Author: claimsbot

1. A method to assign new work to one of a plurality of workers, near the end of a work shift of at least one worker, comprising:
receiving, from a customer, a request for new work;
determining a remaining time in a work shift for one or more of the plurality of workers;
assigning a worker priority for one or more of the plurality of workers by use of a predetermined criteria;
demoting the worker priority of workers near an end of a work shift; and
assigning the new work to a worker by use of worker priority.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying qualified workers to handle the request for new work, wherein the remaining time in a work shift is determined from among the qualified workers.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining an expected handling time for the new work, wherein demoting the worker priority occurs for workers within the expected handling time of the end of a work shift.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the predetermined criteria used to assign the worker priority comprises a factor that indicates an ability of the worker to provide the new work.
5. The method of claim 3, further comprising: modifying the expected handling time based upon a factor that indicates an ability of the worker to provide the new work.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein demoting the worker priority occurs within a configurable amount of time before the end of a work shift.
7. The method of claim 3, wherein demoting the worker priority occurs within the expected handling time before the end of a work shift.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein demoting the worker priority is by an amount of demotion that is dependent upon a temporal proximity to the end of a work shift.
9. A system to assign new work to one of a plurality of workers, near the end of a work shift of at least one worker, comprising:
a communication channel receiver configured to receive a customer request for new work;
a determination module configured to determine a remaining time in a work shift for one or more of the plurality of workers;
a first assignment module configured to assign a worker priority for one or more of the plurality of workers by use of a predetermined criteria;
a demotion module configured to demote the worker priority of workers near an end of a work shift; and
a second assignment module configured to assign the new work to a worker by use of worker priority.
10. The system of claim 9, further comprising: an identification module configured to identify qualified workers to handle the request for new work, wherein the remaining time in a work shift is determined from among the qualified workers.
11. The system of claim 9, further comprising: a determination module configured to determine an expected handling time for the new work, wherein the demotion module is configured to demote the worker priority for workers within the expected handling time of the end of a work shift.
12. The system of claim 9, wherein the predetermined criteria used by the first assignment module to assign the worker priority comprises a factor that indicates an ability of the worker to provide the new work.
13. The system of claim 11, further comprising: a calculation module configured to modify the expected handling time based upon a factor that indicates an ability of the worker to provide the new work.
14. The system of claim 9, wherein the demotion module is configured to demote the worker priority within a configurable amount of time before the end of a work shift.
15. The system of claim 11, wherein the demotion module is configured to demote the worker priority within the expected handling time before the end of a work shift.
16. The system of claim 9, wherein the demotion module demotes the worker priority by an amount of demotion that is dependent upon a temporal proximity to the end of a work shift.
17. A system, comprising a computer server, the computer server comprising a tangible computer readable medium comprising program instructions, wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to implement:
receiving, from a customer, a request for new work;
determining a remaining time in a work shift for one or more of the plurality of workers;
assigning a worker priority for one or more of the plurality of workers by use of a predetermined criteria;
demoting the worker priority of workers near an end of a work shift; and
assigning the new work to a worker by use of worker priority.
18. The system of claim 17, wherein the program instructions are computer-executable to further implement:
determining an expected handling time for the new work, wherein demoting the worker priority occurs for workers within the expected handling time of the end of a work shift.
19. The system of claim 17, wherein the predetermined criteria used to assign the worker priority comprises a factor that indicates an ability of the worker to provide the new work.
20. The system of claim 17, wherein the demotion module is configured to demote the worker priority within a configurable amount of time before the end of a work shift.

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 method for providing remote access to a plurality of application sessions, the method comprising:
receiving authentication information associated with a user, the user having a plurality of application sessions that were disconnected from one or more client computers operated by the user;
authenticating the user;
identifying the plurality of disconnected application sessions already associated with the user in response to the received information;
identifying from a rule source a rule governing a reaction to receiving authentication information from the user;
determining via the rule that the user is one of required, permitted and forbidden to connect to a first disconnected application session of the identified plurality of disconnected application sessions; and
reestablishing the first disconnected application session of the identified plurality of disconnected application sessions with a client computer operated by the user in response to the determined rule.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the first application session of the plurality of disconnected application sessions is running on a first server and a second application session of the plurality of disconnected application sessions is running on a second server.
3. The method of claim 1 further determining via the rule the user is one of required, permitted and forbidden to connect to the first application session based on a state of one of the first application session and the identified plurality of disconnected application sessions.
4. The method of claim 1 wherein the rule is created by one of the user and an administrator.
5. The method of claim 1 further comprising automatically establishing the connection to the first application session upon authentication of the received information.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein the connection between the user and at least the first application session of the identified plurality of disconnected application sessions is triggered by the selection of a single user interface element.
7. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining the first application session is active and automatically connecting the client computer operated by the user to the active first application session.
8. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining via the rule the user is allowed to connect to application sessions for a specific application, and identifying the first application session as including the specific application.
9. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining via the rule the user is allowed to connect to application sessions contingent on the client computer and identifying the client computer operated by the user as allowed to connect to the first application session.
10. The method of claim 1 further comprising authenticating the user in response to the received authentication information.
11. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of identifying the plurality of application sessions comprises consulting stored data associated with a plurality of servers executing application sessions.
12. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of application sessions was connected to a first client computer prior to connection and, after connection, at least the first application session of the plurality of disconnected application sessions is reconnected to the first client computer.
13. The method of claim 1 wherein the plurality of application sessions was associated with a first client computer prior to establishing the connection and, after establishing the connection, at least the first application session of the plurality of disconnected application sessions is connected to a second client computer.
14. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one of the plurality of application sessions is one of disconnected and active.
15. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining via the rule to connect the user to the first application session after receiving user approval.
16. The method of claim 1 comprising automatically identifying the plurality of applications sessions upon receipt of the authentication information.
17. A method for providing remote access to a plurality of application sessions, the method comprising:
transmitting authentication information associated with a user operating one of a first computer and a second computer selected from a plurality of client computers, the user associated with a plurality of disconnected application sessions;
providing to the user, a menu option for selecting one of the plurality of disconnected application sessions;
receiving a user’s selection indicating to connect to a first disconnected application session identified from the plurality of disconnected application sessions, the first disconnected application session selected based on a rule determining whether the user is one of required, permitted and forbidden to connect to the first disconnected application session; and
receiving application output from the first application session in response to transmission of the user’s selection to connect to the first disconnected application session.
18. The method of claim 17 wherein the receiving application output is automatic upon the transmission of the user’s indication.
19. The method of claim 17 further comprising receiving a user selection to indicate whether the first application session should remain disconnected.
20. The method of claim 19 further comprising receiving a user selection to indicate whether the first application session should be terminated.
21. The method of claim 17 wherein the plurality of active application sessions is initially connected to a first client computer and, upon transmitting the information, the user is operating a second client computer.
22. The method of claim 17 further comprising forbidding the user to connect to the first application session of the plurality of disconnected application.
23. The method of claim 22 wherein the rule is created by one of the user and an administrator.
24. The method of claim 22 further comprising via the rule that the user’s connection to one of the first application session and the plurality of disconnected application sessions is required.
25. The method of claim 17 further comprising selecting by the user a single user interface element to automatically connect to the plurality of disconnected application sessions associated with the user.
26. The method of claim 17 further comprising automatically transmitting the authentication of the user from the first computer to a second computer operated by the user.
27. The method of claim 17 wherein the plurality of disconnected application sessions was connected to a first client computer prior to disconnection and, at connection, at least the first application session of the plurality of disconnected application session is reconnected to the first client computer.
28. The method of claim 17 wherein the plurality of disconnected application sessions was connected to a first client computer prior to disconnection and, at connection, at least the first application session of the plurality of disconnected application session is connected to a second client computer.
29. A server for providing remote access to an application session, the server comprising:
a network module for receiving authentication information associated with a user operating a client computer, the user having a plurality of applications sessions that were disconnected from one or more client computers operated by the user;
an authentication module for authenticating the user via the authentication information received from the user;
a data store for identifying a plurality of disconnected application sessions already associated with the user in response to the received information;
a rule source for providing one or more rules governing a reaction to receiving authentication information from the user, the one or more rules determining whether to one of require, permit and forbid the user’s connection to a first disconnected application session of the identified plurality of disconnected application sessions; and
a server process for reestablishing the first disconnected application session of the identified plurality of disconnected application sessions with a client computer operated by the user in response to the determined rule.
30. The server of claim 29 wherein the first application session of the plurality of disconnected application sessions is running on a first server and a second application session of the plurality of application sessions is running on a second server.
31. The server of claim 29 wherein the server process determines via the one or more rules the user is allowed to connect to the first application session based on a state of one of the first application session and the enumerated plurality of disconnected application sessions.
32. The server of claim 29 wherein the one or more rules is created by one of the user and an administrator.
33. The server of claim 29 wherein the server process establishes the connection to the first application session upon authentication of the received information.
34. The server of claim 29 wherein the connection of the user to at least the first application session of the plurality of disconnected application sessions is triggered by the selection of a single user interface element.
35. The server of claim 29 wherein the server process determines the first application session is active and automatically connects the client computer operated by the user to the active first application session.
36. The server of claim 29 wherein the server process determines via the one or more rules the user is allowed to connect to application sessions for a specific application, and identifying the first application session as including the specific application.
37. The server of claim 29 wherein the server process determines via the one or more rules the user is allowed to connect to application sessions contingent on the client computer and identifying the client computer operated by the user as allowed to connect to the first application session.
38. The server of claim 29 further comprising an authentication module for authenticating the user in response to the received authentication information.
39. The server of claim 29 wherein the data store comprises stored data associated with a plurality of servers executing application sessions.
40. The server of claim 29 wherein the plurality of application sessions was connected to a first client computer prior to connection and, after connection, at least the first application session of the plurality of disconnected application sessions is reconnected to the first client computer.
41. The server of claim 29 wherein the plurality of application sessions was associated with a first client computer prior to connection and, after connection, at least the first application session of the plurality of disconnected application sessions is connected to a second client computer.
42. The server of claim 29 wherein at least one of the plurality of application sessions is one of disconnected and active.
43. The server of claim 29 wherein the server process determines via the one or more rules to connect to the first application session after receiving user approval.

1. A method for creating an appearance model of an object, comprising:
receiving an image of an object;
identifying a parameter for describing the object;
creating a hierarchical appearance model of the object from the image of the object, the hierarchical appearance model having a plurality of layers, each layer including one or more nodes, wherein the nodes in each layer contain information of the object with a corresponding level of detail, and wherein the nodes in different layers of the hierarchical appearance model correspond to different levels of detail; and
for each node of the hierarchical appearance model, generating a histogram of the image of the object using the parameter, wherein the histogram includes a plurality of bins, and bin width corresponds to the level of detail of the node.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein creating the hierarchical appearance model includes, for each node in the hierarchical appearance model,
extracting information with a corresponding level of detail of the node from the image of the object; and
storing the extracted information at the node.
3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:
receiving additional images of the object; and
wherein creating the hierarchical appearance model further includes, for each node in the hierarchical appearance model,
extracting information of the object with the corresponding level of detail of the node from the additional images; and
storing the information extracted from the additional images at the node.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein each node contains information of multiple aspects of the object.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the multiple aspects include color and intensity.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the histogram includes determining a mean value of the parameter and defining the bins of the histogram based on the mean value.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving additional images of the object.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein creating the hierarchical appearance model further includes storing, at each node of the hierarchical appearance model, the histograms generated for the node.
9. The method of claim 7, wherein creating the hierarchical appearance model further includes, for each node of the hierarchical appearance model:
combining the histograms generated for the node; and
storing results of the combination at the node.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein combining the histograms for each node in a layer of the hierarchical appearance model includes creating a Gaussian mixture model from the histograms generated for the nodes in the layer, and wherein storing the results of the combination includes storing the Gaussian mixture model at the layer of the hierarchical appearance model.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein each node of the hierarchical appearance model contains information of multiple aspects of the object.
12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
receiving images of additional objects; and
creating a plurality of additional hierarchical appearance models each of one of the additional objects.
13. A surveillance system, comprising:
at least one camera for generating at least one image of an object; and
a computer for creating a hierarchical appearance model of the object from the at least one image of the object, the hierarchical appearance model having a plurality of layers, each layer including one or more nodes, wherein the one or more nodes in each layer contain information of the object with a corresponding level of detail, and wherein the nodes in different layers of the hierarchical appearance model correspond to different levels of detail,
wherein the computer identifies a parameter for describing the object and, for each node of the hierarchical appearance model, the computer generates a histogram of the at least one image of the object using the parameter, wherein the histogram includes a plurality of bins, and bin width corresponds to the level of detail of the node.
14. The system of claim 13, wherein, for each node in the hierarchical appearance model, the computer extracts information with a corresponding level of detail from the at least one image of the object and stores the extracted information at the node.
15. The system of claim 13, wherein each node contains information of multiple aspects of the object.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein the multiple aspects include color and intensity.
17. The system of claim 13, wherein the at least one camera includes a plurality of cameras.
18. The system of claim 13, wherein the at least one camera generates a plurality of images of the object, wherein, for each node in the hierarchical appearance model, the computer extracts information of the object with the corresponding level of detail of the node from the plurality of images and stores the information extracted from the plurality of images at the node.
19. The system of claim 13, wherein the computer determines a mean value of the parameter and defines the bins of the histogram based on the mean value.
20. The system of claim 13, wherein the at least one camera generates a plurality of images of the object.
21. The system of claim 20, wherein the computer stores at each node of the hierarchical appearance model the histograms generated for the node.
22. The system of claim 20, wherein, for each node of the hierarchical appearance model, the computer combines the histograms generated for the node and stores results of the combination at the node.
23. The system of claim 20, wherein the computer combines the histograms generated for each node in a layer of the hierarchical appearance model by creating a Gaussian mixture model from the histograms generated for the nodes in the layer, and stores the Gaussian mixture model at the layer.
24. The system of claim 13, wherein the computer stores at each node of the hierarchical appearance model information of multiple aspects of the object.
25. A method for identifying a suspicious object from a pool of objects, wherein each object in the pool has a uniform hierarchical appearance model, the method comprising:
receiving an image of a suspicious object;
identifying a parameter for describing the suspicious object;
creating a hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object from the image of the suspicious object, the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object having a plurality of layers, each layer including one or more nodes, wherein the nodes in each layer contain information of the suspicious object with a corresponding level of detail, and wherein the nodes in different layers of the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object correspond to different levels of detail;
for each node of the hierarchical appearance model, generating a histogram of the image of the suspicious object using the parameter, wherein the histogram includes a plurality of bins, and bin width corresponds to the level of detail of the node; and
comparing the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object with the uniform hierarchical appearance models of the objects in the pool.
26. The method of claim 25, wherein the uniform hierarchical appearance model of each of the objects in the pool includes a plurality of layers, each layer including one or more nodes, wherein the one or more nodes in each layer contain information of the object with a corresponding level of detail, wherein the nodes in different layers correspond to different levels of detail, and wherein each layer of the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object corresponds to one of the layers of the uniform hierarchical appearance model of each of the objects in the pool.
27. The method of claim 26, wherein comparing the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object with the uniform hierarchical appearance models of the objects in the pool includes comparing corresponding layers of the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object and the uniform hierarchical appearance models of the objects in the pool.
28. The method of claim 27, wherein each layer of the uniform hierarchical appearance model of each of the objects in the pool contains a statistical model describing the object at the corresponding level of detail, and wherein comparing the corresponding layers of the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object and the uniform hierarchical appearance model of the objects in the pool includes determining if a layer of the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object is consistent with the statistical models of the corresponding layers of the uniform hierarchical appearance models of the objects in the pool.
29. The method of claim 28, wherein the statistical model is a Gaussian mixture model.
30. The method of claim 28, wherein determining if a layer of the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object is consistent with the statistical models of the corresponding layers of the uniform hierarchical appearance models of the objects in the pool includes, for one of the objects in the pool, calculating a probability of match based on the information in a layer of the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object and the statistical model of the corresponding layer of the uniform hierarchical appearance model of the one of the objects of the pool.
31. The method of claim 30, wherein the comparing includes:
repeating the calculating of the probability of match for several corresponding layers, and
combining the probabilities of match for the several corresponding layers.
32. The method of claim 31, wherein combining the probabilities of match includes summing the probabilities of match for the several corresponding layers.
33. The method of claim 31, wherein combining the probabilities of match includes calculating a weighted sum of the probabilities of match for the several corresponding layers.
34. The method of claim 26, wherein comparing the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object with the uniform hierarchical appearance models of the objects in the pool includes,
comparing a first layer of the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object with a corresponding first layer of the uniform hierarchical appearance model of a first one of the objects in the pool; and
if the first layer of the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object matches the corresponding first layer of the uniform hierarchical appearance model of the first one of the objects in the pool, comparing a second layer of the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object with a corresponding second layer of the uniform hierarchical appearance model of the first one of the objects in the pool, wherein the second layer of the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object and the corresponding second layer of the uniform hierarchical appearance model of the first one of the objects in the pool correspond to a higher level of detail of information of the respective objects than the first layer of the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object and the corresponding first layer of the uniform hierarchical appearance model of the first one of the objects in the pool.
35. The method of claim 26, further comprising determining if the suspicious object matches one of the objects in the pool by determining whether several layers of the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object match the corresponding layers of the uniform hierarchical appearance model of the one of the objects in the pool.
36. The method of claim 26, wherein comparing the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object with the uniform hierarchical appearance models of the objects in the pool includes comparing corresponding layers of the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object and the uniform hierarchical appearance models of the objects in the pool, the method further comprising:
determining if the suspicious object matches one of the objects in the pool by statistically combining results of comparing the corresponding layers in the uniform hierarchical appearance models of the suspicious object and the one of the objects in the pool.
37. The method of claim 25, wherein the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object and the uniform hierarchical appearance models of the objects in the pool each contain information of a plurality of aspects of the respective objects, and wherein comparing the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object with the uniform hierarchical appearance models of the objects in the pool includes comparing the suspicious object and one of the objects in the pool in each of the plurality of aspects using the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object and the uniform hierarchical appearance model of the one of the objects in the pool.
38. The method of claim 37, further comprising indicating that the suspicious object matches the one of the objects in the pool if the suspicious object matches the one of the objects in the pool in all of the plurality of aspects.
39. The method of claim 37, further comprising combining results of comparing the suspicious object and the one of the objects in the pool in all of the plurality of aspects to determine if the suspicious object matches the one of the objects in the pool.
40. The method of claim 25, wherein creating the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object includes, for each node in the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object,
extracting information with a corresponding level of detail from the image of the suspicious object; and
storing the extracted information at the node.
41. The method of claim 25, wherein generating the histogram includes determining a mean value of the parameter and defining the bins of the histogram based on the mean value.
42. The method of claim 25, wherein each node of the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object contains information of multiple aspects of the suspicious object.
43. A surveillance system, comprising:
at least one camera for generating at least one image of each of a plurality of objects in a pool and for generating an image of a suspicious object; and
a computer for creating a uniform hierarchical appearance model of each of the objects in the pool from the at least one image of the object, for creating a hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object from the image of the suspicious object, and for comparing the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object with the uniform hierarchical appearance models of the objects in the pool,
wherein each of the uniform hierarchical appearance models of the objects in the pool and the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object has a plurality of layers, each layer including one or more nodes, wherein the nodes in each layer contain information of the respective object with a corresponding level of detail, and wherein the nodes in different layers correspond to different levels of detail,
wherein the computer identifies a parameter for describing the objects, wherein, for each node of the uniform hierarchical appearance model of one of the objects in the pool, the computer generates a histogram of the at least one image thereof using the parameter, wherein the histogram includes a plurality of bins, and bin width corresponds to the level of detail of the node.
44. The system of claim 43, wherein, for each node in the uniform hierarchical appearance model of one of the objects in the pool, the computer extracts information with a corresponding level of detail from the at least one image of the one of the objects and stores the extracted information at the node.
45. The system of claim 43, wherein each node in the uniform hierarchical appearance model of one of the objects in the pool contains information of multiple aspects of the one of the objects.
46. The system of claim 43, wherein the at least one camera includes a plurality of cameras.
47. The system of claim 43, wherein the at least one camera generates a plurality of images of one of the objects in the pool, wherein, for each node in the uniform hierarchical appearance model of the one of the objects, the computer extracts information of the one of the objects with the level of detail of the node from the plurality of images thereof and stores the extracted information at the node.
48. The system of claim 43, wherein the computer determines a mean value of the parameter and defines the bins of the histogram based on the mean value.
49. The system of claim 43, wherein the at least one camera generates a plurality of images of one of the objects in the pool.
50. The system of claim 49, wherein the computer stores at each node of the uniform hierarchical appearance model of the one of the objects the histograms generated for the node.
51. The system of claim 49, wherein, for each node of the uniform hierarchical appearance model of the one of the objects, the computer combines the histograms generated for the node and stores the results of the combination at the node.
52. The system of claim 49, wherein the computer combines the histograms generated for each node in a layer of the uniform hierarchical appearance model of the one of objects by creating a Gaussian mixture model from the histograms generated for the nodes in the layer, and stores the Gaussian mixture model at the layer.
53. The system of claim 43, wherein the computer stores at each node of the uniform hierarchical appearance model of each of the objects information of multiple aspects of the corresponding object.
54. The system of claim 53, wherein the computer compares the suspicious object and the one of the objects in the pool in each of the plurality of aspects using the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object and the uniform hierarchical appearance model of the one of the objects in the pool.
55. The method of claim 54, wherein the computer indicates that the suspicious object matches the one of the objects in the pool if the suspicious object matches the one of the objects in the pool in all of the plurality of aspects.
56. The method of claim 54, wherein the computer combines the results of comparing the suspicious object and the one of the objects in the pool in all of the plurality of aspects to determine if the suspicious object matches the one of the objects in the pool.
57. The system of claim 43, wherein the computer compares corresponding layers in the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object and the uniform hierarchical appearance models of the objects in the pool.
58. The system of claim 57, wherein each layer in the uniform hierarchical appearance model of each of the objects in the pool contains a statistical model describing the object at the corresponding level of detail, and wherein the computer compares the corresponding layers in the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object and the uniform hierarchical appearance model of one of the objects in the pool by determining if a layer of the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object is consistent with the statistical model of the corresponding layer of the uniform hierarchical appearance model of the one of the objects.
59. The system of claim 58, wherein the statistical model is a Gaussian mixture model.
60. The system of claim 58, wherein the computer determines if a layer of the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object is consistent with the statistical model of the corresponding layer of the uniform hierarchical appearance model of the one of the objects by calculating a probability of match based on the information in the layer of the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object and the statistical model of the corresponding layer of the uniform hierarchical appearance model of the one of the objects.
61. The system of claim 60, wherein the computer repeats the calculating of the probability of match for several corresponding layers of the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object and the uniform hierarchical appearance model of the one of the objects and combines the probabilities of match for the several corresponding layers.
62. The system of claim 61, wherein the computer combines the probabilities of match by summing the probabilities of match for the several corresponding layers.
63. The system of claim 61, wherein the computer combines the probabilities of match by calculating a weighted sum of the probabilities of match for the several corresponding layers.
64. The system of claim 43, wherein the computer compares the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object with the uniform hierarchical appearance model of one of the objects by
comparing a first layer of the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object with a corresponding first layer of the uniform hierarchical appearance model of the one of the objects; and
if the first layer of the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object matches the corresponding first layer of the uniform hierarchical appearance model of the one of the objects match, comparing a second layer of the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object with a corresponding second layer of the uniform hierarchical appearance model of the one of the objects, wherein the second layer of the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object and the corresponding second layer of the uniform hierarchical appearance model of the one of the objects correspond to a higher level of detail of information of the respective objects than the first layer of the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object and the corresponding first layer of the uniform hierarchical appearance model of the one of the objects.
65. The system of claim 43, wherein the computer determines if the suspicious object matches one of the objects in the pool by determining whether several layers of the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object match the corresponding layers of the uniform hierarchical appearance model of the one of the objects in the pool.
66. The system of claim 65, wherein the computer determines if the suspicious object matches one of the objects in the pool by statistically combining the results of comparing the corresponding layers of the hierarchical appearance model of the suspicious object and the uniform hierarchical appearance model of the one of the objects in the pool.

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 method comprising:
introducing a treatment agent at a treatment site within a mammalian host; and
introducing a bioerodable gel material at the treatment site.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the treatment agent and the gel material are introduced separately as a combination.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the gel material is a product of a combination of a first component and a second component and one of the first component and the second component comprises the treatment agent.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein introducing the gel material comprises:
introducing a delivery device having a first delivery port and a second separate delivery port, the first delivery port and the second delivery port arranged in one of a co-linear and a co-axial arrangement; and
introducing the first component to the treatment site through the first delivery port; and
introducing the second component to the treatment site through the second delivery port.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the treatment site is associated with a blood vessel.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein introducing the treatment agent comprises:
advancing the delivery device a distance into a wall of the blood vessel to the treatment site; and
after advancing the delivery device, introducing the treatment agent through the delivery device.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein the treatment site comprises a location, with reference to a lumen of the blood vessel, beyond the medial layer of the blood vessel.
8. The method of claim 6, wherein the treatment site comprises a periadventitial site.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein introducing the gel material follows the introduction of the treatment agent.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein introducing the gel material precedes the introduction of the treatment agent.
11. The method of claim 4, wherein the treatment site is selected from the group consisting of a thoroscopic surgery site, an orthoscopic surgery site, and a laparoscopic surgery site.
12. A method comprising:
positioning a delivery device at a location in a blood vessel;
advancing the delivery device a distance into a wall of the blood vessel to a treatment site; and
after advancing the delivery device, introducing a treatment agent and a gel material at the treatment site.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the treatment agent and the gel material are introduced as a combination.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the gel material is a product of a combination of a first component and a second component and one of the first component and the second component comprises the treatment agent.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein introducing the gel material comprises:
introducing a delivery device having a first delivery port and a second separate delivery port, the first delivery port and the second delivery port arranged in one of a co-linear and a co-axial arrangement; and
introducing the first component to the treatment site through the first delivery port; and
introducing the second component to the treatment site through the second delivery port.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the treatment site is associated with a blood vessel.
17. The method of claim 16, wherein introducing the treatment agent comprises:
advancing the delivery device a distance into a wall of the blood vessel to the treatment site; and
after advancing the delivery device, introducing the treatment agent through the delivery device.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the treatment site comprises a location, with reference to a lumen of the blood vessel, beyond the medial layer of the blood vessel.
19. The method of claim 18, wherein the treatment site comprises a periadventitial site.
20. The method of claim 12, wherein introducing the gel material follows the introduction of the treatment agent.
21. The method of claim 12, wherein introducing the gel material precedes the introduction of the treatment agent.