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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7371223 | Electroactive polymer actuated heart-lung bypass pumps A pump apparatus, which comprises: (a) a tubular portion comprising an electroactive polymer actuator that expands and contracts an inner volume of the tubular portion based upon received control signals; and (b) a control unit electrically coupled to the electroact... | 05/13/2008 |
| 7338509 | Electroactive polymer actuated sheath for implantable or insertable medical device A medical device delivery sheath, which comprises an active member that volumetrically expands and contracts upon application of an appropriate electrical potential. The active member further comprises an electroactive polymer, for example, polypyrrole. Also describ... | 03/04/2008 |
| 7339383 | Nanogripper device having length measuring function and method for length measurement executed with nanogripper device having length measuring function A fixed electrode and a movable electrode used to drive each arm are disposed at a drive unit. As a voltage is applied between the fixed electrode and the movable the electrode, a coulomb force causes the movable the electrode to move, thereby driving the arms along... | 03/04/2008 |
| 7335347 | Methods for purifying radiolabelled compounds One aspect of the present invention relates to a method of purifying radiolabelled compounds comprising a) loading onto a fluorous polymer a radiolabelled compound precursor comprising a fluoroalkyl tin moiety; b) reacting the radiolabelled compound precursor with a... | 02/26/2008 |
| 7331094 | Method and device for positioning components to be joined together A device for positioning components to be joined together, such as car body components, is characterized by at least one movable central module and a plurality of arms, movable in space and connected thereto and which in each case have at least one holding element f... | 02/19/2008 |
| 7254464 | System and methods for adaptive control of robotic devices Methods for operating robotic devices (i.e., “robots”) that employ adaptive behavior relative to neighboring robots and external (e.g., environmental) conditions. Each robot is capable of receiving, processing, and acting on one or more multi-device primitive co... | 08/07/2007 |
| 7209228 | Scanning apparatus A scanning apparatus includes a support frame and a laser scanner mounted to the frame. A five bar closed loop spherical linkage supports a clamping device for retaining an object. The linkage moves the object through a scanning beam about a spherical surface to fac... | 04/24/2007 |
| 7164968 | Robotic scrub nurse A robotic system, and corresponding method, performs the function of a human scrub technician in an operating room. A device, and associated method for using the device, performs one, or more, of the following functions: instrument identification, instrument localiz... | 01/16/2007 |
| 7139353 | Boiling water reactor nuclear fuel assembly lifting support A lifting support for a boiling water reactor nuclear fuel assembly comprising a grappling head configured to allow attachment to a lifting device, a body with an upper end and a lower end, the upper end connected to the grappling head, the body configured to be ins... | 11/21/2006 |
| 7128707 | Electroactive polymer based artificial sphincters and artificial muscle patches Provided are artificial muscle patches, which are adapted to be implanted adjacent a patient's heart, and artificial sphincter cuffs, which are adapted to be implanted around a body lumen, such as the urethra, the anal canal, or the lower esophagus. The devices of t... | 10/31/2006 |
| 7125403 | In vivo accessories for minimally invasive robotic surgery Surgical accessories are presented in vivo and used by surgical tools in the surgical site to perform additional tasks without the need to remove the tools from the surgical site for tool change or instrument loading. Examples of in vivo accessories include fastenin... | 10/24/2006 |
| 7127325 | Controllable object remote control and diagnosis apparatus A robot apparatus having a robot and a controller for controlling the robot. The apparatus has a diagnosing computer connected to the controller and acquiring a state quantity of the robot. An analyzing computer is provided remotely from the robot and has a control ... | 10/24/2006 |
| 7121781 | Surgical instrument with a universal wrist A robotically controlled endoscopic medical instrument that includes an end effector coupled to a wrist. The wrist provides two separate degrees of freedom about the same pivot point. The end effector can be moved and actuated by pins. The pins allow for a compact m... | 10/17/2006 |
| 7117067 | System and methods for adaptive control of robotic devices Methods for operating robotic devices (i.e., “robots”) that employ adaptive behavior relative to neighboring robots and external (e.g., environmental) conditions. Each robot is capable of receiving, processing, and acting on one or more multi-device primitive co... | 10/03/2006 |
| 7107124 | Roll-pitch-roll wrist methods for minimally invasive robotic surgery A teleoperator system with telepresence is shown which includes right and left hand controllers (72R and 72L) for control of right and left manipulators (24R and 24L) through use of a servomechanism that includes computer (42). Cam... | 09/12/2006 |
| 7097615 | Robotic endoscope with wireless interface An endoscope apparatus and method of operating the same. The endoscope apparatus comprises an endoscope portion and a control and display unit. The endoscope portion preferably comprises: (i) a sensor disposed at a distal end of the endoscope portion and providing e... | 08/29/2006 |
| 7087049 | Repositioning and reorientation of master/slave relationship in minimally invasive telesurgery The invention provides robotic surgical systems which allow selectable independent repositioning of an input handle of a master controller and/or a surgical end effector without corresponding movement of the other. In some embodiments, independent repositioning is l... | 08/08/2006 |
| 7077808 | Ultrasonic imaging catheter An ultrasonic imaging catheter apparatus and a method of using the same to scan the inner wall of a body lumen. The ultrasonic imaging catheter apparatus comprises: (a) a flexible elongate element adapted for insertion into a body lumen, the elongate element having ... | 07/18/2006 |
| 7063671 | Electronically activated capture device A novel capture device apparatus comprising: (a) a capture device portion, at least a part of which is adaptable for insertion into a patient and (b) a control unit. The capture device portion comprises one or more apertures and one or more electroactive polymer act... | 06/20/2006 |
| 7064473 | Actuator film material, actuator film and actuator using the same Provided is an actuator manufactured using a material obtained by mixing a film material featuring stable motion and high speed of response and used for ion conductive polymer actuators with conductive fine particles. According to the present invention, an actuator ... | 06/20/2006 |
| 7055789 | Articulating tool arm with positional feedback A power hand-tool support apparatus includes a multi-component articulating arm with pneumatic lifting assist to hold the hand-tool and protect the operator from tool induced torque, the apparatus equipped with positional feedback optical encoders, to communicate wi... | 06/06/2006 |
| 7027892 | Method and apparatus for performing minimally invasive cardiac procedures A system for performing minimally invasive cardiac procedures. The system includes a pair of surgical instruments that are coupled to a pair of robotic arms. The instruments have end effectors that can be manipulated to hold and suture tissue. The robotic arms are c... | 04/11/2006 |
| 6997870 | Universal, programmable guide catheter A guide catheter apparatus that comprises the following: (a) a guide catheter portion that includes a plurality of electroactive polymer actuators disposed along its axial length and (b) a control unit coupled to the actuators and sending control signals to the actu... | 02/14/2006 |
| 6994703 | Method and apparatus for performing minimally invasive cardiac procedures A system for performing minimally invasive cardiac procedures. The system includes a pair of surgical instruments that are coupled to a pair of robotic arms. The instruments have end effectors that can be manipulated to hold and suture tissue. The robotic arms are c... | 02/07/2006 |
| 6969395 | Electroactive polymer actuated medical devices The present invention is directed to novel apparatus for use in medical procedures relating to tubular body fluid conduits. According to a first aspect of the invention, a filter apparatus is provided for delivery over a guidewire within a tubular body conduit, such... | 11/29/2005 |
| 6963792 | Surgical method A teleoperator system with telepresence is shown which includes right and left hand controllers (72R and 72L) for control of right and left manipulators (24R and 24L) through use of a servomechanism that includes computer. The teleoperato... | 11/08/2005 |
| 6933695 | Ceiling and floor mounted surgical robot set-up arms The present invention generally relates to surgical devices, systems, and methods, especially for minimally invasive surgery, and more particularly provides structures and techniques for aligning a robotic surgery system with a desired surgical site. The present inv... | 08/23/2005 |
| 6927391 | Method and apparatus for processing a micro sample An object of the invention is to realize a method and an apparatus for processing and observing a minute sample which can observe a section of a wafer in horizontal to vertical directions with high resolution, high accuracy and high throughput without splitting any ... | 08/09/2005 |
| 6925357 | Medical tele-robotic system A robotic system that includes a remote controlled robot. The robot may include a camera, a monitor and a holonomic platform all attached to a robot housing. The robot may be controlled by a remote control station that also has a camera and a monitor. The remote con... | 08/02/2005 |
| 6921360 | Electroactive polymer based artificial sphincters and artificial muscle patches Provided are artificial muscle patches, which are adapted to be implanted adjacent a patient's heart, and artificial sphincter cuffs, which are adapted to be implanted around a body lumen, such as the urethra, the anal canal, or the lower esophagus. The devices of t... | 07/26/2005 |
| 6918622 | Robot hand and robot hand finger A robot hand finger makes a hooking movement similar to that of the human fingers with less number of driving units by installing a 4-joint link. A robot hand includes several fingers and 4-joint link in order to implement a horizontal movement of the fingers. A rob... | 07/19/2005 |
| 6905491 | Apparatus for performing minimally invasive cardiac procedures with a robotic arm that has a passive joint and system which can decouple the robotic arm from the input device A system for performing minimally invasive cardiac procedures. The system includes a pair of surgical instruments that are coupled to a pair of robotic arms. The instruments have end effectors that can be manipulated to hold and suture tissue. The robotic arms are c... | 06/14/2005 |
| 6879880 | Grip strength with tactile feedback for robotic surgery Surgical robots and other telepresence systems have enhanced grip actuation for manipulating tissues and objects with small sizes. A master/slave system is used in which an error signal or gain is artificially altered when grip members are near a closed configuratio... | 04/12/2005 |
| 6866417 | Automatically measuring the temperature of food An apparatus for measuring the temperature of workpieces transported on a conveyor is disclosed. In one broad aspect of the invention, the apparatus includes a translatable assembly which has a pick-up tool for picking up workpieces and a temperature-sensing device ... | 03/15/2005 |
| 6853879 | Medical manipulator and method of controlling the same A medical master/slave manipulator is excellent in operability and capable of reducing burden on the operator. The medical master/slave manipulator includes a master unit provided with an operation control portion, a slave unit provided with a working device, an int... | 02/08/2005 |
| 6714839 | Master having redundant degrees of freedom The invention provides an input device for robotic surgical techniques and other applications. The input device has a handle supported by a linkage having joints with a redundant degree of freedom, with the joints being movable with at least one more degree of freed... | 03/30/2004 |
| 6514237 | Controllable intralumen medical device An intralumen medical device which incorporates electroactive polymer actuators into various sections of flexible medical probes results in a device capable of precisely navigating through tortuous passageways. Electroactive polymer actuators can be attac... | 02/04/2003 |
| 6494662 | Device for remote control of the movement of gripping elements Remote control of a mechanical transmission, more particularly to the remote control of at least one gripping element by a monodirectional action, whereby the gripping element includes an articulation which can close by converging upon the object which is... | 12/17/2002 |
| 6470236 | System and method for controlling master and slave manipulator In a system and a method for remotely controlling a slave manipulator easily and highly accurately, operations of three master manipulators are consolidated, and one slave manipulator is remotely controlled in accordance with the consolidation result, the... | 10/22/2002 |
| 6413264 | Surgical manipulator for a telerobotic system The invention is directed to manipulator assembly (2) for holding and manipulating a surgical instrument (14) in a telerobotic system. The assembly comprises a base (6) by fixable by means of passive or power driven positioning devices to a surface, such ... | 07/02/2002 |
