Recent Patents on Engineering

ISSN: 1872-2121

Recent Patents on Engineering
Volume 2, Number 2, June 2008

Contents


Sound Reduction Technologies for MRI Scanners Pp. 72-79
Jing-Huei Lee, Brent Rudd, Mingfeng Li and Teik C. Lim
[Abstract]


Artificial Reefs to Improve and Protect Fishing Grounds Pp. 80-86
Juan J. Muñoz-Pérez
[Abstract]


A Review of Patents in Tyre Cooling Pp. 87-94
Nicholas W. Netscher, Saiied M. Aminossadati and Kamel Hooman
[Abstract]


Size Fractionation by Slalom Chromatography and Hydrodynamic Chromatography Pp. 95-103
Ricardo P. Dias
[Abstract]


Fabrication and Physicochemical and Medicinal Characterization of Nano Traditional Chinese Medicine Pp. 104-113
Ma Peiyan, Fu Zhengyi, Su Yanli, Wang Weimin, Wang Hao, Zhang Jinyong, Wang Yucheng and Zhang Qingjie
[Abstract]


BioMEMS in Diagnostics: A Review and Recent Developments Pp. 114-121
Ioanna Giouroudi, Jürgen Kosel and Cornie Scheffer
[Abstract]


Recent Patents on Polymeric Adsorbents and their Derivatives for Pollutants Removal from Aqueous Media: A Mini-Review Pp. 122-131
Bingcai Pan, Qingrui Zhang, Weiming Zhang and Quanxing Zhang
[Abstract]


Recent Patent and Modelling of Phosphate Rotary Dryer Pp. 132-141
Tarik Raffak, Mohamed Agouzoul, Mustapha Mabsate, Abdellah Chik and Abdelkader Alouani
[Abstract]


Patent Selections Pp. 142-146




Abstracts


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Sound Reduction Technologies for MRI Scanners
Jing-Huei Lee, Brent Rudd, Mingfeng Li and Teik C. Lim

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a powerful imaging tool used in clinical diagnosis and biomedical research. One of the undesirable characteristics of the process is the loud noise generated during a scan. A major source of this noise is the result of switching electrical current in gradient coils within the static magnetic field. As the technology has evolved, the quality of images has improved by, among other things, increasing static magnetic fields and gradient switching rates. These improvements have also increased the imaging speed, allowing for observation of dynamic events. For example, functional MRI (fMRI) allows changes in brain function over short time intervals to be observed. However, the downside is a corresponding increase in the level of noise generated. The sound pressure levels (SPLs) the patient is subjected to not only produce discomfort, but are potentially harmful as well. Reducing exposure to these high SPLs would not only result in improved patient comfort, but also allow for more robust imaging procedures, since the magnitude of noise exposure can be a limiting factor in certain types of MRI procedures. In this paper recent patents related to reducing noise exposure with the potential for application to MRI will be examined.


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Artificial Reefs to Improve and Protect Fishing Grounds
Juan J. Muñoz-Pérez

Different artificial reefs have been invented in recent times to create or to improve fishing grounds. Nevertheless, the use of harmful illegal trawl equipment has become so prevalent that the protection of over-exploited coastal areas has lead some authors to develop another type of artificial reef specially designed to avoid it. A review of some of the latest patents of two types of artificial reefs for marine life (creative and protective) is presented. These designs have been chosen because they introduce a new shape, material and/or behaviour and will give the readers a wide view of the artificial reefs on offer. Finally, a special design, with anti-trawling purposes, whose use is compatible with open water anchoring zones, is also introduced.


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A Review of Patents in Tyre Cooling
Nicholas W. Netscher, Saiied M. Aminossadati and Kamel Hooman

A number of patents on tyre cooling have been reviewed with a focus on those which can be applied to earthmoving tyres for the mining industry. The mechanisms of heat transfer within the tyre carcass are introduced as well as the basic tyre structure and effects of overheating on tyre operation. The tyre cooling patents are separated into five functional groups and reviews are made based on practicality and potential for significant heat transfer. This analysis has made it evident that potential cooling effectiveness is often compromised by practicality of an invention. The patents deemed to have the most potential for cooling are those which incorporate a working fluid which undergoes a phase change to transfer heat between different regions of the wheel assembly. Finally, these inventions are also related to current research projects which aim to develop a new cooling technique and extend the working life of earthmoving tyres.


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Size Fractionation by Slalom Chromatography and Hydrodynamic Chromatography
Ricardo P. Dias

Hydrodynamic chromatography, also called separation by flow, is based on the use of the parabolic flow profile occurring in open capillaries or in the pores from a column filled with non-porous particles. The hydrodynamic chromatography separation medium, if any, is much simpler than that from size exclusion chromatography (porous particles), the former technique being used in the size-fractionation of many colloids and macromolecules. The transition between hydrodynamic chromatography (obtained using low flow rates) and slalom chromatography (obtained using high flow rates) was reported in studies related with the migration behaviour of proteins, plasmid DNAs and double stranded DNAs. Slalom chromatography is mainly applied in the size-fractionation of large double stranded DNA fragments and may compete with electrophoretic techniques. In the present paper it is discussed the main patents, applications, advantages and drawbacks related to hydrodynamic chromatography and slalom chromatography, as well as some strategies that may improve the performance of these simple size-fractionation techniques.


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Fabrication and Physicochemical and Medicinal Characterization of Nano Traditional Chinese Medicine
Ma Peiyan, Fu Zhengyi, Su Yanli, Wang Weimin, Wang Hao, Zhang Jinyong, Wang Yucheng and Zhang Qingjie

This paper discusses the present status of,and future perspectives on nano Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) by describing the concept, its methodologies, preservation, drug effect and pharmacological study. The explanation and discussion are made from the recent study of nano TCM. Several types of nano Traditional Chinese medicine are prepared by High speed centrifugal sheering pulverizer (HSCS pulverizer) and the physicochemical characterization of nano particles is discussed. The typical serumal experiments are completed to prove the remarkable medicinal effect of nano TCM particles. When the medicine is pulverized to nano particles, the natural barrier of cell membrane and cell wall are broken into pieces. The medicine can be extracted faster and more adequately. Conclusions are drawn that the medicinal effects of nano particles can be improved. So the Nano TCM will have a profound effect on the Chinese drugs pharmaceutics. More experimental data should be studied in order to evaluate the medicinal effects of nano TCM further.


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BioMEMS in Diagnostics: A Review and Recent Developments
Ioanna Giouroudi, Jürgen Kosel and Cornie Scheffer

In recent years, the interest in developing micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) for biological and medical applications (BioMEMS) has drastically increased due to the impressive developments in the field of molecular biology, medicine, biochemical and material sciences as well as in microsystems technology. BioMEMS are extensively applied in diagnostic research, drug delivery, therapeutics, tissue engineering, biosensors and lab-on -a-chip systems.

This paper focuses on BioMEMS applied in diagnostics such as the study of DNA, cells, proteins and viruses in lab as well as in point-of-care conditions and describes recent achievements in this important field. The future directions and prospects are also discussed. Miniature diagnostic devices are considered to dramatically increase the sensitivity of several test routines, and therefore the reliability of the diagnosis improves while the costs are reduced. Additionally, a step towards point-of-care diagnostics is achieved by BioMEMS development since the possibility of developing a system that integrates an entire test system in an affordable hand-held device is increased.


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Recent Patents on Polymeric Adsorbents and their Derivatives for Pollutants Removal from Aqueous Media: A Mini-Review
Bingcai Pan, Qingrui Zhang, Weiming Zhang and Quanxing Zhang

Water pollution by organic and/or inorganic pollutants has gained considerable attention all over the world. In the past decades, adsorption has been proposed as one of the most effective and simplest approaches to remove pollutants from contaminated waters, and polymer-based adsorbents have been widely used as efficient adsorbents except for activated carbon. Here, we reviewed recent patents on preparation of polymeric adsorbents and their derivatives as well as their application in pollutants removal from waters. Here, we classify the polymer-based adsorbents as four types for review: polymeric porous adsorbents; their chemically modified derivatives, polymer-coated inorganic hybrid adsorbents, and polymeric chelating adsorbents. Some of the features on their preparation, properties, and applications were illustrated by case studies. The forthcoming development in the given field was also discussed.


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Recent Patent and Modelling of Phosphate Rotary Dryer
Tarik Raffak, Mohamed Agouzoul, Mustapha Mabsate, Abdellah Chik and Abdelkader Alouani

We review recent patents on a phosphate rotary dryer, and we present in this paper two-fold. The first aim is the modelling of the phosphate rotary dryer and presentation of the dynamic model which we elaborated for the simulation. So far, no studies to investigate this have been reported. The second aim is to realize tests on the rotary dryer existing in Oued-Zem Complex of drying Khouribga-Morocco. In the present study, an improved numerical heat and mass transfer model has been developed for the rotary dryer used for drying the phosphate. The developed model is obtained on the basis of the equations of heat and mass transfer between the gaseous and solid phases. These equations are simplified by using suitable assumptions. The latter were validated by the tests carried out on the location. In order to better understand the behaviour of the product during drying process and to validate the mathematical model developed, we conducted tests on a rotary dryer installed in Oued-Zem Complex of drying. The purpose of these tests was the determination of phosphate humidity and temperature gas profiles along the dryer. The computer results show that the present model can predict the length of the dryer as well as axial solid and gas temperature distributions with reasonably good accuracy. The model developed is in a dynamic regime and it makes possible to take into account the thermal convective process, the porosity of the product as well as the generation of humidity. The results of the simulation of the model are compared with the experimental data.