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α-keto alkylperacids and methods for producing and using the same

The present invention provides α-keto alkylperacids and methods for producing and using the same. In particular, α-keto alkylperacids are useful as antimicrobial agents.




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Substituted 3-phenylpropionic acids and the use thereof

The present application relates to novel 3-phenylpropionic acid derivatives, to processes for their preparation, to their use for the treatment and/or prevention of diseases and to their use for preparing medicaments for the treatment and/or prevention of diseases, in particular for the treatment and/or prevention of cardiovascular disorders.




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Process and system for the separation and drying of carboxylic acid crystals

In a process for the separation and drying of crude carboxylic acid crystals from a slurry in a solvent, the slurry is supplied to a filter operating at pressure and at a temperature above the atmospheric boiling point of the solvent. A cake of separated crystals is removed from the filter and passed to a thermal dryer. In a system for the separation and drying of crude carboxylic acid from a slurry in a solvent, a pressure filter device has a slurry inlet and an outlet for a cake of carboxylic acid crystals. The system also has a thermal dryer and means for transporting the cake of carboxylic acid crystals from the pressure filter device to the dryer. The pressure filter device is configured to operate at a pressure and temperature above the atmospheric boiling point of the solvent.




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Thermal separation process

A thermal separation process between a gas ascending in a separating column and a liquid descending in the separating column, which comprise (meth)acrylic monomers, wherein the separating column comprises a sequence of crossflow mass transfer trays, the crossflow mass transfer trays of which have passage orifices for the ascending gas in crossflow direction both in front of and beyond a downcomer for the descending liquid, and such crossflow mass transfer trays and one such crossflow mass transfer tray in a sequence of crossflow mass transfer trays present in a separating column.




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Process for recovering aliphatic monocarboxylic acids from distillation

A process is provided for recovering aliphatic monocarboxylic acids having from 4 to 11 carbon atoms from the distillation residue obtained in the oxidation of the corresponding aldehyde by means of oxygen or oxygen-containing gas mixtures in the presence of alkali metal carboxylates or alkaline earth metal carboxylates to form the corresponding monocarboxylic acid and subsequent distillation, characterized in that the distillation residue is reacted with an aqueous acid in a tube reactor and the two-phase mixture flowing out from the tube reactor is introduced into a settling vessel in which the organic phase which separates out has a pH of 4.5 or less.




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Method of production of a methionine salt

A reaction system suitable for production of a methionine salt contains a reactive rectification column containing a weir having a height of 100 mm or more.




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Process for producing terephthalic acid

Methods of producing terephthalic acid are described. The methods involve using a substantially pure p-toluic acid stream. The substantially pure p-toluic acid stream, a solvent comprising an ionic liquid and optionally a carboxylic acid, a bromine source, a catalyst, and an oxidizing agent are contacted to produce a product comprising terephthalic acid.




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Methanol carbonylation process with rhodium catalyst and a metallic co-catalyst selected from transition metals, zinc, beryllium, indium, tin, strontium and barium

A carbonylation process for making acetic acid using a metallic co-catalyst composition, effective as a rhodium stabilizer and/or rate promoter, at molar ratios of metal/rhodium of about 0.5 to 40. The process includes reacting methanol with carbon monoxide in the presence of a rhodium-based catalytic metal complex with about 1 to 20 weight percent methyl iodide, less than about 8 weight % water and about 0.5 to about 30 weight percent methyl acetate. The crude acetic acid is flashed and further purified.




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Reactor and process for propane oxidation

The amount of propionic acid produced in the process of oxidizing propane to acrylic acid is reduced by using a reactor with a length/diameter ratio >10 and/or maintaining the difference between the target reaction temperature and the peak temperature within the reactor to less than 20° C.




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Method for increasing methionine productivity using a mixture of methyl mercaptan and dimethyl sulfide

The present invention relates to a method for increasing L-methionine productivity and organic acid productivity. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method which involves adding a mixture containing methyl mercaptan and dimethyl sulfide at a appropriate ratio to O-acetyl homoserine or O-succinyl homoserine and to an enzyme having an activity of converting methionine precursor into L-methionine, so as to perform an enzyme reaction, to thereby improve the conversion rate of L-methionine and organic acid from the L-methionine precursor, and thus increasing L-methionine yield as compared to conventional method.




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Method for recovering and purifying propionic acid

The present invention provides a method for purifying and recovering propionic acid from an aqueous mixture containing a fermentation product obtained from a fermentation process using glycerol as substrate, the method comprising optionally acidifying the aqueous mixture to a pH below 4.5, subjecting the aqueous mixture to an extraction with extracting agent containing a heavy extractant and optionally a light extractant as a diluent to obtain an extract comprising the extracting agent and organic acids, and a raffinate comprising water and any unreacted glycerol, and subjecting the extract to vacuum evaporation to separate propionic acid-containing organic acids from the extractant.




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Methods for producing acrylic acid and/or ester thereof and polymer of the acrylic acid and/or ester thereof

A method for producing acrylic acid and/or an ester thereof from a raw material composition containing hydroxypropionic acid and/or an ester thereof, the method including the steps of: (a) evaporating the raw material composition; and (b) dehydrating the evaporated raw material composition by contact with a dehydration catalyst, wherein the total amount of hydroxypropionic acid and/or an ester thereof supplied in the step (b) is controlled to be 70% by mass or more based on 100% by mass of the total amount of hydroxypropionic acid and/or an ester thereof supplied in the step (a).




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Method for the conversion of methylmercaptopropionaldehyde formed from crude acrolein and crude methyl mercaptan

A reactive rectification column suitable for the production of 2-hydroxy-4-methylmercaptobutyric acid and/or methionine contains a weir having a height of 100 mm or more.




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Methods for production of arginine biocarbonate at low pressure

A method of producing arginine bicarbonate is provided including reacting an arginine slurry with a source of carbon dioxide gas under elevated temperature and low pressure to form a solution of at least 50% arginine bicarbonate, and recovering arginine bicarbonate from the solution.




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Process for producing (meth)acrylic acid

A process for producing (meth)acrylic acid comprising the step of repeating a crystallization operation “n” times to produce purified (meth)acrylic acid from crude (meth)acrylic acid, wherein: the each crystallization operation comprises a crystallizing step and a melting step; a polymerization inhibitor is not added to a (meth)acrylic acid melt obtained in the melting step of the first to n−1th crystallization operation(s) and a (meth)acrylic acid solution subjected to the crystallizing step of the second to nth crystallization operation(s); and a concentration of a polymerization inhibitor in a (meth)acrylic acid solution subjected to the crystallizing step of the first crystallization operation is adjusted so that a concentration of the polymerization inhibitor in a (meth)acrylic acid solution subjected to the crystallizing step of the nth crystallization operation is 2 ppm by mass or higher.




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Modified carbon material and process of making and using the same

A method of making modified carbon materials for use in fabricating fuel cell components. The modified carbon may comprise pendant fluorocarbon groups bonded covalently bonded thereto. In one embodiment, a mixture is formed and comprises carbon material suitable for use in a fuel cell component, an organic solvent, a compound having the general formula I—R wherein R is a fluorocarbon, and a reductant.




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Process and apparatus for slurry separation of aromatic carboxylic acid

In a process for removing aromatic carboxylic acid from a slurry thereof in solvent, the slurry is split into sub streams and each of said sub streams is supplied to a respective rotary pressure filter such that the sub stream pass through the filters in parallel. Gas is passed through the rotary pressure filters in series in an open-loop arrangement.




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Ozonolysis operations for generation of reduced and/or oxidized product streams

The present invention relates to methods for safe and efficient use of hydrogen and oxygen in ozonolysis operations. The invention also relates to an ozonolysis process involving elements of both reductive and oxidative ozonolysis which are integrated in a continuous process. In one embodiment, the ozonolysis process of the present invention uses hydrogen and/or oxygen generated from water and electricity, which may be recycled to generate water and/or electricity.




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Process for the (AMM)oxidation of lower molecular weight alkanes and alkenes

A process for producing unsaturated carboxylic acids or unsaturated nitriles by vapor phase oxidation reaction of their corresponding C3 to C5 alkanes, C3 to C5 alkenes, and mixtures thereof, as a hydrocarbon starting material, wherein the process performance is monitored and the path of gasses through catalyst beds is altered. Improved catalyst lifetimes may be achieved.




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Methods for production of high concentration of arginine bicarbonate solution at high pressure

Methods of producing arginine bicarbonate solutions in very high concentrations including reacting an arginine slurry containing a first portion of arginine with a source of carbon dioxide gas at elevated pressure and temperature, adding subsequent portions of arginine to the resulting solution and further reacting with compressed carbon dioxide until a final solution containing in excess of 50% by weight are provided which include preparing an arginine solution by subjecting an arginine water slurry to elevated pressure and temperature and reacting the arginine solution with a source of carbon dioxide gas to form a solution comprising arginine and bicarbonate anion and recovering arginine bicarbonate from the solution.




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Process for production of adipic acid from 1,6-hexanediol

Processes are disclosed for the conversion of 1,6-hexanediol to adipic acid employing a chemocatalytic reaction in which 1,6-hexanediol is reacted with oxygen in the presence of particular heterogeneous catalysts including at least one of platinum or gold. The metals are preferably provided on a support selected from the group of titania, stabilized titania, zirconia, stabilized zirconia, silica or mixtures thereof, most preferably zirconia stabilized with tungsten. The reaction with oxygen is carried out at a temperature from about 100° C. to about 300° C. and at a partial pressure of oxygen from about 50 psig to about 2000 psig.




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Processes for producing succinic acid

Provided are processes for producing high-purity succinic acid from a succinic-acid-containing liquid through crystallization.




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Polycyclic organic compound, optically anisotropic film and method of production thereof

The polycyclic organic compounds which are substantially transparent for an electromagnetic radiation in the visible spectral range, an anisotropic optical film comprising at least one polycyclic organic compound and a method of producing thereof are disclosed. The polycyclic organic compounds have a general formula (I) wherein A and B are acid groups, n is the number of phenyl rings in the range from 3 to 10; m is 0, 1, 2 or 3; l is 1, 2, or 3, p is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6, C is a counterion from a list comprising H+, NH+4, Na+, K+, Li+, Cs+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Sr2+, La3+, Zn2+, Zr4+, Ce3+, Y3+, Yb3+, Gd3+, and any combination thereof; k is the number of counterions necessary for compensation of the negative electric charge equal to (−p).




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Process for producing fluorosulfuric acid aromatic-ring esters

A production process of a fluorosulfuric acid aromatic-ring ester according to the present invention includes reaction of an aromatic-ring hydroxyl compound with sulfuryl fluoride (SO2F2) in the presence of a tertiary amine except pyridine and methylpyridine. The sulfuryl fluoride, used as the reactant in the production process according to the present invention, is widely adapted as a fumigant and is easily available on a large scale. Further, the target compound can be obtained rapidly with a high yield under moderate reaction conditions in the production process according to the present invention. In this way, all of the prior art problems can be solved in the production process according to the present invention. The production process according to the present invention is thus particularly useful for industrial production of the fluorosulfuric acid aromatic-ring ester.




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Systems and processes for the production of isophthalic acid and terephthalic acid

Various embodiments of the present invention generally disclose systems and processes for the conversion of a feed stream comprising at least one C8 aromatic into a product stream comprising isophthalic acid and purified terephthalic acid (IPA/TA).




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Method for producing reduced coenzyme Q10, method for stabilizing same, and composition comprising same

An object of the present invention is to provide a substance characterized by ability to reduce oxidized coenzyme Q10 and ability to stabilize reduced coenzyme Q10, which contains nutrients, has a favorable taste, and is excellent in general versatility, and a method for using the same. The present invention relates to a method for producing reduced coenzyme Q10 comprising reducing oxidized coenzyme Q10 with a particular amino acid. The present invention also relates to a method for stabilizing reduced coenzyme Q10 in the presence of a particular amino acid and a composition stabilized by the method.




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Biomass-resource-derived polyester and production process thereof

The present invention provides a resin capable of contributing greatly to solve environmental problems and problems related to exhaustion of fossil fuel resources and having physical properties suited for practical use. The polyester according to the present invention has a diol and a dicarboxylic acid as constituent components and has an amount of terminal acid of 50 equivalents/metric ton or less.




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Process for triphosphate oligonucleotide synthesis

This invention relates to a process for preparing an oligonucleotide 5'-triphosphate. The process comprises the steps of: (a) synthesizing an oligonucleotide having a 5' hydroxyl moiety; (b) reacting the 5' hydroxyl moiety with a reagent of formula I: to convert the 5' hydroxyl moiety to a 5'-H-phosphonate, wherein R1 and R2 are each independently selected from the group consisting of haloalkyl, aryl, substituted aryl, heteroaryl, substituted heteroaryl, cycloalkyl, substituted cycloalkyl, heterocycle, and substituted heterocycle, acyl, phosphoryl, substituted alkyl acyl, substituted heteroalkyl acyl, substituted aryl acyl or substituted heteroaryl acyl, substituted alkyl phosphoryl, substituted heteroalkyl acyl, substituted aryl phosphoryl, and substituted heteroaryl phosphoryl; (c) activating the H-phosphonate of step (b) by reacting the H-phosphonate with a silylating agent, a halogenated oxidizing agent, a nitrogen-containing heteroaryl, or a combination thereof, to form an activated H-phosphonate; and (d) treating the oligonucleotide having an activated H-phosphonate from step (c) with a poly(alkylammonium)pyrophosphate.




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L-proline and citric acid co-crystals of (2S, 3R, 4R, 5S,6R)-2-(3-((5-(4-fluorophenyl)thiopen-2-yl)methyl)4-methylphenyl)-6-(hydroxymethyl)tetrahydro-2H-pyran-3,4,5-triol

The present invention is directed to L-proline and citric acid co-crystals of (2S,3R,4R,5S,6R)-2-(3-((5-(4-fluorophenyl)thiophen-2-yl)methyl)-4-methylphenyl)-6-(hydroxymethyl)tetrahydro-2H-pyran-3,4,5-triol, pharmaceutical compositions containing said co-crystals and their use in the treatment glucose-related disorders such as Type 2 diabetes mellitus and Syndrome X.




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Process for manufacturing partially cross-linked alginate solution

Described is a microfluidic process for manufacturing partially cross-linked alginate solution, wherein the alginate solution is a homogenous liquid which exhibits an elastic response (G') which is equal to or greater than its viscous response (G″). In particular, the process may comprise microfluidic mixing of sodium alginate and calcium gluconate solutions to provide an injectable partially cross-linked alginate solution.




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Metabolically engineered cells for the production of resveratrol or an oligomeric or glycosidically-bound derivative thereof

A recombinant micro-organism producing resveratrol by a pathway in which phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) produces trans-cinnamic acid from phenylalanine, cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (C4H) produces 4-coumaric acid from said trans-cinnamic acid, 4-coumarate-CoA ligase (4CL) produces 4-coumaroyl CoA from said 4-coumaric acid, and resveratrol synthase (VST) produces said resveratrol from said 4-coumaroyl CoA, or in which L-phenylalanine- or tyrosine-ammonia lyase (PAL/TAL) produces 4-coumaric acid, 4-coumarate-CoA ligase (4CL) produces 4-coumaroyl CoA from said 4-coumaric acid, and resveratrol synthase (VST) produces said resveratrol from said 4-coumaroyl CoA. The micro-organism may be a yeast, fungus or bacterium including Saccharomyces cerevisiae, E. coli, Lactococcus lactis, Aspergillus niger, or Aspergillus oryzae.




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Production of glucose from starch using alpha-amylases from Bacillus subtilis

An α-amylase from Bacillus subtilis (AmyE) produces significant amounts of glucose from various carbohydrate substrates, including vegetable starch, maltoheptaose, and maltotriose. Among other things, this advantageous property allows AmyE or variants thereof to be used in a saccharification reaction having a reduced or eliminated requirement for glucoamylase. The reduction or elimination of the glucoamylase requirement significantly improves the efficiency of the production of ethanol or high fructose corn syrup, for example.




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RNAi-mediated inhibition of frizzled related protein-1 for treatment of glaucoma

RNA interference is provided for inhibition of Frizzled Related Protein-1 mRNA expression, in particular, for treating patients having glaucoma or at risk of developing glaucoma.




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Reduction of ALMS1 gene expression or inhibition of altröm protein to induce cardiomyocyte proliferation

The present invention relates to the field of cardiology. More specifically, the present invention provides methods and compositions for inducing proliferation of cardiomyocytes. In a specific embodiment, a method for inducing proliferation of cardiomyocytes comprises the step of administering an effective amount of an ALMS1 inhibitor.




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Method for producing cationized cellulose and method for producing cationized hydroxyalkyl cellulose

A production method of a cationized cellulose or a cationized hydroxyalkylcellulose, including step 1 for adding a cationizing agent to cellulose and mechanically decrystallizing the cellulose and step 2 for adding a basic compound to the mixture obtained in step 1 and mechanically decrystallizing the cellulose, or a production method of a cationized cellulose or a cationized hydroxyalkylcellulose, including a step 3 for adding a basic compound to cellulose and mechanically decrystallizing the cellulose and step 4 for adding a cationizing agent to the mixture obtained in step 3 and mechanically decrystallizing the cellulose. The cellulose and the cationizing agent are allowed to react with each other in step 2 or step 4.




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Electronic device provided with cryptographic circuit and method of establishing the same

The present invention provides for an electronic device having cryptographic computation means arranged to generate cryptographic data within the device for enhancing security of communications therewith, the device including an onboard power supplying means arranged to provide for the driving of the said cryptographic computational means, and so as to provide a device by way of a manufacturing phase and a post manufacturing phase arranged for distribution and/or marketing of the device, and wherein the step of generating the cryptographic data occurs during the post manufacturing phase.




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Method and apparatus for a trust processor

In an embodiment, an apparatus includes a cryptographic processor within a wireless device. The cryptographic processor includes at least one cryptographic unit. The cryptographic processor also includes a nonvolatile memory to store one or more microcode instructions, wherein at least one of the one or more microcode instructions is related to a sensitive operation. The cryptographic processor also includes a controller to control execution of the one or more microcode instructions by the at least one cryptographic unit, wherein the controller is to preclude execution of the sensitive operation if the apparatus is within an untrusted state.




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Resolution programmable dynamic IR-drop sensor with peak IR-drop tracking abilities

A data processing system on an integrated circuit includes a core that performs switching operations responsive to a system clock that draws current from the power supply network. An IR-drop detector includes a resistor ladder having outputs representative of an IR-drop caused by the core during the switching operations. The system further includes a plurality of amplifiers coupled to the outputs indicative of the IR-drop, a plurality of flip-flops coupled to the amplifiers, and a variable clock generator. The variable clock generator outputs a sampling clock comprising a group consisting of a variable phase or a variable frequency to the plurality of flip-flops. The flip-flops are triggered by the sampling clock so that the IR-drop at a time during a clock cycle of the system clock can be detected, and the peak IR-drop value for can be tracked.




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Processor bridge power management

A power controller can set the power state of a processor bridge based on which processor modules are in a communicative state. In addition, for a power state where selected processor modules are expected to be non-communicative, the power controller can set the supplied voltage to have a reduced voltage guard band as compared to other power states. These power management techniques can reduce the power consumed by the processor.




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Methods and apparatuses for controlling the temperature of a data processing system

Methods and apparatuses to manage working states of a data processing system. At least one embodiment of the present invention includes a data processing system with one or more sensors (e.g., physical sensors such as tachometer and thermistors, and logical sensors such as CPU load) for fine grain control of one or more components (e.g., processor, fan, hard drive, optical drive) of the system for working conditions that balance various goals (e.g., user preferences, performance, power consumption, thermal constraints, acoustic noise). In one example, the clock frequency and core voltage for a processor are actively managed to balance performance and power consumption (heat generation) without a significant latency. In one example, the speed of a cooling fan is actively managed to balance cooling effort and noise (and/or power consumption).




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Multi-cluster processing system and method of operating the same

A multi-cluster processing system and a method of operating a multi-cluster processing system are provided. The multi-cluster processing system includes: a first cluster including a plurality of first-type cores: a second cluster including a plurality of second-type cores; and a control unit configured to monitor loads of the first-type cores and the second-type cores, wherein when utilization of at least one of enabled first-type cores exceeds a predetermined threshold utilization of each of the first-type cores, the control unit enables at least one of disabled first-type cores in a first mode, and the control unit enables at least one of the disabled second-type cores and disables the first cluster in a second mode, wherein an amount of computation per unit of time of each of the second-type cores is greater than an amount of computation per unit of time of each of the first-type cores.




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Power supply control system, method, and computer program product

According to an embodiment, a control system includes a detector, an estimating unit, a determining unit, and a controller. The detector detects an idle state. The estimating unit estimates an idle period. When the idle state is detected, the determining unit determines whether a first power consumption when writeback of data which needs to be written back to a main storage device is performed and supply of power to a cache memory is stopped, is larger than a second power consumption when writeback of the data is not performed and supply of power is continued for the idle period. The controller stops the supply of power to the cache memory when the first power consumption is determined to be smaller than the second power consumption and continues the supply of power when the first power consumption is determined to be larger than the second power consumption.




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Security enclave processor power control

An SOC implements a security enclave processor (SEP). The SEP may include a processor and one or more security peripherals. The SEP may be isolated from the rest of the SOC (e.g. one or more central processing units (CPUs) in the SOC, or application processors (APs) in the SOC). Access to the SEP may be strictly controlled by hardware. For example, a mechanism in which the CPUs/APs can only access a mailbox location in the SEP is described. The CPU/AP may write a message to the mailbox, which the SEP may read and respond to. The SEP may include one or more of the following in some embodiments: secure key management using wrapping keys, SEP control of boot and/or power management, and separate trust zones in memory.




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Variable domain resource data security for data processing systems

The variable domain data access control system and method described herein use the same variable domain to describe a data security model and a variable domain data model, such as a product configuration model. A variable domain is a set of resource data that can be described using a logical relationship data structure. The variable domain utilizes logical relationship expressions, such as a Boolean logic language, to define resource data in terms of parts, rules and/or attributes, and any other property that can be accessed for viewing, manipulation, or other purposes. The data security model represents an access control list (ACL) that includes security attributes as resource data and uses the same data structure and logical relationship expressions as an associated variable domain data model. An application, such as a configuration engine, can be used to create controlled access to the variable domain data model using the data security model.




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Apparatus for controlling processor execution in a secure environment

Various embodiments described herein relate to apparatus for executing software in a secure computing environment. A secure processor can be used and configured to request a context swap from a first context to a second context when switching execution from a first portion of software to a second portion of software. A context manager, which can be in communication with the secure processor, can be configured to receive and initiate a requested context swap. A trust vector verifier, which can be in communication with the secure processor and the context manager, can be configured to load a trust vector descriptor upon command from a context manager.




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Method of processing data to enable external storage thereof with minimized risk of information leakage

A method is provided to process data so that the data can be externally stored with minimized risk of information leakage. A framework (virtual execution framework) based on virtual machines (VMs) is utilized as a substitute for a trusted institution. Encryption of consolidated data can reduce risk of information leakage and enhance security. Since the virtual execution framework can control connection and direction of communication, financial institutions are allowed to apply encryption to data on their own, which makes the data further appropriate for external storage. By allowing financial institutions to apply their own decryption, it is possible to prevent one of two financial institutions from retrieving externally stored data into the external execution framework without intervention of the other. Additionally, associated acting subjects can be provided with freedom depending on the degree of information leakage risk.




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Computer system for storing and retrieval of encrypted data items, client computer, computer program product and computer-implemented method

A system is disclosed comprising multiple sets of client computers each client computer having installed thereon an application program The application program comprising client computer specific log-in information, a database system coupled to the set of client computers via a network. The database system having a log-in component for logging-in the client computers, and being partitioned into multiple relational databases each one of which is assigned to one set of the sets of client computers. Each database further storing encrypted data items, each data item being encrypted with one of the user or user-group specific cryptographic keys, the key identifier of the cryptographic key with which one of the data items is encrypted being stored in the database as an attribute of the one of the encrypted data items. The log-in component comprising assignment information indicative of the assignment of the databases to the set of client computers.




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MRI-guided localization and/or lead placement systems, related methods, devices and computer program products

MRI compatible localization and/or guidance systems for facilitating placement of an interventional therapy and/or device in vivo include: (a) a mount adapted for fixation to a patient; (b) a targeting cannula with a lumen configured to attach to the mount so as to be able to controllably translate in at least three dimensions; and (c) an elongate probe configured to snugly slidably advance and retract in the targeting cannula lumen, the elongate probe comprising at least one of a stimulation or recording electrode. In operation, the targeting cannula can be aligned with a first trajectory and positionally adjusted to provide a desired internal access path to a target location with a corresponding trajectory for the elongate probe. Automated systems for determining an MR scan plane associated with a trajectory and for determining mount adjustments are also described.




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Determining and placing spinal implants or prostheses

A procedure and system for determining and placing spinal implants or prostheses includes measuring a change in position of vertebrae at an affected level of a patient's spine from a first position where the patient reports greatest pain at the affected level, to a second position where the patient reports least pain at the affected level. Spinal implants or prostheses are selected so as to urge the affected level of the spine toward the second position and away from the first position when the implants are placed at the affected level. In one embodiment, an implant device is formed by one or more inflatable balloons that are placed at determined locations inside a disc space at the affected level. When the balloons are inflated, vertebrae above and below the balloons are urged toward the second position and away from the first position at the affected level.




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Biopsy marker with in situ-generated imaging properties

An intracorporeal marker, for marking a site within living tissue of a host, includes an outer body portion of biodegradable material. An inner body portion is located in the outer body portion. The inner body portion includes biological material that becomes calcified in the living tissue of the host over time. An agent interacts with the biological material to promote calcification of the biological material of the inner body portion in the living tissue of the host.