Did You Know...
...that in 1800 ether was first used by partyers as a fun diversion? Sniffing the gas led to hilarious and raucous laughter as people watched each other become more and more intoxicated and silly. Several doctors independently realized the value ether would have to anesthetize surgery patients. Of those who claimed rights to the "discovery," none had a happy ending. One had a seizure and died defending his rights. Another spent his life in an asylum because he had been denied acclaim. A third became addicted to chloroform and, in a New York City jail, he soaked a cloth in the drug, severed an artery and bled to death.
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7617777 | Precision pyrotechnic display system and method having increased safety and timing accuracy A system and method are disclosed for controlling the launch and burst of pyrotechnic projectiles in a pyrotechnic, or “fireworks”, display. ... | 11/17/2009 |
| D518486 | System for visualizing data for a computer screen | 04/04/2006 |
| 7000682 | Personal cooling or warming system using closed loop fluid flow A garment for a personal cooling or warming system, the garment comprising a carrier formed in the shape of the garment, and a bladder comprising at least two channel segments, wherein the channel segments have a substantially flat configuration so as to improve the... | 02/21/2006 |
| 6954982 | Reusable shipping pallet formed from extruded plastic parts which are easily assembled and disassembled There is disclosed a reusable shipping pallet formed from plastic parts and a method of assembling the same. The pallet comprises at least two I-beam constructs, each of the I-beam constructs having a first beam end, a second beam end and a longitudinal beam axis ex... | 10/18/2005 |
| 6942694 | Tissue annuloplasty band and apparatus and method for fashioning, sizing and implanting the same This invention relates to a system used to fashion, size, and implant a tissue annuloplasty band. This system comprises (1) a device to cut tissue; (2) a device to fashion (i.e., roll, fold, bunch, etc.) the tissue into a band (i.e., the tissue annuloplasty band); a... | 09/13/2005 |
| 6932826 | Surgical repair kit and its method of use A suture passer includes a longitudinally extending hollow cannula having a central passage slidingly receivable of a surgical suture; a manually graspable handle having an upper suture and being connected to the hollow cannula for manipulation thereof; a first guid... | 08/23/2005 |
| 6923823 | Apparatus and method for anchoring sutures A suture anchor having a conical surface and a bore in which an end of an insertion tool is inserted. The insertion end of the insertion tool is made of material having elastic properties. The bore and base of the suture anchor are angled with respect to the central... | 08/02/2005 |
| D505754 | Shopping cart seat cover for pets | 05/31/2005 |
| 6801643 | Anatomical visualization system The present invention provides an anatomical visualization system comprising a first database that comprises a plurality of 2-D slice images generated by scanning a structure. The 2-D slice images are stored in a first data format. A second database is also provided... | 10/05/2004 |
| 6769434 | Method and apparatus for performing a procedure on a cardiac valve A method for deploying an aortic valve prosthesis includes the steps of: making a first opening leading to the left atrium; passing the valve prosthesis through the opening and into a cardiac chamber of the left side of the heart using a first manipulation instrumen... | 08/03/2004 |
| 6767352 | Surgical suturing instrument and method of use A device is disclosed for joining a first layer of material to a second layer of material, the device comprising a handle, a first jaw and a second jaw mounted on the handle, at least one of the first jaw and the second jaw being moveable relative to the other; the ... | 07/27/2004 |
| 6730252 | Methods for fabricating a filament for use in tissue engineering The invention relates to the use of Fused Deposition Modeling to construct three-dimensional (3D) bioresorbable scaffolds from bioresorbable polymers such as polycaprolactone (PCL), or from composites of bioresorbable polymers and ceramics, such as polycaprolactone/... | 05/04/2004 |
| 6712849 | Apparatus and method for reconstructing a ligament A method and apparatus for reconstructing a ligament using a graft ligament support block which comprises a body, and a graft hole and a transverse fixation pin hole extending through the body, with both the graft hole and the fixation pin hole preferably extending ... | 03/30/2004 |
| 6702736 | Anatomical visualization system A real-time computer-based viewing system is disclosed comprising a database of pre-existing software objects, wherein at least one of the software objects corresponds to a physical structure which is to be viewed by the system and at least one of the sof... | 03/09/2004 |
| 6678444 | Low power fiberoptic relay for radio communications A low power fiberoptic relay for radio communications. In one form of the invention, a laser is located at one end (i.e., the communication network end) of the relay and a modulator is located at the other end (i.e., the receiver end) of the relay.... | 01/13/2004 |
| 6663643 | Surgical suturing instrument and method of use A device is disclosed for introducing a flexible elongated element through at least two portions of a subject. In a preferred embodiment, the device includes a proximal end and a distal end, and an advancement unit for longitudinally advancing the flexibl... | 12/16/2003 |
| 6665076 | Wavelength reference device A wavelength reference device for tuning a tunable Fabry-Perot filter and/or a tunable VCSEL to a desired frequency, where the device uses a modified Michelson interferometer to generate a series of reference frequencies... | 12/16/2003 |
| 6656221 | Method and apparatus for improving mitral valve function A method and apparatus for reducing mitral regurgitation. The apparatus is inserted into the coronary sinus of a patient in the vicinity of the posterior leaflet of the mitral valve, the apparatus being adapted to straighten the natural curvature of at le... | 12/02/2003 |
| 6652588 | Bimetal tibial component construct for knee joint prosthesis This invention provides for a novel orthopedic prosthesis, specifically a prosthetic tibial component for a prosthetic total knee joint, that comprises two constructs, one being a metal base construct that engages the bone and the other being a polyethyle... | 11/25/2003 |
| 6639922 | Wavelength locker and optical system using the same Apparatus for use in tuning a tunable optical device to a target wavelength, the apparatus comprising: a beam splitter for tapping a portion of the light emerging from the tunable optical device; a walk-off reflector for dividing the portion of the light ... | 10/28/2003 |
| 6639932 | Vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) with cavity compensated gain In one form of the invention, there is provided a laser comprising a front mirror and a rear mirror which are disposed so as to establish a reflective cavity therebetween; a gain region disposed between the front mirror and the rear mirror, the gain regio... | 10/28/2003 |
| 6632226 | Apparatus and method for determining the relative position of bones during surgery A measuring gauge for measuring the relative position of two bones during surgery, the measuring gauge comprising an anchor, an adapter, an outrigger and a locking joint.... | 10/14/2003 |
| 6594022 | Wavelength reference device A wavelength reference device for tuning a tunable Fabry-Perot filter and/or a tunable VCSEL to a desired frequency, where the device uses a Fizeau interferometer and a position sensitive detector, with the position sensitive detector being used to measur... | 07/15/2003 |
| 6591032 | Optical switching and attenuation systems and methods therefor Novel light switches and attenuators are disclosed. In one form of the invention, a novel 2×2 crossbar switch is formed by positioning a movable reflector intermediate four fiberoptic lines. In another form of the invention, a 1×N switch is formed by pr... | 07/08/2003 |
| 6565605 | Multiple facet joint replacement A prosthesis for the replacement of multiple diseased or traumatized spinal facets comprises a portion that replaces at least a bony portion of the facets to be replaced and where the prosthesis attaches to the vertebra in a manner that does not require a... | 05/20/2003 |
| 6540752 | Threaded bone tunnel dilator A cannulated threaded bone tunnel dilator that accurately advances through bone and dilates a bone tunnel in a gentle, controlled manner, including a distal tapered, threaded tip and a body mounted on the distal end of a shaft. The proximal end of the sha... | 04/01/2003 |
| 6533816 | Graft ligament anchor and method for attaching a graft ligament to a bone A graft ligament anchor includes a tubular body having a bore therethrough and proximal and distal ends. A flange is attached to the tubular body at the proximal end thereof and extends radially outwardly beyond the tubular body. A deformable wall is disp... | 03/18/2003 |
| 6527785 | Surgical suturing instrument and method of use A device is disclosed for introducing a flexible elongated element through at least two portions of a subject. In an embodiment, the device includes a proximal end and a distal end, as well as an advancement unit for longitudinally advancing the flexible ... | 03/04/2003 |
| 6526079 | Single etalon optical wavelength reference device A compact wavelength monitoring and control assembly for a narrow band source is provided comprising a narrow bandpass, wavelength selective transmission filter element, of Fabry-Perot structure, through which two collimated beams from a laser source are ... | 02/25/2003 |
| 6520965 | Apparatus and method for orthopedic fixation A filament retaining washer for mounting about the shank of a bone screw deployed in a bone whereby to retain the filament to the bone, the filament retaining washer comprising a structure having a screw hole extending therethrough for receiving therein t... | 02/18/2003 |
| 6516977 | System and method for mixing bone cement An apparatus for mixing bone cement in a vacuum includes a container for mixing first and second components of a bone cement in a vacuum, the container having a sealed body defining an interior space and a selected quantity of the first component disposed... | 02/11/2003 |
| 6519386 | Light coupling apparatus and method An apparatus and method for orienting a light source with individual or bundled, single- or multi-mode optical fibers so that the light source projects an efficient projection and/or an optimal projection toward at least one optical fiber.... | 02/11/2003 |
| 6515752 | Wavelength monitoring system A wavelength monitoring system for continuously monitoring the wavelengths of different optical channels transmitted through a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) fiberoptic system. In one construction, an optical diffraction grating is used to disperse... | 02/04/2003 |
| 6507755 | Apparatus and method for stimulating human tissue A system and method for stimulating human tissue using a master controller and a slave controller that communicate using high level commands. In one embodiment, a system of the invention includes a master controller, a slave controller in signal communica... | 01/14/2003 |
| 6499486 | Method for reconstructing a ligament A method for reconstructing a ligament. In one form of the invention, there is disclosed a method for securing a graft ligament in a bone tunnel, the method comprising the steps of: (1) forming a first bone tunnel in a bone, and forming a second bone tunn... | 12/31/2002 |
| 6457483 | Process and fixture for ascertaining pressure losses In a fixture for ascertaining pressure losses in a pressure line (3) which can be blocked for a selectable unit of time by means of shut-off valves (11, 13), in which the consumers (4, 5) are connected to the pressure line (3) and the pressure line (3) is... | 10/01/2002 |
| 6438149 | Microelectromechanically tunable, confocal, vertical cavity surface emitting laser and fabry-perot filter A method is provided for fabricating microelectromechanically tunable vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers and microelectromechanically tunable Fabry-Perot filters with precise lateral and vertical dimensional control. Strained reflective dielectric fi... | 08/20/2002 |
| 5788463 | Manual vacuum producing system having pressure indicator A vacuum system comprising a vacuum pump and a vacuum indicator. The vacuum pump comprises a cylinder, a piston disposed in the cylinder, a piston rod fixed to the piston and extending through an end of the cylinder, the rod being movable reciprocally, a ... | 08/04/1998 |
