The equipment has a wave collector (16) sensitive to a magnetic field to exchange signals via an inductive channel with an active implantable medical device (14). A connection unit (22) connects the collector to a signal processing and transmitting and receiving electronic unit (24). An adjusting unit fixes a wave collector support (18) in a location of a garment (10) such that, after initial positioning of the collector to a right of a thorax region, the collector is positioned and maintained in the former position at each threading of the garment by the patient.

The system has a cross arm (1) with a plate (12), and a motorized system to plunge a sampling device (5) into soil or material to be sampled. A lower end of a vertical rod (50) of the device crosses a drilling in the plate. The drilling of the plate (12) is located in an axis of a ring (31) of a support device (3) and in a drilling of a plate (32) of the support device. An independent claim is also included for a method to implement a system for using a device that takes samples in humid soil or a material of granular or powdery composition.

The invention relates to an ultrasound linear piezoelectric motor comprising an ultrasound oscillator (1) embodied in the form of a piezoelectric plate (4) or a cylinder shell part (3), acoustic oscillation generators (5) and a friction element (6) which frictionally interacts with a driven element (8) and is disposed in a holder. The inventive holder is embodied in the form of an elastic clamp (13) which embraces a driven element, is fixed to the ultrasound oscillator and made of a sound-conducting material.

The purpose of this invention is to sense the presence of a seated occupant in a vehicle such as an automobile, plane, train or bus, or in a room or location where it is desirable to detect if seats are occupied. The occupant presence detection device consists of a single seat-mounted electrode, an oscillator circuit, a bridge circuit, a detection circuit and a circuit for processing the detected signals. The oscillator circuit excites the electrode. If an occupant is present on the seat, additional capacitance from the human body is introduced into the bridge via the electrode. This created differences in the voltage and phase of the waveform in each arm of the bridge circuit which are amplified by a differential amplifier. The signal is then converted to a DC voltage that, when above a predetermined threshold, causes the device to outputs a signal that indicates the presence of an occupant. Using a bridge configuration and a differential amplifier allows the circuit to be operated over a wide range of supply voltages. It also reduces the need for high precision components and the need to regulate the amplitude of the waveform produced by the oscillator. The net result is a capacitive occupant sensing device that is less complex and less expensive that previous capacitive occupant sensing devices, yet is tolerant of power supply fluctuations, is able to function over a wide range of operating voltage and still provides failsafe functionality.

A high speed non-contact beam scanning device sized and shaped to provide the ergonomic benefits of a pen or wand, yet can scan a wide angle moving beam across an information-bearing target in one or two dimensional scan patterns such as lines, rasters or other patterns in order to read information therefrom. The device is well suited for reading one or two dimensional bar-code or other printed matter. In order to achieve the high density optical packaging necessary for its high performance to size benefits the device employs a novel in-line or "axial" gyrating, or "axial" scan element. The axial scan element can accept an input light beam at one end and cause it to emerge from its opposite end as a scanned beam, propagating in the same general forward direction it had upon entering the element. Reflected light, which carries information contained on the target, is collected by an internal non-imaging light concentrator and is processed by signal processing electronics. All components are integrated into a thin low mass module small enough to fit in a pen. Communication from the device is achievable by a cable or by wireless transmission.

A device for the measurement of chemical and/or biological samples, in particular by means of luminescence spectroscopy, comprises an irradiation unit (12), a sample receiver (10), at least one optical unit (30) and a detector unit (40). Electromagnetic radiation of various wavelength ranges and/or polarisations are led to the sample (10) from the irradiation unit (12). The colour marker in the sample (10), which contains at least one colour marker, is stimulated into producing luminescence and gives off light. The emitted light is led by means of an optical unit in the direction of an optical unit. The light emitted by the colour markers is detected by detectors (42,44,46, 48) in the detector unit. According to the invention, the measurement results may be improved on the irradiation unit (12) generating a pulsed irradiation. The irradiation unit is thus preferably controlled by a control unit (18) in such a way that the irradiation pulses impinge on the sample (10) in a temporal sequence.

A sensor device is capable of identifying any components of a mechanical force applied to a movable object. The sensor device includes a movable object including at least one magnetically encoded region having a magnetic field; a plurality of magnetic field detectors being placed around the at least one magnetically encoded region of the movable object at regular intervals; and a signal processing unit being connected to the plurality of magnetic field detectors. The plurality of magnetic field detectors are set up to convert changes in the magnetic field of the at least one magnetically encoded region caused by each component of the mechanical force applied to the movable object into corresponding electrical signals. The signal processing unit receives the corresponding electrical signals being representative for the respective components of the mechanical force applied to the movable object. The signal processing unit is programmed to identify the respective components of the mechanical force applied to the movable object on the basis of the corresponding electrical signals.

A method for sensing a disturbance in a transmission path of a converging ultrasound energy beam transmitted by a transducer in a focussed ultrasound system comprises transmitting a burst of ultrasound energy from the transducer, detecting whether a reflected portion of the ultrasound energy burst is received at the transducer within a certain time period following transmission of the burst, and, if so, analyzing the received reflected portion to determine a characteristic of the disturbance.

A device and process for preventing medical errors due to the improper administration of an intravenously delivered medication includes the spectroscopic analysis of intravenous fluid components. An emission source and detector are placed adjacent to the intravenous tubing of an administration set to generate signals for spectroscopic analysis. The signals are processed to identify the medication and, in certain embodiments of the invention, can determine the medication's concentration. In a preferred embodiment, the emission source, detector, and hardware and software for the spectroscopic analysis are placed in an infusion pump.

The present invention is a compact apparatus and method that provides an efficient manner for monitoring the condition and level of a functional fluid directly in operating equipment. A sensor device is provided that includes a plurality of liquid sensors and a plurality of vapor sensors that when used in conjunction with one another at different temperatures, can provide a thorough evaluation of the oxidative degradation, liquid contamination and solid contamination of the fluid to detect the end of the useful life of the fluid. By providing liquid sensors and vapor sensors on the same device, the present invention allows for a compact, efficient, and economically feasible manner to monitor the condition of fluid as well as detecting abnormal operating conditions prior to further component damage and eventual equipment failure.