| Patent application number | Description | Published |
|---|
| 20080296523 | LOW-POWER PIEZOELECTRIC MICRO-MACHINED VALVE - A piezoelectric microvalve employs a valve element formed of hermetically sealed and opposed plates flexed together by a cross axis piezoelectric element. Large flow modulation with small piezoelectric actuator displacement is obtained by perimeter augmentation of the valve seat which dramatically increases the change in valve flow area for small deflections. | 12-04-2008 |
| 20090175736 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING A THERMAL TRANSPIRATION GAG PUMP USING A NANOPOROUS CERAMIC MATERIAL - A system and method for using an element made of porous ceramic materials such as zeolite to constrain the flow of gas molecules to the free molecular or transitional flow regime. A preferred embodiment of the gas pump may include the zeolite element, a heater, a cooler, passive thermal elements, and encapsulation. The zeolite element may be further comprised of multiple types of porous matrix sub-elements, which may be coated with other materials and may be connected in series or in parallel. The gas pump may further include sensors and a control mechanism that is responsive to the output of the sensors. The control mechanism may further provide the ability to turn on and off certain heaters in order to reverse the flow in the gas pump. In one embodiment, the pump may operate by utilizing waste heat from an external system to induce transpiration driven flow across the zeolite. In another embodiment, the pump may selectively drive and direct gas molecules depending on the molecular size and the interaction between the gas molecule and the zeolite element. | 07-09-2009 |
| 20090295383 | Wireless Biliary Stent System with Wishbone-Array Resonant Magnetoelastic Sensor and Conformal Magnetic Layer - A stent and a magnetoelastic resonant sensor are provided for sensor a physical characteristic in a bodily vessel or cavity. External coils interact with the sensor to induce a resonance that is responsive to the physical characteristic, such that the device may wirelessly measure physical characteristics such as mass loading effects and viscosity changes due to progression of pathology in implanted stents and stent grafts. The sensor may be fashioned from a magnetoelastic material and may be integrated near the inner sidewall of the stent. The sensor may take on a complex patterned shape to enhance the sensitivity and flexibility of the sensor structure. When the sensor is interrogated with a time-varying magnetic field, the sensor will mechanically vibrate and generate a magnetic flux which is maximum at a resonant characteristic determined by the mass load on the sensor and the viscosity of the fluid surrounding the sensor. By correlating the measured resonant characteristic to the mass load and viscosity, the pathological state in and around the stent can be determined. | 12-03-2009 |
| 20110034872 | Dual Drug Delivery Device - A liquid delivery apparatus for the intrathecal delivery of one or more medications to a patient is disclosed. The liquid delivery apparatus generally includes a liquid reservoir, a liquid metering unit fluidly connected to the liquid reservoir, and a catheter delivery tube fluidly connected to the liquid metering unit. Preferably, the liquid delivery apparatus includes two or more liquid reservoirs. In various embodiments, the liquid reservoir includes a deformable balloon and a compressive sleeve spring as a pressure source, the liquid metering unit is a piezoelectrically actuated microvalve, and/or diagnostic sensors are included in the apparatus. The disclosed apparatus are compact, volume-efficient, energy-efficient, capable of delivering accurate fluid volumes, and address problems associated with multi-medication therapies. Methods of operating the liquid delivery apparatus are also disclosed. | 02-10-2011 |
| 20110184313 | Cauterization Device and Method of Cauterizing - A medical device such as a biopsy needle or probe has an integrated piezoelectric transducer. A power source is electrically coupled to the piezoelectric transducer. The power source is configured to generate a signal that causes the piezoelectric transducer to generate heat for cauterizing tissue. A signal analyzer receives a signal from the piezoelectric transducer, or from a sensor integrated into the biopsy needle or probe, to determine the extent of the cauterization. | 07-28-2011 |
| 20110196259 | In-Situ Tissue Analysis Device and Method - A sensor is mounted to a needle at a location proximate to a tip of the needle. The sensor senses tissue density of tissue in contact with the tip as the needle passes through the tissue. Further, the sensor detects a change in tissue density as the tip passes from one tissue to a target tissue. | 08-11-2011 |
