A spirometer for measuring fluid flow, particularly associated with exhalation of respiratory patients. The spirometer of this invention... Show moreA spirometer for measuring fluid flow, particularly associated with exhalation of respiratory patients. The spirometer of this invention preferably has a fluidic oscillator wherein the fluid oscillates within a chamber of the fluidic oscillator. An oscillation frequency of the fluid flow within the chamber is correlated to a flow rate. A computer is used to process input data, such as data representing frequency of the oscillatory flow within the chamber, to a flow rate passing through the spirometer. The spirometer of this invention may have no moving parts, which results in the need for only a design calibration and no periodic calibrations throughout use of the spirometer. Sponsorship: Illinois Institute of Technology United States Patent Show less
An apparatus and method for coating micron-sized or sub-micron-sized particles such as living cells. The coating apparatus includes an... Show moreAn apparatus and method for coating micron-sized or sub-micron-sized particles such as living cells. The coating apparatus includes an encapsulation chamber enclosing a two-layer water-oil system for coating each islet cell with an aqueous polymeric coat. Islets together with an aqueous polymer solution are fed by a feed device that utilizes the principle of hydrodynamic focusing in order to ensure encapsulation of individual islets. The polymer in the aqueous coat is subsequently crosslinked by being exposed to laser light to produce structurally stable microcapsules of controllable thickness of the order of tens of microns. Encapsulated islets are removed from the encapsulation chamber by a valveless pump and recovered by filtration or centrifugation. Sponsorship: Illinois Institute of Technology United States Patent Show less
An information display system is provided which comprises a body of material serving as both a substrate for thin film components and a medium... Show moreAn information display system is provided which comprises a body of material serving as both a substrate for thin film components and a medium for the propagation of Rayleigh acoustic waves along its surface. The thin film components include elements responsive to the Rayleigh waves to provide information at selected locations on the surface of the body. These components may be either the control elements or the output elements of the display system. Sponsorship: IIT Research Institute United States Patent Show less
A method of analyzing odors is provided in which an odorant sample is passed through a plurality of gas chromatographic columns having... Show moreA method of analyzing odors is provided in which an odorant sample is passed through a plurality of gas chromatographic columns having stationary phases of differing chemical polarity. The numerical value of various subjective odor dimensions of the odorant sample which otherwise would involve subjective test panel analysis, may be determined from the retention times of the odorant sample with respect to the various stationary phase materials. Sponsorship: IIT Research Institute United States Patent Show less
Infectious medical materials is rendered innocuous by heating heterogeneous medical materials having wet and dry portions with a radio... Show moreInfectious medical materials is rendered innocuous by heating heterogeneous medical materials having wet and dry portions with a radio frequency electric field. The medical materials are exposed to the radio frequency electric field in order to heat the medical waste. The medical waste may include sorted medical or veterinary waste which after heat treatment may be shredded and recycled. Sponsorship: IIT Research Institute Sponsorship: Held, Jeffery S. Sponsorship: Sharp, James W. United States Patent Show less
A video tape cartridge of endless loop configuration capable of tape speeds suitable for longitudinal scan television recording while... Show moreA video tape cartridge of endless loop configuration capable of tape speeds suitable for longitudinal scan television recording while providing one hour or more of continuous playing time on one-quarter inch width tape. In an illustrative embodiment tape guides within the cartridge are shiftable from a loading position to an operating position without a substantial change in the length of the tape path to accommodate scanning of the tape at a tensioned loop closely adjacent the capstan. Sponsorship: IIT Research Institute United States Patent Show less
A method for improving a thoracic diagnostic image for the detection of nodules. Non-lung regions are removed from the diagnostic image to... Show moreA method for improving a thoracic diagnostic image for the detection of nodules. Non-lung regions are removed from the diagnostic image to provide a lung image. Vessels and vessel junctions of the lung(s) in the lung image are enhanced according to a first-order partial derivative of each of a plurality of voxels of the lung image. A vessel tree representation is constructed from the enhanced vessels and vessel junctions. The vessel tree representation can be subtracted from the lung image to enhance the visibility of nodules in the lung(s). Sponsorship: Illinois Institute of Technology United States Patent Show less
Modified scrap rubber particles, a method for forming the modified rubber particles and compositions including the modified rubber particles.... Show moreModified scrap rubber particles, a method for forming the modified rubber particles and compositions including the modified rubber particles. The rubber particles are impregnated with at least one polymerizable monomer and polymerized to impregnate the rubber particles with a polymer. The impregnated polymer provides the modified rubber particles with improved properties which increase the potential uses for recycled scrap rubber. The modified rubber particles are useful in surface coatings, such as latex paint or powder coatings and can be used as a soil substitute. Sponsorship: Illinois Institute of Technology United States Patent Show less