Patent application number | Description | Published |
20130023936 | Anterior cervical plate - An anterior cervical plate system is provided. The cervical plate includes a retention ring with a deflectable flange that is upwardly spaced from the top surface of the ring and configured to prevent an inserted bone fastener from backing out of the plate. The plate includes a locking pin having a camming surface and a blocking surface. When the camming surface is moved into position adjacent to the flange, the flange is free to flex out of the way of a bone screw being inserted into or removed from the plate. When the blocking surface is positioned adjacent to the flange, outward deflection of the flange is prevented to retain the bone screw inside the plate. The locking pin is rotated through a camming surface to bring a blocking surface against the flange deflecting the flange onto the head of the bone screw. | 01-24-2013 |
20130226239 | Facet screw and method for spinal stabilization - A spinal facet bone screw and minimally invasive surgical method of implanting a facet screw to stabilize the spine are provided. The facet screw includes an elongated body portion having a head, a threaded portion and a distal threadless portion. A pair of flutes formed in the elongated body extends from the distal end across the threadless portion and into the distal end of the threaded portion. The flute creates a self-tapping cutting surface that includes a heel edge that is curved with respect to the outer surface. The method of implantation comprises making a minimally invasive incision on the side of the midline contralateral to the target facet joint and delivering the screw across the interspinous process using the adjacent spinous processes as guideposts. The facet screw system fixes juxtaposed facet articular processes to enhance spinal fusion and stability and the method provides for accurate, repeatable and easy implantation. | 08-29-2013 |
20140114137 | Retractor - The retractor system for use in spinal surgery and other types of surgical procedures that is a simple and efficient solution for minimally invasive access to thoracolumbar spine is disclosed. The fully customizable design allows the surgeon to independently angle the retractor blades and expand the retractor in both cephalad-caudal and medial-lateral directions. With an offering of a range of blade lengths, access can be tailored to the patient's anatomy. The retractor system provides versatility and control ensuring minimal tissue trauma. | 04-24-2014 |
20140135848 | Anterior cervical plate - An anterior cervical plate system is provided. The cervical plate includes a retention ring with a deflectable flange that is upwardly spaced from the top surface of the ring and configured to prevent an inserted bone fastener from backing out of the plate. The plate includes a locking pin having a camming surface and a blocking surface. When the camming surface is moved into position adjacent to the flange, the flange is free to flex out of the way of a bone screw being inserted into or removed from the plate. When the blocking surface is positioned adjacent to the flange, outward deflection of the flange is prevented to retain the bone screw inside the plate. The locking pin is rotated through a camming surface to bring a blocking surface against the flange deflecting the flange onto the head of the bone screw. | 05-15-2014 |
20140350601 | ANTERIOR CERVICAL PLATE - An anterior cervical plate system is provided. The cervical plate includes a retention ring with a deflectable flange that is upwardly spaced from the top surface of the ring and configured to prevent an inserted bone fastener from backing out of the plate. The plate includes a locking pin having a camming surface and a blocking surface. When the camming surface is moved into position adjacent to the flange, the flange is free to flex out of the way of a bone screw being inserted into or removed from the plate. When the blocking surface is positioned adjacent to the flange, outward deflection of the flange is prevented to retain the bone screw inside the plate. The locking pin is rotated through a camming surface to bring a blocking surface against the flange deflecting the flange onto the head of the bone screw. | 11-27-2014 |
20150230831 | Lateral plate - A bone plate system is provided. The system includes two or more fastener locks stacked on top of each other and located between two holes in a plate adapted to receive bone fasteners. An actuator is provided between the locks. As the actuator is advanced, the locks are moved sequentially into position, firstly, to prevent one or more bone fasteners from backing out of the plate while permitting the fasteners to angulate and, secondly, to lock the angulation of the bone fasteners while still providing back out protection in situ. An expandable bone plate having a top plate interconnected to a bottom plate by a rack and pinion is provided. The rotation of the pinion with a driver lengthens or shortens the plate incrementally for custom length adjustment. The length is fixed in position with the simple removal of the driver and no further step is required to lock the plate length. | 08-20-2015 |
20150320454 | ANTERIOR CERVICAL PLATE - An anterior cervical plate system is provided. The cervical plate includes a retention ring with a deflectable flange that is upwardly spaced from the top surface of the ring and configured to prevent an inserted bone fastener from backing out of the plate. The plate includes a locking pin having a camming surface and a blocking surface. When the camming surface is moved into position adjacent to the flange, the flange is free to flex out of the way of a bone screw being inserted into or removed from the plate. When the blocking surface is positioned adjacent to the flange, outward deflection of the flange is prevented to retain the bone screw inside the plate. The locking pin is rotated through a camming surface to bring a blocking surface against the flange deflecting the flange onto the head of the bone screw. | 11-12-2015 |
20160135852 | Facet screw and method for spinal stabilization - A spinal facet bone screw and minimally invasive surgical method of implanting a facet screw to stabilize the spine are provided. The facet screw includes an elongated body portion having a head, a threaded portion and a distal threadless portion. A pair of flutes formed in the elongated body extends from the distal end across the threadless portion and into the distal end of the threaded portion. The flute creates a self-tapping cutting surface that includes a heel edge that is curved with respect to the outer surface. The method of implantation comprises making a minimally invasive incision on the side of the midline contralateral to the target facet joint and delivering the screw across the interspinous process using the adjacent spinous processes as guideposts. The facet screw system fixes juxtaposed facet articular processes to enhance spinal fusion and stability and the method provides for accurate, repeatable and easy implantation. | 05-19-2016 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20120127772 | LOW POWER SRAM BASED CONTENT ADDRESSABLE MEMORY - An apparatus comprising a memory array and a plurality of processing circuits. The memory array may be configured to store a plurality of data bits in a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns. A plurality of data words may be stored in a respective plurality of the columns. The plurality of processing circuits may each be configured to compare (i) a test bit of a plurality of bits of an input data word with (ii) a test bit of one of the plurality of columns to determine a match. The compare may occur on a first clock cycle of an input clock signal. Each of the plurality of processing circuits may be configured to power down a respective column of the memory array if the test bit of the input data word does not match the test bit of said column. | 05-24-2012 |
20130076393 | SPLIT DECODE LATCH WITH SHARED FEEDBACK - An apparatus having a first circuit and a second circuit. The first circuit may be configured to generate an output signal in response to (i) an intermediate signal, and (ii) a clock signal. The second circuit may be configured to generate the intermediate signal and a digital complement of the output signal in response to (i) an input signal and (ii) the clock signal. The intermediate signal may form a feedback to ensure the output signal and the digital complement of the output signal are in complementary states during a power up. | 03-28-2013 |
20130166850 | CONTENT ADDRESSABLE MEMORY DATA CLUSTERING BLOCK ARCHITECTURE - An apparatus having a first circuit and a second circuit. The first circuit may be configured to (i) parse a first data word into a first data portion and a second data portion and (ii) parse a first address into a first address portion and a second address portion. The second circuit generally has a plurality of memory blocks. The second circuit may be configured to store the second data portion in a particular one of the memory blocks using (i) the first data portion to determine the particular memory block and (ii) the first address portion to determine a particular one of a plurality of locations within the particular memory block. The data portion may not be stored in the memory blocks. The particular location may be determined independently of the second address portion. | 06-27-2013 |
20130286705 | LOW POWER CONTENT ADDRESSABLE MEMORY HITLINE PRECHARGE AND SENSING CIRCUIT - An apparatus and a method of operating the apparatus. The apparatus includes a driver circuit and a memory circuit. The driver circuit may be configured to precharge a hitline in response to a predetermined voltage level and a control signal and sense a result of a compare operation based upon a hitline signal on the hitline. The driver circuit generally precharges the hitline to a voltage level lower than the predetermined voltage level and senses the result of the compare operation using the full predetermined voltage level. The memory circuit may be configured to perform the compare operation using the hitline. | 10-31-2013 |
20150262667 | LOW POWER HIT BITLINE DRIVER FOR CONTENT-ADDRESSABLE MEMORY - An apparatus includes a hit bitline driver circuit and an equalization control circuit. The hit bitline driver circuit may be configured to drive a pair of hit bitlines responsive to a search bit. The equalization control circuit may be configured to transfer charge from one hit bitline of the pair to the other hit bitline of the pair in response to the search bit changing state. | 09-17-2015 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20130128676 | MEMORY DEVICE WITH AREA EFFICIENT POWER GATING CIRCUITRY - A memory device comprises a memory block, a power gating transistor, and control circuitry. The memory block includes at least one memory cell comprising a storage element electrically connected to a source potential line, a drive strength of the storage element being a function of a voltage level on the source potential line. The power gating transistor, in turn, is connected between the source potential line and a voltage source. The control circuitry is operative to configure the power gating transistor to electrically connect the source potential line to the voltage source while the memory block is in a first mode, and to clamp the source potential line at a voltage different from that of the voltage source when the memory block is in a second mode. | 05-23-2013 |
20130343139 | ADJUSTING ACCESS TIMES TO MEMORY CELLS BASED ON CHARACTERIZED WORD-LINE DELAY AND GATE DELAY - A memory tracking circuit activates a reset signal that resets a word-line pulse generator to switch the memory from an access state to a recess state. Activation is based on (i) a signal received at the far end of a tracking row after a propagation delay and (ii) a signal applied to a transistor-based gate delay. If the memory is in a fast PVT condition such that the gate delay is of less duration than, or substantially equal to, the propagation delay, then a slow-down circuit delays activation of the reset signal to allow sufficient access margin. The delay in the latter case is less than that in the former case. If the memory is in a slow PVT condition such that the gate delay is longer than the propagation delay, then the slow-down circuit does not delay activation of the reset signal to prevent excess access margin. | 12-26-2013 |
20140071775 | ADJUSTING BIT-LINE DISCHARGE TIME IN MEMORY ARRAYS BASED ON CHARACTERIZED WORD-LINE DELAY AND GATE DELAY - A memory tracking circuit controls discharge duration of a tracking bit-line based on (i) a signal received at the far end of a tracking row after a propagation delay and (ii) a signal applied to a transistor-based gate delay. The tracking circuit (i) extends the discharge duration when one or more of (a) the propagation delay and (b) the transistor-based gate delay is shorter than an uncontrolled discharge duration of the tracking bit-line, and (ii) does not extend the discharge duration otherwise. Based on the discharge duration, the tracking circuit activates a reset signal that resets a clock-pulse generator to switch the memory from an access operation to a recess state. Controlling the discharge duration, and consequently the reset signal, based on the propagation delay and the gate delay allows the clock-pulse generator to adjust access times to account for the memory array configuration and process, temperature, and voltage conditions. | 03-13-2014 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20130277569 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR LAYER-WISE PROTON BEAM CURRENT VARIATION - Systems and methods are provided to perform efficient, automatic adjustment of cyclotron beam currents within a wide range for multiple treatment layers within the same patient and treatment session. In one embodiment, efficient adjustment is achieved by using beam current attenuation by an electrostatic vertical deflector installed in the inner center of the cyclotron. The beam current may, for example, be adjusted by the high voltage applied to the electrostatic vertical deflector. In front of each treatment the attenuation curve of the vertical deflector is recorded. Based on this attenuation curve, the vertical deflector voltage for the needed beam current of each irradiation layer is interpolated. With this procedure the beam current could be automatically adjusted in minimal time over a wide range while maintaining a high level of precision. | 10-24-2013 |
20130303824 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATED CYCLOTRON PROCEDURES - Systems and methods are provided to perform efficient, automatic cyclotron initialization, calibration, and beam adjustment. A process is provided that allows the automation of the initialization of a cyclotron after overnight or maintenance imposed shutdown. In one embodiment, five independent cyclotron system states are defined and the transition between one state to another may be automated, e.g., by the control system of the cyclotron. According to these embodiments, it is thereby possible to achieve beam operation after shutdown with minimal manual input. By applying an automatic procedure, all active devices of the cyclotron (e.g., RF system, extraction deflectors, ion source) are respectively ramped to predefined parameters. | 11-14-2013 |
Patent application number | Description | Published |
20120056099 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR LAYER-WISE PROTON BEAM CURRENT VARIATION - Systems and methods are provided to perform efficient, automatic adjustment of cyclotron beam currents within a wide range for multiple treatment layers within the same patient and treatment session. In one embodiment, efficient adjustment is achieved by using beam current attenuation by an electrostatic vertical deflector installed in the inner center of the cyclotron. The beam current may, for example, be adjusted by the high voltage applied to the electrostatic vertical deflector. In front of each treatment the attenuation curve of the vertical deflector is recorded. Based on this attenuation curve, the vertical deflector voltage for the needed beam current of each irradiation layer is interpolated. With this procedure the beam current could be automatically adjusted in minimal time over a wide range while maintaining a high level of precision. | 03-08-2012 |
20120223246 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTOMATED CYCLOTRON PROCEDURES - Systems and methods are provided to perform efficient, automatic cyclotron initialization, calibration, and beam adjustment. A process is provided that allows the automation of the initialization of a cyclotron after overnight or maintenance imposed shutdown. In one embodiment, five independent cyclotron system states are defined and the transition between one state to another may be automated, e.g., by the control system of the cyclotron. According to these embodiments, it is thereby possible to achieve beam operation after shutdown with minimal manual input. By applying an automatic procedure, all active devices of the cyclotron (e.g., RF system, extraction deflectors, ion source) are respectively ramped to predefined parameters. | 09-06-2012 |