° C., as detailed below. FIG. 1 displays hydrazine production versus time, normalized to one gram of HC, as measured from the pressure rise inside a ˜2 liter (L) container. Clearly, the rate of hydrazine production increases at higher temperatures. The absolute rates of hydrazine production are estimated from the given known volume and the potency of HC. These rates were used to extract the kinetics of hydrazine production, as displayed in FIG. 2. A good fit to a linear dependence of log(rate) versus 1/T, wherein T is the absolute temperature, indicates a first order Arrhenius behavior with an activation energy of 48±2 kilocalories per mole and the normalized rate is given by: k (hydrazine production/gram of HC)=6±2×1015 exp(−(24,000±1,000)/T) grams/sec. Accordingly, significant production of hydrazine does not start at temperatures lower than about 170° C. At room temperature (i.e., 25° C.), for example, hydrazine production is negligibly low at 4×10−23 grams/sec/gram-of-HC. At that rate, one kilogram (kg) of HC will require almost 800 years to produce a negligible one nanogram of hydrazine. However, at 200° C., one kg produces 550 micrograms in one second. At 230° C., which is recommended as the highest safe temperature for HC heating (with ˜15° C. margin), hydrazine production from one kg of HC reaches ˜40 grams/hour.
Production of hydrazine at any given temperature is clearly a continuous process that declines with the exhaustion of the HC load. Since hydrazine is being continuously produced, it clearly lacks any mechanism to ensure that this hazardous chemical is not over-produced and consequently accumulates beyond demand. Eventually, over-production of hydrazine may exceed the dew point at the given source temperature and excess hydrazine may condense into liquid anhydrous hydrazine. For example, if the temperature of a 1 kg HC load is maintained at 200° C., the initial production rate of ˜0.0330 grams/min will exceed the dew-point pressure of 55 Torr after approximately 15 minutes within a 5 L source chamber maintained at 50° C. At that point the source will start accumulating hazardous liquid anhydrous hydrazine. Indeed, the inventors observed that hydrazine production did not produce any pressure rise above ˜18 Torr when the source chamber temperature was maintained at 32° C., suggesting condensation. Upon heating the source chamber to 40° C., the pressure instantaneously rose to ˜28 Torr and then saturated there. Although production rate will slow down with the exhaustion of HC, it will produce ten grams of liquid anhydrous hydrazine within approximately five hours. This over-production of hydrazine may defeat the purpose of using HC as a means for on-demand production of hydrazine. Likewise, there is no mechanism to ensure adequate supplementation of hydrazine to compensate for process usage. Hydrazine production at any given temperature scales with the potency of HC which inevitably declines as the HC adduct (i.e., chemical complex) breaks down into hydrazine and CA. Therefore, if the HC temperature is minimized to minimize over production during idle time, it may soon be too low for consistent hydrazine supply during processing, especially since the potency of HC will decline during usage as explained below.
To further demonstrate the major drawbacks of prior art practice wherein HC is maintained at a constant temperature, the inventors monitored the pressure of hydrazine inside a 2 L source chamber during a TiN ALD process using a "Synchronous Modulation of Flow and Draw" ALD process in accordance with aspects of U.S. Pat. No. 6,911,092, entitled "ALD Apparatus and Method," to one of the presently named inventors, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein. Hydrazine was produced from HC at a controlled temperature of 185° C. The TiN process applied saturating TiCl4 and hydrazine pulses to grow a high quality film at a 270° C. process temperature. Likewise, a 50 milliseconds (msec) pulse of hydrazine from a source pressure of 8 Torr generated a dose of ˜50 μgrams of hydrazine, which was sufficient to saturate the hydrazine reaction. FIG. 3 (solid line) displays the pressure of hydrazine within the source chamber during a first idle time, a first process wherein the hydrazine was pulsed for 50 msec, a second idle time, a second process wherein the hydrazine was pulsed for 100 msec, a third idle time, and a third process wherein the hydrazine was pulsed for 200 msec. In each process, the TiCl4 was pulsed for 30 msec, which was sufficient to achieve saturation. FIG. 3 demonstrates that the practice of the prior art is neither safe nor suitable for consistent delivery of hydrazine. Hydrazine production was continuous during idle-times. During the process periods, the production of hydrazine clearly lagged behind the utilization as indicated by the dramatic pressure drops. In fact, the dose/cycle varied between 105 and 5 μgrams/pulse, 385 and 33 μgrams/pulse, and 736 and 7 μgrams/pulse over the first, second and third process runs, respectively, making any attempt to use the prior art practice for processing hopeless. There was also evidence for declining production rates with the usage of HC. For example, the average production rate declined from 1.0275×10−7 grams/sec/gram-of-HC during the first idle time to 1.0230×10−7 and 1.0216×10−7 during the second and third idle times, respectively. That was a 0.4% and 0.6% rate decrease for relatively short processes running consecutively.
In summary, a hydrazine supply, when simply held at a constant temperature, may vary by a great factor given the dependence on multiple parameters such as HC potency, initial load, temperature, the extent of previous idle time where hydrazine was produced but not consumed, and the extent of previous processing wherein hydrazine may have been consumed faster than produced. These variations could easily span an order of magnitude as shown in the example of FIG. 3. At that level of source inconsistency, even state of the art chemical delivery instruments such as mass flow controllers (MFC) or pressure controllers (PRC) might be driven into instability. Given the lack of consistency, and the lack of dependable mechanisms to prevent over production and to react to process related withdrawal or idle-time related consumption halts, the simple constant-temperature HC source of the prior art is neither safe nor suitable for process applications such as CVD and ALD.
Therefore, there is a need for apparatus and methods that can harness relatively stable, easily-handled chemical complexes of hazardous reactants such as HC into safe and consistent on-demand chemical sources for processes such as CVD, ALD, surface preparation, surface and bulk treatment, and reactive abatement.

Apparatus and methods for safely providing hazardous reactants


The subject invention provides a means of automatically detecting and recording a person's use of magazines, i.e. printed media exposure, for the purpose of market research. The present invention comprises one or more electrically conductive marker regions applied to certain specific locations on one or more magazine pages. In one general embodiment, the presence and relative separation of the marker regions are detected by a capacitive sensors and electronic device that stores, processes and communicates the data wirelessly to an external device. In another embodiment, a passive chip less tag is used to indirectly measure the change in conductivity of the conductive regions caused by prolonged exposure to air or light. Exemplary methods are described for acquiring readership and exposure data using the present invention.

There has been a significant need to measure exposure information associated with various types of media to enable advertisers to optimize their advertising efforts. For example, in publishing and magazine advertising, there is an ongoing need to estimate consumers' readership of printed media such as magazines as well as the characteristics associated with consumer exposure to advertisements in the magazines.
One conventional method of measuring exposure characteristics involves creating and distributing surveys in which a sample of participants or respondents in a study are asked questions about what they read or saw. The surveys may be consumer-driven, where a consumer compiles a diary of information about what they have seen or answers questions from a preconfigured survey. However, such techniques put a substantial burden on the consumer to record exposure data and often result in incomplete or inaccurate records.
Alternately, surveys may be researcher-driven and involve a staff interviewer who may contact a random sample of respondents to discuss their exposure to various forms of media. However, such techniques rely on the memory of the consumer, which may result in inaccurate data and necessitate additional personnel/training costs. For certain forms of digital media, data acquisition may be incorporated into software that records characteristics associated with a consumer's web navigation. A key disadvantage of this method is that consumers may be very concerned about data privacy issues. Yet another conventional approach to data acquisition involves incorporating a data capture element into a data capture module that is worn by an individual and collects data transmitted from transmitters inserted into magazines. This approach requires a consumer to wear the recording device and consequently, significantly burdens the consumer.

System and method for RFID-based printed media reading activity data acquisition and analysis


Leads having directional electrodes thereon. Also provided are leads having directional electrodes as well as retention ledges to secure the electrodes to the leads. Also provided are leads with directional electrodes where all the electrodes have the same surface area. Methods of manufacturing leads and methods of treating conditions and selectively stimulating regions of the nervous system are also provided.

Neuromodulation, such as deep brain stimulation, spinal cord stimulation, and nerve stimulation, is becoming an increasingly preferred form of therapy for certain neurological conditions and disorders when other forms of therapy are not effective. An implantable neurological stimulation system may be used to treat conditions such as pain, movement disorders, epilepsy, depression and other medical conditions. A neurostimulation system typically includes a pulse generator and an electrical stimulation lead. A lead extension may also be used. Electrical stimulation leads have one or more electrodes, which may be positioned within or proximate to a specific location in a patient to deliver electrical energy to a target location in the patient. Some therapies involve electrical stimulation of the brain or spinal cord. Still other therapies involve electrical stimulation of other sites in the patient.
As one example, deep brain stimulation (DBS) involves delivery of electrical stimulation to nerve structures in specific areas of the brain to either excite or inhibit cell activity. A stimulation lead is typically implanted at a desired location within the brain with relative precision using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging techniques (or other imaging techniques) and stereotactic guidance. DBS can be effective in the management of, for example, chronic pain, movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease and essential tremor, epilepsy, and psychiatric disorders such as depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Precise placement of the stimulation lead within the brain or other neural structure, such as the spinal cord or a nerve is important. In some applications, it is desirable to position the stimulation lead to deliver stimulation to a very small target site without stimulating adjacent neural tissue. If stimulation is not delivered with precision to a desired target site, adjoining areas may also be stimulated, which may lead to undesirable side effects.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,668,601 to Hegland et al. describes a medical lead having at least one segmented row of electrodes as well as at least one ring electrode. A preferred embodiment includes two ring electrodes and two rows of segmented electrodes, with each row of segmented electrodes including three or four electrodes each. The ring electrode is defined as extending substantially around the entire periphery of the lead body, and the segmented electrodes are defined as extending around only a portion of the entire periphery. Hegland emphasizes that the ring electrode may act as a fall-back for stimulation if the rows of segmented electrodes are not positioned proximate to the physiologically appropriate tissue for stimulation (col 3, lines 27-30).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,510,347 to Borkan describes a stimulation catheter having in-line directional electrodes. The directional electrodes are described as extending 30 to 270 degrees around the circumference of the sheath. Borkan describes that a directional electrode is preferred for spinal cord stimulation to provide a more localized stimulation region and reduce power requirements of the neuromodulation system. In a preferred embodiment Borkan describes three in-line electrodes, each extending 270 degrees.
Current electrical leads used in neuromodulation, do not provide a uniform longitudinal distribution of charge while also allowing for directional stimulation with large electrode surface area. A non-uniform longitudinal distribution of charge can make it difficult to predict the electrical field generated by selected electrodes. Further, although band electrodes are unlikely to become unintentionally detached from the periphery of the lead body since they encircle the lead body, directional electrodes do not extend around the entire periphery of the lead. Therefore directional electrodes, also known as partial or segmented electrodes, can possibly detach from the lead body, especially when being passed through a guide cannula during the implant procedure. However, an electrode with retention features that extend inward to the lead axis may require the lead diameter to be increased in order to accommodate features internal to the lead body, such as electrical conductors and/or a stylet lumen.

Boston Scientific Neuromodulation Corporation


An object is placed within the field of magnetic coils which generate a steady uniform magnetic field. The object contains nuclear spins of coupled first and second types of nucleus, for example, CH.sub.n in which C is a .sup.13 C carbon isotope and H is a .sup.1 H proton. Magnetic resonance signals are generated in the object by RF pulses. Pulse and gradient sequences are generated for providing magnetization transfer from the first nucleus to the second nucleus via first and second channels. A display displays spectra formed from resonance signals processed by a programmed processor via Fourier tranformation of sampled values. A pick up coil is tuned to receive the signals from a corresponding nucleus which is processed by a corresponding channel. The process is volume selective combined with a Hartmann-Hahn transfer sequence.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a magnetic resonance method for the volume-selective extraction of spectral information from an object containing a first type of nucleus and a second type of nucleus which is coupled to the first type of nucleus, the object being arranged in a steady, uniform magnetic field, the spectral information being extracted from magnetization transfer from one of the first and second types of nuclei to the other.
The invention also relates to a magnetic resonance imaging device for the volume-selective extraction of spectral information from an object containing a first type of nucleus and a second type of nucleus which is coupled to the first type of nucleus, which device comprises means for generating a steady, uniform magnetic field, transmitter means for transmitting RF electromagnetic pulses to the object arranged in the steady field, means for generating magnetic field gradients superposed on the steady field, and receiving and processing means for the magnetic resonance signals generated in the object, which processing means include programmed means and are operative to apply, by way of the transmitter means, pulses to the first and the second type of nucleus so that the spectral information is extracted from magnetization transfer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A magnetic resonance imaging method and device of this kind are known from European Patent Application No. 0 347 990 which corresponds to U.S. Pat. No. 4,987,369. The cited Application describes a volume-selective polarization transfer sequence in which volume selection of a part of the object coincides with a polarization transfer sequence, three pulses of which are applied to a first type of nucleus via a first channel, while two pulses thereof, being at least partly coincident with the three pulses, are applied to a second type of nucleus via a second channel. The nuclei are, for example proton-coupled carbon atoms such as in a CH.sub.n system. Volume selection is achieved by application of slice-selective magnetic field gradients during application of the pulses.
Even though such a known method offers an improvement over, for example so-called DEPT sequences (Distortionless Enhancement by Polarization Transfer) preceded by volume selection such as VSE (Volume Selective Excitation), the known sequence still has drawbacks. This is because the transfer efficiency is highly dependent on correct adjustment of the excitation angle of the pulses to protons as well as .sup.13 C in, for example a CH.sub.n system. Accurate timing of the pulses is also a critical factor. For such sequences use is often made of a double surface coil having different RF profiles, so-called B.sub.1 profiles, for the proton fields and the .sup.13 C fields. The latter makes adjustment additionally difficult in practice. For in vivo measurements the efficiency of the magnetization transfer may be further affected by excitation angle variations due to local B.sub.1 inhomogeneities.

Method and device for the volume-selective extraction of a magnetic resonance spectrum by Hartmann-Hahn transfer


A data communication device performs stable data communications without a malfunction in a system downsized by realizing bi-directional data communications using two terminals. The data communication device includes: a signal terminal (IN) for inputting a received signal having portions of different duty ratios and a constant pulse frequency; a reference voltage terminal (GND) for inputting a first reference voltage; a clock generation circuit for generating a clock signal according to the received signal; a data signal generation circuit for generating a data signal by identifying a duty ratio of the received signal; a transmission circuit for outputting a transmission signal to the signal terminal; and a regulator circuit for generating power supply voltages of the clock generation circuit, the data signal generation circuit, and the transmission circuit on a basis of an internally generated second reference voltage, the received signal, and the first reference voltage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data communication device, a data communication system, and a data communication method for communications in the field of FA (factory automation) and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 21 illustrates the rough configuration of the conventional data communication system. In the configuration shown in FIG. 21, when a data carrier device 802 and a control device 801 perform data communications, four connection points are provided for each of a power supply VIN, a ground GND, a clock signal CLK, and a data signal DATA.
In a system in which a control device and a data carrier device perform data communications, there is a configuration for downsizing the system with two connection points used for bi-directional data communications.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-069653 as a Japanese Patent describes the configuration.
FIG. 22 only illustrates a data carrier device 900 in the configuration including the control device and a data carrier device capable of performing bi-directional data communication using two connection points described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-069653. Using the timing chart for the data carrier device 900 in FIG. 22 shown in FIG. 23, the operation of the data carrier device 900 shown in FIG. 22 is described below.
The data carrier device 900 has only two terminals, that is, a terminal A and a terminal B, and the two terminals perform data communications with the control device. The terminal A receives a pulse voltage VA having a constant duty ratio.
The pulse voltage VA has two high level (hereinafter referred to as an H level) values of a voltage amplitude, that is, V1 and V2, and a low level (hereinafter referred to as an L level) is ground (GND) potential. The other terminal B receives a pulse voltage VB having equal voltage amplitude and an opposite phase as compared with the pulse voltage VA input to the terminal A. In the data carrier device 900 in which the pulse voltages VA and VB are input, a clock generation circuit 901 generates a clock signal CLK synchronized to the frequency of the two pulse voltages VA and VB. A VA+VB circuit 902 rectifies the two pulse voltages VA and VB, and generates a constant voltage indicating the H level having two values of V1 and V2 and the L level of the GND potential of the voltage amplitude as shown in FIG. 23. An amplitude identification circuit 903 detects the differential voltage of the voltage amplitude of the H level, and generates a data signal DATA. The clock signal CLK and the data signal DATA are supplied to an internal circuit 904 of the data carrier device 900, and the data to be communicated is generated.
As a data communication unit from the data carrier device 900, the impedance is converted between the terminals A and B by, for example, establishing a short circuit in the terminals A and B, and detecting it by a control device. Thus, the data from the data carrier device 900 is received.
Another configuration for establishing bi-directional data communications using two connection points with a view to downsizing a system is described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H06-069911.
FIG. 24 illustrates the configuration for realizing the bi-directional data communication using two connection points described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H06-069911. With the configuration shown in FIG. 24, when data is transmitted from a master 1 to a slave 2 in a data transmission circuit for performing bi-directional data communication between the master 1 and the slave 2, the data to be transmitted is superposed on the direct current voltage and transmitted according to a voltage signal. On the other hand, when the data is transmitted from the slave 2 to the master 1, it is transmitted as a current signal by drawing a current through a constant current circuit from the potential difference existing between the circuits, thereby realizing full-duplex communications in a two-wire.
With the configuration shown in FIG. 24, each bit of the transmission data from the master 1 to the slave 2 has a rising edge and a falling edge, and the rise timing of each bit is different from each other's and associated with the logic "1" or "0". Thus, the data is superposed on the clock signal and supplied to the slave 2, and the data from the slave 2 to the master 1 can be transmitted in synchronization with the clock signal. Furthermore, a clock signal line for transmission of a clock signal is added, and can be communicated in a clock synchronous system.
In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-346147 describes a configuration in which a sudden entry into an ON or OFF state of an output transistor can be avoided, and an output waveform can be slowly changed in a circuit for ON/OFF control of a constant current circuit.
FIG. 25 illustrates the configuration in which an output waveform can be slowly changed in a circuit for ON/OFF control of a constant current circuit described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-346147. The configuration shown in FIG. 25 refers to an open/drain through rate output circuit for controlling using two constant currents IrH and IrL the gate electrode of the Q0 of the N-channel output transistor in which a drain electrode is grounded and in which an load RL is connected between the Vdd power supply line and the source electrode.
If an input pulse signal Vin changes from the low level to the high level, it is inverted by the inverters I1 and I2, and the gates of a P channel transistor Q1 and an N channel transistor Q2 enter the low level. Therefore, the P channel transistor Q1 is placed in the ON state, the N channel transistor Q2 is placed in the OFF state, the input capacity of the output transistor Q0 is charged by the constant current IrH from a constant current source CS1, and it gradually becomes the high level, thereby placing the output transistor Q0 in the ON state. When the input pulse signal Vin changes from the high level to the low level, the P channel transistor Q1 enters the OFF state, and the N channel transistor Q2 enters the ON state. Then, the input capacity of the output transistor Q0 is discharged by the constant current IrL from a constant current source CS2, and it gradually enters the low level, thereby placing the output transistor Q0 in the OFF state. Therefore, by controlling the values of the constant currents IrH and IrL, the charge/discharge time of the output transistor Q0 to the input capacity can be changed, and the rise time or the fall time of potential Vgate of the gate electrode of the output transistor Q0 for the input pulse signal Vin can be controlled. Thus, the fall time or the rise time of the output voltage Vout can be controlled.
In the Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-363684 as a Japanese patent, the control device transmits an in-phase clock pulse as a first transmission signal, and an opposite-phase clock pulse as a second transmission signal. At this time, when the "H" pulse of the second transmission signal is modulated to advance by the time of td1 over the "L" pulse of the first transmission signal when the transmission data has the logic "1", and advance by the time of td2 when the transmission data has the logic "0". The data carrier device demodulates data by detecting the change in delay time of the second transmission signal using the clock extracted from the first transmission signal.
However, the above-mentioned conventional data carrier device has the following problems. First, the four connection points respectively provided for the devices for the power supply VIN, the ground GND, the clock signal CLK, and the data signal DATA as shown in FIG. 21 are not appropriate in downsizing the system because four connection points are required to perform data communications.
The data carrier device 900 shown in FIG. 22 can operate without problems when no phase difference is detected between the pulse voltage VA input to the terminal A and the pulse voltage VB input to the terminal B. However, when there is phase difference, there occurs a period in which both of the two pulse voltages VA and VB are placed in the L level or the H level. Therefore, there arises a period in which electric power is not supplied to the data carrier device 900. As a result, there is the problem that the data carrier device 900 cannot be stably operated. In the actual configuration of the system, there often occurs a delay in an internal circuit between the timing of outputting a pulse voltage VA and the timing of outputting a pulse voltage VB in the control device. Also, there often occurs a difference in impedance caused by a resistance value, a parasitic capacity, etc. in the wiring from the control device to the terminal A and to the terminal B of the data carrier device 900. Therefore, it is very difficult to completely suppress the phase difference between the pulse voltage VA input to the terminal A and the pulse voltage VB input to the terminal B.
With the configuration shown in FIG. 24, the data to be transmitted is superposed on the direct current voltage. Therefore, when the circuit of the slave 2 operates with the data-superposed voltage as a power supply voltage, the power supply voltage largely fluctuates, thereby causing the operation of the internal circuit of the slave 2 to be unstable. Therefore, it is difficult to perform stable data communication. When the circuit of the slave 2 does not use the data-superposed voltage as a power supply voltage, stable data communication can be performed, but another input terminal for supplying a power supply voltage for the operation of the circuit is required. As a result, the system becomes large and costly.
With the configuration shown in FIG. 25, the charge/discharge time of the output transistor to the input capacity is changed, and the rise time or the fall time of the potential of the gate electrode of the output transistor for the input pulse signal is controlled. However, the moment when the potential of the gate electrode of the output transistor becomes higher or lower than the threshold voltage for the output transistor to be placed in the ON state, the output transistor suddenly changes from the OFF state to the ON state, or from the ON state to the OFF state. Therefore, the fall time or the rise time of the output voltage indicates a sharp change, and the configuration is not satisfactory for a moderate change of an output waveform.

Data communication device has data signal generation circuit and transmission circuit on basis of reference voltage and received signal