1. An assembly comprising a pharmaceutical product; and a device for delivering said pharmaceutical product to a bodily cavity, said device including a barrel member having a distal end, which includes an opening, and a plurality of petals extending outwardly from said distal end in a generally axial direction, said petals cooperating with said opening so as to form a receptacle in said distal end of said barrel member for releasably receiving said pharmaceutical product each of said petals including a base connected to said distal end of said barrel member and terminating at a truncated flexible tip, each of said petals including an intermediate section extending between a corresponding one of said bases and a corresponding one of said tips, each of said petals being sized and shaped such that the entire portion of each of said intermediate sections is spaced from said pharmaceutical product in a radially outward direction and such that only said tips engage said pharmaceutical product at a substantially central portion thereof when said pharmaceutical product is fully received in said receptacle; and
wherein the tips of the petals form a second opening that maintains a larger diameter than a smallest inner diameter along the length of the barrel member both before and after release of the pharmaceutical product.
2. The assembly of claim 1, wherein said opening is encircled by said petals.
3. The assembly of claim 1, wherein each of said petals is flexible such that said tips are expandable and contractible in said radial direction.
4. The assembly of claim 3, wherein said petals are sized and shaped such that approximately half of said pharmaceutical product received in said receptacle extends outwardly beyond said tips.
5. The assembly of claim 4, wherein the curvature of each of said tips corresponds generally to the curvature of a substantially central portion of said pharmaceutical product received in said receptacle.
6. The assembly of claim 5, wherein said petals are sized and shaped so as to receive an oval-shaped suppository product.
7. The assembly of claim 1, wherein each of said petals has a length measured in said axial direction, said length being about one-half of an axial length of said pharmaceutical product received in said receptacle.
8. The assembly of claim 7, wherein each of said petals has a substantially semi-circular shape.
9. The assembly of claim 1, wherein said barrel member includes a proximal end, which is located opposite to said distal end, a substantially annular wall and a passageway extending between said distal and proximal ends through said wall.
10. The assembly of claim 9, wherein said wall has a first thickness at said tips and a second thickness at said proximal end, said first thickness being substantially less than said second thickness.
11. The assembly of claim 10, wherein said barrel member has a proximal section adjacent said proximal end and a distal section adjacent said distal end, said distal section having a flared shape.
12. The assembly of claim 11, wherein said distal end has a first radius and said proximal end has a second radius, said first radius being greater than said second radius.
13. The assembly of claim 12, wherein said barrel member includes an intermediate section positioned between said proximal and distal ends, said distal section including a proximal end portion integrally connected to said intermediate section of said barrel member and a distal end portion defined by said distal end of said barrel member, said distal and proximal end portions having third and fourth radii, respectively, said third radius being greater than said fourth radius.
14. The assembly of claim 1, further comprising a plunger member movably extending through a passageway of said barrel member for releasing said pharmaceutical product received in said receptacle.
15. The assembly of claim 14, wherein said plunger member has a distal end and a contact platform attached to said distal end of said plunger member for applying an axial force to said pharmaceutical product received in said receptacle.
16. The assembly of claim 15, wherein said contact platform has a size similar to the size of said pharmaceutical product received in said receptacle so as to substantially evenly distribute an axial force to said pharmaceutical product.
17. The assembly of claim 14, wherein said plunger member is axially movable relative to said barrel member between a first position, in which said contact platform is retracted into said receptacle so as to permit the loading of said pharmaceutical product in said receptacle, and a second position, in which said contact platform is positioned adjacent said tips so as to expel said pharmaceutical product from said receptacle.
18. The assembly of claim 17, wherein when said plunger member is positioned in its said first position, said contact platform is positioned in said receptacle and is in contact with said pharmaceutical product received in said receptacle so as to properly orient said pharmaceutical product such that said distal end of said barrel member is in contact with said pharmaceutical product only at said tips.
19. The assembly of claim 18, wherein said contact platform is positioned outwardly beyond said petals when said plunger member is positioned in its said second position.
20. The assembly of claim 18, further comprising first restricting means for restricting said plunger member from moving beyond its said first position.
21. The assembly of claim 20, further comprising second restricting means for restricting said plunger member from moving beyond its said second position.
22. The assembly of claim 21, wherein said barrel member includes a distal section located adjacent said distal end of said barrel member and having a flared shape, said first restricting means including a portion formed as part of said distal section and sized and shaped so as to engage said contact platform.
23. The assembly of claim 21, wherein said second restricting means includes a flange formed on a proximal end of said plunger member and sized and shaped so as to engage a proximal end of said barrel member.
24. The assembly of claim 1, wherein each adjacent pair of said petals is separated by a slit having a generally triangular shape.
25. The assembly of claim 24, wherein each of said slits has a first end positioned adjacent said barrel member and a second end positioned remote from said barrel member, said first and second ends having first and second widths, respectively, said second width being substantially greater than said first width.
26. The assembly of claim 1, wherein said barrel member has a proximal end, which is located opposite said distal end, a first section, which has an end remote from said proximal end of said barrel member, and a second section, which extends from said end of said first section in said axial direction and terminates at said distal end of said barrel member, said barrel member having a first diameter at the interface between said first and second sections and a second diameter at said distal end of said barrel member, said second section has a flared shape such that said second diameter is greater than said first diameter, said petals curving inwardly in a generally radial direction as they extend in said axial direction from said distal end of said barrel member to said tips.
27. An assembly comprising a pharmaceutical product and a assembly for delivering said pharmaceutical product to a bodily cavity, said device including a barrel member having a distal end, which includes an opening, and a plurality of petals extending outwardly from said distal end in a generally axial direction, said petals cooperating with said opening so as to form a receptacle, said pharmaceutical product being releasably received in in siad recebtack said distal end of said barrel member, each of said petals including a base connected to said distal end of said barrel member and terminating at a truncated flexible tip, each of said petals including an intermediate section extending between a corresponding one of said bases and a corresponding one of said tips, each of said petals being sized and shaped such that the entire portion of each of said intermediate sections is spaced from said pharmaceutical product in a radially outward direction and such that only said tips engage said pharmaceutical product at a substantially central portion thereof when said pharmaceutical product is fully received in said receptacle, whereby a large section of said pharmaceutical product extends outwardly beyond said petals so as to facilitate the release of said pharmaceutical product from said receptacle; and packaging means for packaging said assembly together with said pharmaceutical product; and
wherein the tips of the petals form a second opening that maintains a larger diameter than a smallest inner diameter along the length of the barrel member both before and after release of the pharmaceutical product.
28. The assembly of claim 27, wherein said packaging means includes a tray for receiving said device and said pharmaceutical product and a lid removably attached to said tray.
29. The assembly of claim 28, wherein said tray is a blister-type tray.
30. A device for delivering pharmaceutical products or the like to a bodily cavity, comprising a barrel member having a distal end, which includes an opening, a proximal end, which is located opposite said distal end, a first section, which extends from said proximal end and which has an end remote from said proximal end of said barrel member, and a second section, which extends from said end of said first section in a generally axial direction and terminates at said distal end of said barrel member, said barrel member having a first diameter at an interface between said first and second sections and a second diameter at said distal end of said barrel member, said second section having a flared shape such that said second diameter is greater than said first diameter, said barrel member having a plurality of petals extending outwardly from said distal end in said axial direction, said petals cooperating with said opening so as to form a receptacle in said distal end of said barrel member releasably receiving a pharmaceutical product each of said petals having a truncated flexible tip, said petals curving inwardly in a generally radial direction as they extend in said axial direction from said distal end of said barrel member to said tips, and said tips sized and shaped so as to engage a substantially central portion of the pharmaceutical product such that when the pharmaceutical product is fully received in said receptacle, a large section of the pharmaceutical product extends outwardly beyond said petals so as to facilitate the release of a pharmaceutical product received in said receptacle; and
wherein the tips of the petals form a second opening that maintains a larger diameter than the first diameter at the interface between the first and second sections both before and after release of the pharmaceutical product.
31. The device of claim 30, wherein said petals engage a pharmaceutical product only at said tips when the pharmaceutical product is fully inserted into said receptacle.
32. The device of claim 31, wherein said petals are sized and shaped such that approximately half of a pharmaceutical product received in said receptacle extends outwardly beyond said tips.
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. A system comprising:
means for providing multiple entries that are associated with points in a space, the multiple entries being arrangable into a first m\xd7n matrix where m represents the number of points of interest in the space, and n represents the number of dimensions in the space, each row of the matrix having multiple entries;
means for modifying values of at least some of the entries, wherein:
modifying values that are used to modify said entries are not based on any other points in the space other than the one associated with the entry being modified; and
the means for modifying changes some of said values to zero, and changes other values to non-zero;
means for defining a second m\xd7n matrix comprising the modified entries, the second m\xd7n matrix being processed in accordance with Singular Value Decomposition techniques; and
means for storing the second m\xd7n matrix after processing in accordance with Singular Value Decomposition techniques.
2. The system of claim 1 further comprising means for arranging the multiple entries into the first m\xd7n matrix.
3. The system of claim 2 further comprising means for collecting a data set comprising said points in the space.
4. A system comprising:
means for processing a matrix containing entries associated with points in a space, the matrix having a number of rows, said means for processing comprising means for changing at least some entry values and means for retaining the same number of rows in the matrix, wherein values that are used to change said entries are not based on any other points in the space other than the one associated with the entry being changed, wherein said means for processing comprises:
means for changing at least some non-zero entry values to zero; and
means for changing at least some entry values to non-zero values;
means for performing Singular Value Decomposition on the matrix; and
means for storing the matrix after Singular Value Decomposition.
5. The system of claim 4, wherein said means for processing comprises means for changing at least some non-zero entry values to zero in accordance with a defined probability.
6. The system of claim 4, wherein the non-zero values comprise plus or minus the absolute value of the largest matrix entry value.
7. The system of claim 4, wherein:
the non-zero values comprise plus or minus the absolute value of the largest matrix entry value; and
said means for processing comprising means for changing said at least some entry values to a non-zero value that is closest in accordance with a defined probability.
8. The system of claim 4, wherein said means for processing comprises:
means for changing at least some non-zero entry values to zero in accordance with a defined probability; and
means for changing at least some entry values to non-zero values, wherein the non-zero values comprise plus or minus the absolute value of the largest matrix entry value, said means for processing comprising means for changing said at least some entry values to a non-zero value that is closest in accordance with a defined probability.
9. A system for finding a low rank approximation to accelerate computational processing of high-dimensional data sets comprising:
means for providing multiple entries that are associated with points in a space, the multiple entries being arrangable into a first m\xd7n matrix where m represents the number of points of interest in the space, and n represents the number of dimensions in the space, each row of the matrix having multiple entries;
means for processing the first m\xd7n matrix by mathematically randomly perturbing the values of at least some of the multiple entries, wherein said means for processing the first m\xd7n matrix comprises:
means for perturbing the values so that at least some of the values are zero; and
means for perturbing the values so that at least some of the values are changed to non-zero values;
means for defining a second m\xd7n matrix that contains entries having values that have been perturbed, the second m\xd7n matrix being processed in accordance with Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) techniques, wherein the second m\xd7n matrix is defined as the multiple entries of the first m\xd7n matrix are processed; and
means for storing the second m\xd7n matrix after processing in accordance with SVD techniques.
10. The system of claim 9 further comprising means for processing the second m\xd7n matrix in accordance with SVD techniques.
11. A system comprising:
means for establishing a relationship that defines one or more probabilities that pertain to whether values associated with a data set that can be represented as an m\xd7n matrix, where m represents the number of points of interest in the space, and n represents the number of dimensions in the space, each row of the matrix having multiple entries, are set to zero;
means for processing multiple values associated with said data set in accordance with said one or more probabilities, at least some of the values being set to zero;
means for storing the multiple values associated with said data set after processing in accordance with said one or more probabilities;
means for arranging processed values into a second m\xd7n matrix; and
means for processing the second matrix using Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) techniques.
12. The system of claim 11, wherein said means for establishing comprises means for selecting a sampling rate and means for defining said one or more probabilities as a function of the sampling rate.
13. The system of claim 11, wherein said means for processing comprises means for doing so in connection with a data collection process.
14. A system comprising:
means for establishing a relationship that defines one or more probabilities that pertain to whether values associated with a data set that can be represented as an m\xd7n matrix, where m represents the number of points of interest in the space, and n represents the number of dimensions in the space, each row of the matrix having multiple entries, are modified to zero, said one or more probabilities making it more likely that larger entry values will be retained than smaller entry values;
means for processing multiple values associated with said data set in accordance with said one or more probabilities, at least some of the values being set to zero; and
means for storing the multiple values associated with said data set after processing in accordance with said one or more probabilities;
means for arranging processed values into a second m\xd7n matrix; and
means for processing the second matrix using Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) techniques.
15. The system of claim 14, wherein said means for processing comprises means for doing so in connection with a data collection process.
16. A system comprising:
means for establishing a relationship that defines a probability that pertains to how values associated with a data set that can be represented as an m\xd7n matrix, where m represents the number of points of interest in the space, and n represents the number of dimensions in the space, each row of the matrix having multiple entries, are to be modified;
means for processing multiple values associated with the data set in accordance with the probability to provide values that have been modified, wherein the values are modified by changing some of said values to zero, and changing other values to non-zero;
means for storing the multiple values associated with the data set after processing in accordance with the probability; and
means for processing said modified values using Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) techniques.
17. The system of claim 16, wherein:
said means for establishing comprises means for finding a value b that corresponds to the largest absolute value of values associated with the data set; and
said means for processing comprises means for setting each of the multiple values to either +b or \u2212b in accordance with the one or more probabilities.
18. The system of claim 17, wherein said one or more probabilities make it such that the closer an individual value of said multiple values is to +b or \u2212b, the more likely it is that said individual value will be set to +b or \u2212b respectively.
19. The system of claim 16 further comprising means for arranging said modified values in a second m\xd7n matrix, said means for processing of the modified values comprising means for processing said second m\xd7n matrix.
20. A system comprising:
means for receiving multiple entries that are associated with points in a space, the multiple entries being arrangable into a first m\xd7n matrix where m represents the number of points of interest in the space, and n represents the number of dimensions in the space, each row of the matrix having multiple entries;
means for modifying values of at least some of the entries, wherein modifying values that are used to modify said entries are not based on any other points in the space other than the one associated with the entry being modified, wherein the means for modifying changes some of said values to zero, and changes other values to non-zero values;
means for providing said multiple entries, including any modified entries, to an SVD processor for processing in accordance with Singular Value Decomposition techniques, said multiple entries, including any modified entries, being arrangable into a second m\xd7n matrix; and
means for storing the second m\xd7n matrix after processing in accordance with Singular Value Decomposition techniques.