| Tech ID |
Title |
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| 22998 |
Casting Of Carbonaceous Materials In Porous Silicon Nanostructures
University researchers have developed methods to synthesize structured glassy carbon nanofibers inside the pores of a porous silicon template by carbonization and obtain free-standing nanofiber by dissolution of the porous silicon template. The carbon nanofibers adopt the shape and morphology of the porous silicon template. The carbon/porous silicon composites are robust, surviving repeated thermal and organic vapor adsorption cycles. The carbon nanocasting approach creates surfaces that: (a) have increased affinity for non-polar organic molecules such as toluene, leading to a 10× improvement in the sensitivity of the sensor; (b) have increased surface area relative to the template leading to greater capacity as an adsorbent; (c) are very stable; and, (d) uniformly cover the underlying silicon layer.
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| 22917 |
Fiber Optic Force Sensing Transducer
The ability to measure forces and/or mechanical displacements with high precision has direct implications on the development of advanced sensing platforms that can respond to acoustic, strain, pressure, and/or chemical signals. Measuring small forces (< 1 nN) is typically carried out by sophisticated instruments such as an optical trap (or optical tweezer) or atomic force microscope which acts as a calibrated force transducer that can directly measure the force and distance of a system. Both techniques offer excellent force sensitivity (piconewton range), but it would be extremely difficult to integrate these platforms into transportable, or embeddable, sensors that can detect stimuli such as sound waves, pressure changes, or chemicals.
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| 22911 |
Method for Sensing and Classification of Molecules Using Porous Optical Films
University researchers have developed methods of sensing and identifying vapor analytes based on temperature cycling of an optically interrogated porous optical film sensor. For example, the hysteresis in the temporal response of the photonic stop band from an oxidized porous silica chemical sensor distinguishes between the analytes isopropanol, heptane, and cyclohexane. The discrimination capability is attributed to diffusion and adsorption processes that are characteristic of the analyte/surface interaction, similar to a temperature programmed desorption or a chromatographic experiment. The field of the invention is multi-component chemical sensing and gas analysis with applications in environmental monitoring, homeland security, general research/industry, niche uses, e.g., smoke detection, breath analysis, etc.
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| 22888 |
Automated Pain Assessment: Computer Vision and Machine Learning
Pain assessment is essential and crucial to effective pain management in the clinical setting. Without adequate and continuous pain assessment, pain therapies may not be tailored to patient needs, and pain continues unrecognized, underestimated, and poorly controlled. Pain assessment has generally relied on patient self-report. Unfortunately, age, gender and racioethnicity of patients may affect clinical interpretation of patient verbal reports of pain and subsequent pain management. Importantly, self-report is not a viable option for infants, very young children and/or persons with cognitive, sensory, psychiatric or physical disabilities. The most common reason for the under-treatment of pain in U.S. hospitals is a failure of clinicians to assess pain and pain relief. Mismanagement of pain has resulted in morbidity, including hyperalgesia, somatization and poor neurofunctional outcomes. Inadequate control of procedurally-related pain in children contributes to conditioned anxiety and stress responses to future interventions and procedures, higher pain intensities and diminished analgesic effectiveness with subsequent procedures, noncompliance and avoidance of medical care, and predisposition to persistent or chronic pain states. Untreated pain may also contribute to morbidity and mortality by impeding recovery, exacerbating injury, preventing healing, prolonging hospitalization, and delaying treatment leading to death. In contrast, adequate pain management interventions have been demonstrated to reduce not only reported pain but also medication use, patient re-hospitalization rates and length of hospital stay.
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| 22590 |
Microneedle Arrays for Transdermal Biosensing and Drug Delivery
Recent reports in the scientific literature have shown the ability of microneedle arrays to detect analytes via electrochemical methods. However, these technologies require the uptake of biological fluids via integrated microfluidic systems, thus complicating overall device design. Microneedle arrays for drug delivery have also been reported in the literature but these are not coupled with biosensing.
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| 21176 |
Optical Seismometer and Tiltmeter with Monolithic Flexures
A Michelson interferometer is formed by discrete optical elements mounted to a frame that holds a pendulum suspended from a monolithic flexure. The interferometer measures the displacement of the end of the pendulum with respect to the frame. Optical fibers link the optics to a laser, photodetectors, and a digitizer for signal processing at the other end of an optical fiber cable. The system is robust and ideal for oil and gas borehole sensing, as only optical components are exposed to the harsh working environment with all electronics safely housed at the surface.
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| 21071 |
Periodic Electrodynamic Focusing Lens for Nanoparticles and Ions < 10 nm
Aerodynamic lenses are now widely used as a method to generate a particle beam, particularly for small nanoparticles. Aerosol mass spectrometers are commercially available and their integrated aerodynamic lens-nozzle designs has been characterized. [See, for example, Aerosol Science and Technology, 36, 617-631, (2002).] However, the technique has the serious limitation that it is limited to particles > 10 nm.
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| 20585 |
Wavelength Modulation Spectroscopy Based Optical Sensing
Researchers from UC San Diego have patented new techniques, apparatus and systems for using wavelength modulation spectroscopy measurements to optically monitor gas media. One example of this technology offers a method for optically sensing a gas medium using a tunable laser to produce a wavelength-modulated laser beam, without prior knowledge of individual pressure broadening coefficients or gas composition. In another application, this invention permits for the combination the harmonic signal of the modulation frequency from the first of two laserswith a harmonic signal frequency of a second laser to concomitantly measure gas concentration along with total gas pressure.
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| 20583 |
Sensitive Chemical Sensor To Detect A Broad Range Of Nitrogen-Based Explosives
Detecting ultra trace explosive analytes is important for forensic or counterterrorism applications as well as for personnel, baggage, or cargo screening. However, metal detectors frequently fail to detect explosives (such as those in the plastic casing of modern land mines); dogs are expensive and difficult to maintain: and other methods, including gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry, surface-enhanced Raman, energy dispersive X-ray diffraction, for example, are highly selective, but are expensive and not easily adapted to a small, low-power package. Therefore, chemical sensors are preferable to other detection devices.
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| 20582 |
Ultra-sensitive and Ultra-stable Chemical Sensor Based on Ultra-thin Organic Thin-Film Transistors
Researchers at UC San Diego have developed a field-effect transistor device with a semiconducting organic thin-film as an active channel material capable of absorbing chemical vapors. The channel conductance changes in the presence of chemical vapors. Experimental data on a number of analytes shows markedly improved sensitivity over existing devices, and a base-line drift in the presence of chemical vapors of less than 0.03 percent / hr. This sensor device can be utilized in handheld gas chromatographs, or as a household sensor for detecting gas leakage. Other applications are explosive vapor detector at airport security checkpoints and chemical warfare agent detection.
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| 19913 |
A New Single Particle Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption and Ionization Mass Spectrometer
Researchers at UC San Diego have developed a MALDI (or chemical ionization) time of flight MS with extensively modified single particle sampling and simultaneous, on-line and real-time, positive and negative, mass detection. Effects, such as initial spatial distribution, initial kinetic distribution, initial temporal distribution, and space charge, which results in poor mass resolution and/or unstable and inaccurate mass calibration are fully eliminated. By eliminating such effects, accurate and stable mass analysis can be obtained for continuous analysis of numerous particles.
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