1. A method of demisting a volume of moving gas containing liquid comprising the steps of:
a. Admitting mist comprising gas containing liquid into a first space bounded by substantially circularly curved walls defining a maximal diameter, said first space having a predetermined cross sectional area;
b. Conducting the mist into a second space increasing cross sectional area relative to said first space having substantially circularly curved walls of substantially the same cross sectional area throughout;
c. Guiding said mist into a third space of further increased cross sectional area relative to said second space; and
d. Partially impeding the passage of side mist by conducting it through a semi porous baffle.
2. A method of demisting a volume of moving gas containing liquid comprising the steps of:
a. Admitting mist comprising gas containing liquid into a first space bounded by substantially circularly curved walls defining a maximal diameter, said first space having a predetermined cross sectional area;
b. Conducting the mist into a second space increasing cross sectional area relative to said first space having substantially circularly curved walls of substantially the same cross sectional area throughout;
c. Conducting said mist to traverse said first and second spaces until it has made at least a half-circle,
d. Guiding said mist into a third space of further increased cross sectional area relative to said second space;
e. Partially impeding the passage of said mist by conducting it through a semi porous baffle; and
f. Withdrawing said gas and liquids now separated through separate ports.
3. A method according to claim 2 wherein said impeding step includes positioning said baffle substantially orthogonally relative to the flow of the mist.
4. A method according to claim 2 wherein said guiding step includes guiding said mist into a chamber with an open space.
5. A method according to claim 2 wherein said guiding step includes guiding said mist toward a central exit port
6. A method of separating filament-like semi-rigid filamentary debris from a gaseous stream, comprising the steps of:
a. Conducting said combination of debris and air toward a separation tube
b. Conducting said debris through one end of the tube;
c. Changing the flow direction of the tube such that the flow angle is at least 90 degrees from the initial flow angle at the one of the tube
d. Trapping said debris at the point of said changed flow angle.
7. An apparatus for separating filament-like semi-rigid filamentary debris from a gaseous stream, comprising:
a. an inlet passage;
b. an outlet passage; and
c. an elbow passage having an angular portion connection said inlet and outlet passages, said angle being such that there is no visual line of sight from said inlet to said outlet, so that passage of said debris is blocked by the angular portion.
8. An apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said passages include an array of side by side inlet, outlet and elbow passages.
9. An apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said elbow passage includes a substantially right angle bend.
10. An apparatus according to claim 7 wherein the internal cross sectional dimension of said elbow passage is equal to or less than one-half the length of debris which it intended to trap.
11. A apparatus for demisting a volume of moving gas containing liquid comprising a fluid path and for removing semi-rigid filamentary debris comprising:
a. an inlet passage;
b. an outlet passage;
c. an elbow passage having an angular portion connection said inlet and outlet passages, said angle being such that there is no visual line of sight from said inlet to said outlet, so that passage of said debris is blocked by the angular portion,
d. a first space in communication with said outlet passage, said first space bounded by substantially circularly curved walls defining a maximal diameter, said first space having a predetermined cross sectional area;
e. A second space of increasing cross sectional area relative to said first space and in fluid communication with said first space;
f. A third space of further increased cross sectional area relative to said secondthird space in fluid communication with said third space;
g. a semi porous baffle interposed in said third space and in said fluid path; and
h. withdrawal ports for gas and liquid removal
12. An apparatus according to claim 11 wherein said apparatus includes an array of side by side elbow passages in communication with said first space.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. An apparatus for the analysis of retinal vessels comprising:
a retinal camera for recording images of the ocular fundus;
at least one image storage;
means for detecting arterial and venous vessels in the images;
means for determining the vessel diameters of the detected arterial and venous vessels;
means for determining artery-to-vein ratios from the determined vessel diameters;
said retinal camera being connected to an image sequence control unit which carries out a control of the time intervals or times which is adapted to the period of vasomotor waves and a control of the quantity of images of a sequence of images to be recorded for which an image sequence storage is provided for storing images; and
said means for determining artery-to-vein ratios being designed to determine a mean artery-to-vein ratio from artery-to-vein ratios which are determined from at least two images of an image sequence.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image sequence control unit is connected to means for determining maxima and minima of the vasomotor waves as image recording times which are supplied to the retinal camera by the image sequence control unit for recording images.
3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the means for determining the maximum and minimum of vasomotor blood pressure waves comprise measuring devices for the continuous measurement of blood pressure or blood volume or heart rate.
4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image sequence control unit is connected to means for the continuous detection of the retinal vessel diameters or of the retinal blood volume and for determining maxima and minima of vasomotor waves of the vessel diameter or of the retinal blood volume as image recording times which are supplied to the retinal camera by the image sequence control unit for recording images.
5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the image sequence control unit is connected to means for the continuous detection of the vessel diameter of a retinal artery.
6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means for determining the arterial central equivalent and the venous central equivalent and for determining the artery-to-vein ratio have an image evaluating device.
7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an image correction unit is provided for real-time correction of the images.
8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein means are provided for recording video sequences of the ocular fundus in continuous light.
9. A method for the analysis of retinal vessels comprising the steps of:
evaluating digital fundus images in which a ring-shaped measurement zone containing vessel portions which proceed from a central vessel, which are to be distinguished as arteries or veins, and which are to be measured;
arranging said measurement zone around the papilla at a distance therefrom;
determining a vessel diameter for each of these vessel portions;
determining a retinal arterial vessel diameter equivalent and a retinal venous vessel diameter equivalent from the determined vessel diameters of the arterial and venous vessel portions;
determining an artery-to-vein ratio is determined from the vessel diameter equivalents of the arteries and veins;
recording at least two images, as fundus images to be evaluated, successively in a timed sequence that is adapted to the period of vasomotor waves as an image sequence; and
forming a mean artery-to-vein ratio from artery-to-vein ratios that are determined based on the at least two images.
10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the at least two images are recorded at a fixed time interval corresponding to one half of the period length of the dominant vasomotor wave.
11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the dominant vasomotor wave and the period length of the wave are determined by measurement of blood pressure, by recording the arterial or venous vessel diameter, by recording the retinal or ocular blood volume, or by recording papillary redness.
12. The method according to claim 9, wherein at least two images are recorded at identical time intervals of four to six seconds.
13. The method according to claim 9, wherein at least two images are recorded at identical time intervals amounting to an odd multiple of a fixed time interval of four to six seconds.
14. The method according to claim 9, wherein at least four images are recorded at identical time intervals of four to six seconds or of an odd multiple thereof.
15. The method according to claim 9, wherein at least two images are recorded at identical time intervals of eight to twelve seconds or at an odd multiple of a fixed time interval of eight to twelve seconds.
16. The method according to claim 9, wherein a video image sequence is recorded and digitally stored.
17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the image sequence is a digital video recording with a recording duration of at least ten seconds.
18. The method according to claim 16, wherein the image sequence is a digital video recording with a recording duration of at least twenty seconds.
19. The method according to claim 9, wherein the image recordings are carried out at times at which vasomotor-dependent changes in vessel diameter, or in blood volume, or in blood pressure, or in heart rate take on maximum or minimum values.
20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the image recordings are carried out in a systole of the minimum of vasomotor waves and in a diastole of the maximum of vasomotor waves of the vessel diameter or retinal blood volume or blood pressure.
21. The method according to claim 19, wherein the image recordings are carried out in a systole of the minimum of the heart rate of vasomotor waves and in a diastole of the maximum of the heart rate of vasomotor waves.
22. The method according to claim 9, further comprising the following additional methods steps:
selecting the arterial and venous vessel portions to be measured from a first starting image and the coordinates of the selected vessel portions are stored;
adjusting the images of the image sequence with respect to one another for covering identical vessel portions to be measured, wherein the coordinates of the vessel portions of sequence images recorded successively in time after the starting image are converted to the stored coordinates of the starting image;
determining mean vessel diameters from images for the vessel portions based on the converted coordinates of the vessel portions in the sequence images,
determining the vessel diameter equivalents for the arteries and veins and the artery-to-vein ratio from the vessel diameter equivalents of the arteries and veins based on the images; and
determining a mean vessel diameter equivalent for the arteries and a mean vessel diameter equivalent for the veins from the vessel diameter equivalents of the images, and a mean artery-to-vein ratio therefrom, or calculating a mean artery-to-vein ratio from the individual artery-to-vein ratios of the images.
23. The method according to claim 9, further comprising the following additional method steps:
selecting the arterial and venous vessel portions to be measured in each image;
determining mean vessel diameters from images for the vessel portions;
based on images, determining the vessel diameter equivalents for the arteries and veins the artery-to-vein ratio from the vessel diameter equivalents of the arteries and veins; and
determining a mean vessel diameter equivalent for the arteries and a mean vessel diameter equivalent for the veins from the vessel diameter equivalents of the images, and a mean artery-to-vein ratio therefrom, or calculating a mean artery-to-vein ratio from the individual artery-to-vein ratios of the images.
24. The method according to claim 22, wherein the images in the image sequence are of an unchanged fundus section and are recorded with identical recording settings of an image recording system.
25. The method according to claim 24, wherein the images of the image sequence are subjected to a calibration check.