Surgical stapling head assembly with firing lockout for a surgical stapler

In various embodiments, a surgical stapling head is provided that may comprise a staple cartridge for supporting one or more staples, a core movable relative to the staple cartridge, at least one staple driver extending from the core, and a casing configured to at least partially hold the staple cartridge and movably receive the core and the staple driver(s). The casing may further comprise at least one retention member that is configured to move from a first position to a second position when sufficient external force is applied to the retention member, such as that provided by a shaft of a surgical stapler during insertion of the stapling head assembly into the shaft. When the retention member(s) are at the second position, the staple driver(s) may be prevented from driving staples from the staple cartridge, thereby providing a firing lockout feature to the stapling head assembly during insertion into at least a portion of a surgical stapler.

HARD-WIRED AND WIRELESS SYSTEM WITH FOOTSWITCH FOR OPERATING A DENTAL OR MEDICAL TREATMENT APPARATUS

A hard-wired and wireless system for operating a dental or medical treatment apparatus is provided. The system includes a footswitch device and a dental/medical base unit, each having a communication element for transmitting and receiving signals. The footswitch and base unit are each programmed to have an initial identification address Then, the footswitch and base unit are reprogrammed to know the identification address of the other. The footswitch and base unit can be reprogrammed in the field by the end user. Subsequent communications between the footswitch and base unit include both identification addresses. The footswitch includes two switches that are activated by depressing the upper cover of the footswitch to a first position and second position respectively. The footswitch is particularly suitable for operating an ultrasonic dental scaler.

Surgical sterilizer with integrated battery charging device

A device for charging at least one rechargeable battery of a battery-operated surgical instrument that comprises a sealed container operable to enclose and create a microbial seal around the battery. The sealed container permits surgical sterilization and inductive charging of the battery while the battery is enclosed therein. The device further comprises an inductive charging assembly having a power receiver sub-assembly inside the sealed container and electrically coupled to the battery whereby the power receiver sub-assembly is operable to receive electrical power inductively from outside the sealed container and to charge the battery electrically coupled to the power receiver sub-assembly. A power supply is disposed outside the sealed container and supplies power inductively to the power receiver sub-assembly through the sealed container such that the sealed container is not structurally breached.

Alert system for vehicle

An alert system for a vehicle includes a video display, an interior visual alert device disposed at an interior rearview mirror assembly, a driver side visual alert device disposed at a driver side exterior rearview mirror assembly and a passenger side visual alert device disposed at a passenger side exterior rearview mirror assembly. A control is operable to activate at least one of the alert devices in response to a detection of an object rearward of the vehicle. The alert devices are viewable by the driver of the vehicle when activated and are operable to guide or prompt the driver to check the images captured by a rearward facing camera and displayed in the vehicle cabin by the video display so that the driver can verify the nature and type of a potential hazard rearward of the vehicle.

Nucleic acid constructs and methods of use

The present invention provides oligonucleotide constructs, sets of such oligonucleotide constructs, and methods of using such oligonucleotide constructs to provide validated sequences or sets of validated sequences corresponding to desired ROIs. Such validated ROIs and constructs containing these have a wide variety of uses, including in synthetic biology, quantitative nucleic acid analysis, polymorphism and/or mutation screening, and the like.

Prismatic multiple waveguide for near-eye display

A near-eye display includes a compound waveguide for presenting viewers with virtual images visible within an eyebox at a limited relief distance from the compound waveguide. The compound waveguide is assembled from a plurality of waveguides that are at least partially optically isolated for conveying different portions of the virtual image. An input couple injects the different portions of the virtual image into predetermined combinations of the waveguides, and an output coupling ejects the different portions of the virtual image from the waveguides toward the eyebox in a form that at least partially constructs a pupil within the eyebox.

Occupancy pattern detection, estimation and prediction

Systems and methods are described for predicting and/or detecting occupancy of an enclosure, such as a dwelling or other building, which can be used for a number of applications. An a priori stochastic model of occupancy patterns based on information of the enclosure and/or the expected occupants of the enclosure is used to pre-seed an occupancy prediction engine. Along with data from an occupancy sensor, the occupancy prediction engine predicts future occupancy of the enclosure. Various systems and methods for detecting occupancy of an enclosure, such as a dwelling, are also described.

Decoding multiple remote control code sets

A method of processing remote control commands at a control device consistent with certain embodiments involves at the control device, receiving commands directed to the control device; at the control device, receiving a command directed to a source device, the source device being operative to provide video content to a display; and at the control device, interpreting the command directed to the source device in order to track a state of operation of the source device. This abstract is not to be considered limiting, since other embodiments may deviate from the features described in this abstract.

Scheduling of reconstructive I/O read operations in a storage environment

A system and method for effectively scheduling read and write operations among a plurality of solid-state storage devices. A computer system comprises client computers and data storage arrays coupled to one another via a network. A data storage array utilizes solid-state drives and Flash memory cells for data storage. A storage controller within a data storage array comprises an I/O scheduler. The storage controller is configured to receive a read request targeted to the data storage medium, and identify at least a first storage device of the plurality of storage devices which contains data targeted by the read request. In response to either detecting or predicting the first storage device will exhibit variable performance, the controller is configured to generate a reconstruct read request configured to obtain the data from one or more devices of the plurality of storage devices other than the first storage device.

METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE

A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device includes at least forming a lower electrode made of titanium nitride on a semiconductor substrate, forming a dielectric film comprising zirconium oxide, in which at least the uppermost layer of the dielectric film is formed by an atomic layer deposition (ALD) method on the lower electrode, forming a first protective film on the dielectric film without exceeding the film forming temperature of the ALD method over 70° C., and forming an upper electrode made of a titanium nitride on the first protective film.