Author: claimsbot

What is claimed

1. A device for assessing perfusion failure of a patient, the device comprising:
a probe for contacting mucosa tissue in the upper respiratorydigestive tract of the patient; and
a sensor coupled to the probe for directly detecting a pH measurement of the mucosa tissue and for generating an electrical signal in response to the detected pH measurement.
2. The device of claim 1 wherein the sensor is coupled to a steady-state device.
3. The device of claim 2 wherein the steady-state device is an ion-selective, field-effect transistor.
4. The device of claim 1 wherein the sensor is an electrochemical sensor.
5. The device of claim 1 wherein the sensor is not encapsulated within a permeable membrane.
6. The device of claim 1 and further comprising a second sensor for acquiring an end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement.
7. The device of claim 6 wherein the pH measurement is compared to the end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement.
8. The device of claim 7 wherein the end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement is used as a reference to increase the accuracy of the pH measurement.
9. The device of claim 6 wherein the pH measurement correlates to arterial perfusion and the end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement correlates to pulmonary perfusion.
10. The device of claim 6 wherein the sensor for acquiring the pH measurement and the second sensor for acquiring the end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement are coupled to the same probe.
11. The device of claim 1 and further comprising a reference electrode connected to the sensor and in contact with the mucosa tissue.
12. The device of claim 11 wherein the reference electrode is a silversilver-chloride electrode.
13. The device of claim 1 and further comprising a holder for the probe to secure the probe to the patient.
14. The device of claim 13 wherein the holder has an inner holder portion and an outer holder portion, and wherein the inner holder portion is coupled to the probe and is placed inside the patient’s mouth in contact with the oral mucosa and the outer holder portion is placed outside the patient’s mouth.
15. The device of claim 14 wherein the inner holder portion is placed inside the patient’s mouth in contact with the oral mucosa of the patient’s cheek.
16. The device of claim 14 wherein the inner holder portion is placed inside the patient’s mouth in contact with the oral mucosa of the patient’s lip.
17. The device of claim 13 wherein the holder is placed under the patient’s tongue.
18. The device of claim 1 wherein the sensor detects the chemistry of the patient’s saliva and generates an electrical signal in response to the detected saliva chemistry.
19. A device for assessing perfusion failure of a patient, the device comprising:
a probe for contacting mucosa tissue in the upper respiratorydigestive tract of the patient;
a sensor coupled to the probe for directly acquiring a pH measurement of the mucosa tissue;
a reference electrode connected to the sensor and in contact with the mucosa tissue so that an electrical potential correlating to a level of tissue perfusion is created between the sensor and the reference electrode.
20. The device of claim 19 wherein the sensor is coupled to a steady-state device.
21. The device of claim 20 wherein the steady-state device is an ion-selective, field-effect transistor.
22. The device of claim 19 wherein the sensor is an electrochemical sensor.
23. The device of claim 19 wherein the sensor is not encapsulated with a permeable membrane.
24. The device of claim 19 wherein the reference electrode is a silversilver-chloride electrode.
25. The device of claim 19 and further comprising a second sensor for acquiring an end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement.
26. The device of claim 25 wherein the pH measurement is compared to the end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement.
27. The device of claim 26 wherein the end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement is used as a reference to increase the accuracy of the pH measurement.
28. The device of claim 25 wherein the pH measurement correlates to arterial perfusion and the end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement correlates to pulmonary perfusion.
29. The device of claim 25 wherein the sensor for acquiring the pH measurement and the second sensor for acquiring the end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement are coupled to the same probe.
30. The device of claim 19 and further comprising a holder for the probe to secure the probe to the patient.
31. The device of claim 30 wherein the holder has an inner holder portion and an outer holder portion, and wherein the inner holder portion is coupled to the probe and is placed inside the patient’s mouth in contact with the oral mucosa and the outer holder portion is placed outside the patient’s mouth.
32. The device of claim 31 wherein the inner holder portion is placed inside the patient’s mouth in contact with the oral mucosa of the patient’s cheek.
33. The device of claim 31 wherein the inner holder portion is placed inside the patient’s mouth in contact with the oral mucosa of the patient’s lip.
34. The device of claim 31 wherein the holder is placed under the patient’s tongue.
35. The device of claim 19 wherein the sensor detects the chemistry of the patient’s saliva and generates an electrical signal in response to the detected saliva chemistry
36. A method of assessing tissue perfusion in a patient, the method comprising the acts of:
providing a probe capable of measuring pH;
placing the probe in contact with mucosa tissue in the upper digestiverespiratory tract of the patient;
obtaining a pH measurement of the mucosa tissue; and
converting the pH measurement into an indicator to a clinician representing a level of tissue perfusion.
37. The method of claim 36 wherein the probe includes a sensor for measuring pH.
38. The method of claim 36 wherein the sensor is coupled to a steady-state device.
39. The method of claim 38 wherein the steady-state device is an ion-selective, field-effect transistor.
40. The method of claim 36 wherein the sensor is an electrochemical sensor.
41. The method of claim 36 and further comprising the acts of
providing a probe capable of measuring end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure;
placing the probe in the upper digestiverespiratory tract; and
obtaining an end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement.
42. The method of claim 41 and further comprising the act of comparing the pH measurement to the end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement.
43. The method of claim 42 wherein the end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement is compared to the pH measurement as a reference to increase the accuracy of the pH measurement.
44. The method of claim 41 wherein the pH measurement correlates to arterial perfusion and the end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement correlates to pulmonary perfusion.
45. The method of claim 41 wherein the probe capable of measuring pH and the probe capable of measuring end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure are the same probe.
46. The method of claim 36 wherein the act of obtaining a pH measurement of the mucosa tissue further comprises the act of generating an electrical signal indicative of the pH of the mucosa tissue.
47. The method of claim 36 and further comprising the acts of introducing a holder coupled to the probe into the patient’s upper digestiverespiratory tract and securing the holder to the patient.
48. The method of claim 47 wherein the holder has an inner holder portion coupled to the probe and an outer holder portion.
49. The method of claim 48 and further comprising the acts of placing the inner holder portion inside the patient’s mouth and placing the outer holder portion outside the patient’s mouth.
50. The method of claim 49 wherein the act of placing the inner holder portion inside the patient’s mouth further comprises the act of placing the inner holder portion in contact with the oral mucosa of the patient’s cheek.
51. The method of claim 49 wherein the act of placing the inner holder portion inside the patient’s mouth further comprises the act of placing the inner holder portion in contact with the oral mucosa of the patient’s lip.
52. The method of claim 49 wherein the act of placing the inner holder portion inside the patient’s mouth further comprises the act of placing the inner holder portion in contact with the oral mucosa under the patient’s tongue.
53. The method of claim 36 and further comprising
providing a probe capable of measuring the patient’s saliva chemistry;
placing the probe in contact with the patient’s saliva;
obtaining a saliva-chemistry measurement; and
converting the saliva-chemistry measurement into an indicator to a clinician.
54. The method of claim 53 wherein the probe capable of measuring pH and the probe capable of measuring the patient’s saliva chemistry are the same probe.
55. A device for assessing the blood chemistry of a patient, the device comprising:
a probe for contacting mucosa tissue in the upper respiratorydigestive tract of the patient;
a sensor coupled to the probe for detecting blood-chemistry data for the mucosa tissue and for generating a signal in response to the detected blood-chemistry data.
56. The device of claim 55 wherein the blood-chemistry data is the data gathered for an arterial blood gas analysis.
57. The device of claim 55 wherein the sensor is coupled to a steady-state device.
58. The device of claim 57 wherein the steady-state device is an ion-selective, field-effect transistor.
59. The device of claim 55 wherein the sensor is an electrochemical sensor.
60. The device of claim 55 and further comprising a second sensor for acquiring an end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement.
61. The device of claim 60 wherein the pH measurement is compared to the end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement.
62. The device of claim 61 wherein the end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement is compared to the pH measurement as a reference to increase the accuracy of the pH measurement.
63. The device of claim 60 wherein the pH measurement correlates to arterial perfusion and the end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement correlates to pulmonary perfusion.
64. The device of claim 60 wherein the sensor for acquiring the blood-chemistry data and the second sensor for acquiring the end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement are included in the same probe.
65. The device of claim 55 wherein the sensor detects the chemistry of the patient’s saliva and generates an electrical signal in response to the detected saliva chemistry.
66. A device for assessing the blood chemistry of a patient, the device comprising:
a probe for contacting mucosa tissue in the upper respiratorydigestive tract of the patient;
a first sensor coupled to the probe for detecting the data gathered for an arterial blood gas analysis and for generating a signal in response to the detected arterial blood gas data; and
a second sensor coupled to the probe for acquiring an end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement.
67. The device of claim 66 wherein the first sensor is coupled to a steady-state device.
68. The device of claim 67 wherein the steady-state device is an ion-selective, field-effect transistor.
69. The device of claim 66 wherein the first sensor is an electrochemical sensor.
70. The device of claim 66 wherein the data gathered for an arterial blood gas analysis includes a pH measurement.
71. The device of claim 70 wherein the pH measurement is compared to the end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement.
72. The device of claim 71 wherein the end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement is compared to the pH measurement as a reference to increase the accuracy of the pH measurement.
73. The device of claim 70 wherein the pH measurement correlates to arterial perfusion and the end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement correlates to pulmonary perfusion.
74. The device of claim 66 wherein the first sensor detects the chemistry of the patient’s saliva and generates an electrical signal in response to the detected saliva chemistry.
75. A method of assessing tissue perfusion in a patient, the method comprising the acts of:
providing a probe capable of measuring pH and end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure;
placing the probe in the patient’s upper digestiverespiratory tract;
obtaining a pH measurement and an end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement;
generating an electrical signal indicative of the pH measurement and the end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement; and
converting the electrical signal into an indicator to a clinician representing a level of tissue perfusion.
76. The method of claim 75 wherein the probe includes a sensor for measuring pH.
77. The method of claim 76 wherein the sensor is coupled to a steady-state device.
78. The method of claim 77 wherein the steady state device is an ion-selective, field-effect transistor.
79. The method of claim 76 wherein the sensor is an electrochemical sensor.
80. The method of claim 75 and further comprising the act of comparing the pH measurement to the end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement.
81. The method of claim 80 wherein the end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement is compared to the pH measurement as a reference to increase the accuracy of the pH measurement.
82. The method of claim 75 wherein the pH measurement correlates to arterial perfusion and the end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement correlates to pulmonary perfusion.
83. The method of claim 75 wherein the probe is capable of measuring the patient’s saliva chemistry.
84. The method of claim 83 and further comprising
placing the probe in contact with the patient’s saliva;
obtaining a saliva-chemistry measurement;
generating an electrical signal indicative of the saliva-chemistry measurement; and
converting the saliva-chemistry measurement into an indicator to a clinician.
85. A patient monitor comprising:
a processing and display unit; and
a device for assessing perfusion failure of the patient, the device including a probe for contacting mucosa tissue in the upper respiratorydigestive tract of the patient and a sensor coupled to the probe for directly detecting a pH measurement of the mucosa tissue and for generating an electrical signal in response to the detected pH measurement.
86. The device of claim 85 wherein the sensor is coupled to a steady-state device.
87. The device of claim 86 wherein the steady-state device is an ion-selective, field-effect transistor.
88. The device of claim 85 wherein the sensor is an electrochemical sensor.
89. The device of claim 85 wherein the sensor is not encapsulated within a permeable membrane.
90. The device of claim 85 and further comprising a second sensor for acquiring an end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement.
91. The device of claim 90 wherein the pH measurement is compared to the endtidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement.
92. The device of claim 91 wherein the end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement is used as a reference to increase the accuracy of the pH measurement.
93. The device of claim 90 wherein the pH measurement correlates to arterial perfusion and the end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement correlates to pulmonary perfusion.
94. The device of claim 90 wherein the sensor for acquiring the pH measurement and the second sensor for acquiring the end-tidal carbon-dioxide partial-pressure measurement are coupled to the same probe.
95. The device of claim 85 and further comprising a reference electrode connected to the sensor and in contact with the patient’s mucosa tissue.
96. The device of claim 95 wherein the reference electrode is a silversilver-chloride electrode.
97. The device of claim 85 and further comprising a holder for the probe to secure the probe to the patient.
98. The device of claim 97 wherein the holder has an inner holder portion and an outer holder portion, and wherein the inner holder portion is coupled to the probe and is placed inside the patient’s mouth in contact with the oral mucosa and the outer holder portion is placed outside the patient’s mouth.
99. The device of claim 98 wherein the inner holder portion is placed inside the patient’s mouth in contact with the oral mucosa of the patient’s cheek.
100. The device of claim 98 wherein the inner holder portion is placed inside the patient’s mouth in contact with the oral mucosa of the patient’s lip.
101. The device of claim 97 wherein the holder is placed under the patient’s tongue.
102. The device of claim 85 wherein the sensor detects the chemistry of the patient’s saliva and generates an electrical signal in response to the detected saliva chemistry.

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 embossed multi-ply fibrous structure comprising a non-linear element embossment, wherein the embossed multi-ply fibrous structure exhibits a Geometric Mean Elongation of greater than 14.95% as measured according to the Elongation Test Method.
2. The embossed multi-ply fibrous structure according to claim 1 wherein the embossed multi-ply fibrous structure exhibits a Geometric Mean Elongation of greater than about 15% as measured according to the Elongation Test Method.
3. The embossed multi-ply fibrous structure according to claim 1 wherein the embossed multi-ply fibrous structure exhibits a Dry Burst of greater than 360 g as measured according to the Dry Burst Test Method.
4. The embossed multi-ply fibrous structure according to claim 1 wherein the embossed multi-ply fibrous structure exhibits a Geometric Mean Modulus of greater than about 1015 at 15 gcm as measured according to the Modulus Test Method.
5. The embossed multi-ply fibrous structure according to claim 1 wherein the embossed multi ply fibrous structure comprises cellulosic pulp fibers.
6. The embossed multi-ply fibrous structure according to claim 1 wherein the embossed multi-ply fibrous structure comprises a throughdried fibrous structure.
7. The embossed multi-ply fibrous structure according to claim 1 wherein the embossed multi-ply fibrous structure comprises an uncreped fibrous structure.
8. The embossed multi-ply fibrous structure according to claim 1 wherein the embossed multi-ply fibrous structure exhibits a basis weight of greater than 15 gsm to about 120 gsm as measured according to the Basis Weight Test Method.
9. The embossed multi-ply fibrous structure according to claim 1 wherein the embossed multi-ply fibrous structure is a sanitary tissue product.
10. The embossed multi-ply fibrous structure according to claim 9 wherein the sanitary tissue product is in roll form.

1. A CO2 recovery unit, which includes a CO2 absorber that brings flue gas containing CO2 into contact with a CO2 absorbent to reduce the CO2 contained in the flue gas, and a regenerator that reduces CO2 contained in rich solvent absorbing CO2 in the CO2 absorber to regenerate the rich solvent, so that lean solvent from which the CO2 is reduced in the regenerator is reused in the CO2 absorber, comprising:
a heat exchanger that allows the rich solvent to exchange heat with the lean solvent; and
a controller that controls to extract part of the rich solvent to allow the part to bypass the heat exchanger, and to be supplied into a top of the regenerator without exchanging heat so as to minimize a sum of an enthalpy that is taken out of the regenerator as CO2 gas accompanying steam and an enthalpy that is a result of subtracting an enthalpy of the rich solvent before heat exchange in the heat exchanger from an enthalpy of the lean solvent after the heat exchange.
2. The CO2 recovery unit according to claim 1, wherein control is performed to approximate a temperature difference between the rich solvent and the lean solvent at an entering side of the heat exchanger and a temperature difference between the rich solvent and the lean solvent at an exiting side of the heat exchanger.
3. The CO2 recovery unit according to claim 1, wherein the part of the rich solvent that has bypassed the heat exchanger accounts for 3 to 15 percent by weight of the rich solvent.
4. The CO2 recovery unit according to claim 1 further comprising a first heat exchanging unit that allows the part of the rich solvent that has bypassed the heat exchanger and been guided into the top of the regenerator to exchange heat in an upper section of the regenerator.
5. The CO2 recovery unit according to claim 1 further comprising a second heat exchanging unit that allows the part of the rich solvent that has bypassed the heat exchanger to exchange heat with the CO2 gas accompanying steam extracted from the regenerator.
6. A CO2 recovery method, for a CO2 absorber that brings flue gas containing CO2 into contact with a CO2 absorbent to reduce the CO2 contained in the flue gas, and a regenerator that reduces CO2 contained in rich solvent absorbing CO2 in the CO2 absorber to regenerate the rich solvent, so that lean solvent from which the CO2 is reduced in the regenerator is reused in the CO2 absorber, comprising:
allowing the rich solvent to exchange heat with the lean solvent; and
controlling to extract part of the rich solvent to allow the part to bypass the heat exchanger, and to be supplied into a top of the regenerator without exchanging heat so as to minimize a sum of an enthalpy that is taken out of the regenerator as CO2 gas accompanying steam and an enthalpy that is a result of subtracting an enthalpy of the rich solvent before heat exchange in the heat exchanger from an enthalpy of the lean solvent after the heat exchange.
7. The CO2 recovery method according to claim 6 further comprising allowing the part of the rich solvent that has bypassed the heat exchanger and been guided into the top of the regenerator to exchange heat in an upper section of the regenerator.
8. The CO2 recovery unit according to claim 6 further comprising allowing the part of the rich solvent that has bypassed the heat exchanger to exchange heat with the CO2 gas accompanying steam extracted from the regenerator.

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 communication system, comprising:
a voice-only system configured to provide voice services;
a video communication system configured to provide video communication services; and
a video call distributor comprising,
a plugin configured to transfer data between the video call distributor and the voice-only system, and
a core configured to receive first commands from the voice-only system and to transmit second commands to the video communication system in accordance with the received commands.
2. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the core is further configured to establish a video call over the video communication system based on the first commands.
3. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the core is further configured to process the first commands prior to transmitting the second commands.
4. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the first commands are in a format compatible with the voice-only system, and the second commands are compatible with the video communication system.
5. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the voice-only system is a voice-only call management system, configured to receive incoming voice-only calls and to identify one of a plurality of agents based on user request information provided during the voice-only call.
6. The communication system of claim 5, wherein the user request information is provided via a DTMF signaling device.
7. The communication system of claim 6, wherein the DTMF device is a part of the voice-only call management system.
8. The communication system of claim 6, wherein the DTMF device is a telephone handset.
9. The communication system of claim 6, wherein a menu tree is utilized to provide the user request information.
10. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the plugin is a hardware component.
11. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the plugin is software component.
12. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the core has a distributed architecture.
13. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the voice-only system is a PBX.
14. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the video call distributor resides within a service provider grade IP Packet-Based WAN network.
15. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the video call distributor resides within a private enterprise IP LAN network.
16. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the plugin is configured to transfer data via either an XML or a JAVA call control protocol.
17. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the voice-only system is configured to receive the first commands from a voice-only telephone.
18. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the video call distributer is configured to transfer data between the video communication system and a plurality of voice-only systems.
19. The communication system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of voice-only systems has a different format.
20. The communication system of claim 2, wherein the core is configured to determine a recipient of the video call based on a skills-based routing mechanism.
21. A video call system for providing video communication, comprising:
a voice-only call system configured to provide voice services;
a video communication system configured to provide video communication services;
a plugin configured to transfer data between the video communication system and the voice-only call system, and
a core configured to receive first commands from the voice-only call system and to transmit second commands to the video communication system in accordance with the received commands.
22. The video call system of claim 21, wherein the core is further configured to establish a video call over the video communication system based on the first commands.
23. The video call system of claim 22, wherein the core is configured to determine a recipient of the video call based on a skills-based routing mechanism.
24. The video call system of claim 21, wherein the voice-only call system is a voice-only call management system, configured to receive incoming voice-only calls and to identify one of a plurality of agents based on user request information provided during the voice-only call.
25. The video call system of claim 21, wherein a voice-only telephone is used to provide the first commands to the voice-only call system.
26. A video call distributor, comprising:
at least one plugin configured to transfer data between a video communication system and an at least one voice-only call system, and
a core configured to receive first commands from the at least one voice-only call system and to transmit second commands to the video communication system in accordance with the received commands.
27. The video call distributor of claim 26, wherein the core is further configured to establish a video call based on input from the voice-only call system.
28. The video call distributor of claim 26, wherein the core is further configured to receive first commands from a plurality of voice-only call systems.