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Radar for the medical profession
522
CURRENT TOPICS
[J. ];. 1.
Automatically Vacuum-Cleaned Workbench (Bottling, No. 1D2).--~\ neat device has recently been placed on the market, and is of especial interest to bottlers operating their own repair shop, where buffing, grinding and other dust-creating processes have to be encountered. The b e n c h is of re-inforced steel plate b u t on its working surface there is a n 18-in. square rubber-covered grid communicating with a suction pump, dust filter and shaking gear, all housed in the interior of the bench. Hence the worker, especially if working with flexible tools, is completely protected from dangerous dusts, the surrounding atmosphere is kept clear, and if the metal or other d u s t s have a n y commercial value they can be recovered. Fluid-Motor Valve Operator (Rubber Age, Vol. 65, No. 6 ) . - - A simplified fluid-motor operator for gate valves has been developed by the Crane Co., Chicago. This new design makes possible extensive use of motor-operated valves, since the actuating unit can be easily a d a p t e d to standard valves ill stock or to valves already installed. This previously has been a virtual impossibility, for motor-operated valves have customarily been made up on special o r d e r t o the requirements of the installation. The device can be operated by water, oil or compressed air or gases. The motor unit, comprising the motor, gear box and yoke, is bolted to the valve bonnet; and the motor operates the valve stem through the gear box. The motor derives its power from five flexible diaphragms, mounted radially a b o u t an eccentric on the drive shaft. The operating fluid is admitted in rotational sequence t o the five diaphragms, which a c t u a t e pistons t h a t transmit the thrust to the eccentric through either of two entrance ports, controlling the direction of operation of the motor for opening and closing the valve. When the valve gate reaches the end of its travel in either direction, the motor merely stalls, still under pressure. There can be no leakage, and shutoff devices are unnecessary. The valves can be operated by a wide range of liquids or gases a t pressures from 40 to 300 psi. Aerial-pickup System.--A "fishing reel" aerial-pickup system perfected b y a n Air Force officer in Panama makes it possible for a light plane to pick up messages and mail without descending to dangerously low altitudes. A t 200 ft. the plane lets out, by gravity fall of a h e a v y lead sinker, a line to which is attached a 2-in. hook. This engages the mail bag or message container, suspended between two poles on the ground. When the "catch" is made, a certain amount of line runs out to absorb the shock, then a spring-loaded brake stops the drum. Should the hook engage too h e a v y a n object, the line runs out to a s t r a n d of smaller diameter which parts without ill effect on the aircraft. Radar for the Medical Profession.--Detection of foreign bodies such as gallstones within human tissues, by means of a technique employing the radar principle, may be possible in t h e near future. The method, so far used only on animals, has been developed a t the Naval Medical Research Institute in Bethesda, Md. It involves transmitting ultrasonic energy into body tissues and observing on a cathode-ray oscillograph screen the reflected and transformed waves from the foreign body. Distance of the echo from the initial pulse gives the d e p t h of the foreign object in the tissue.
CURRENT TOPICS
[J. ];. 1.
Automatically Vacuum-Cleaned Workbench (Bottling, No. 1D2).--~\ neat device has recently been placed on the market, and is of especial interest to bottlers operating their own repair shop, where buffing, grinding and other dust-creating processes have to be encountered. The b e n c h is of re-inforced steel plate b u t on its working surface there is a n 18-in. square rubber-covered grid communicating with a suction pump, dust filter and shaking gear, all housed in the interior of the bench. Hence the worker, especially if working with flexible tools, is completely protected from dangerous dusts, the surrounding atmosphere is kept clear, and if the metal or other d u s t s have a n y commercial value they can be recovered. Fluid-Motor Valve Operator (Rubber Age, Vol. 65, No. 6 ) . - - A simplified fluid-motor operator for gate valves has been developed by the Crane Co., Chicago. This new design makes possible extensive use of motor-operated valves, since the actuating unit can be easily a d a p t e d to standard valves ill stock or to valves already installed. This previously has been a virtual impossibility, for motor-operated valves have customarily been made up on special o r d e r t o the requirements of the installation. The device can be operated by water, oil or compressed air or gases. The motor unit, comprising the motor, gear box and yoke, is bolted to the valve bonnet; and the motor operates the valve stem through the gear box. The motor derives its power from five flexible diaphragms, mounted radially a b o u t an eccentric on the drive shaft. The operating fluid is admitted in rotational sequence t o the five diaphragms, which a c t u a t e pistons t h a t transmit the thrust to the eccentric through either of two entrance ports, controlling the direction of operation of the motor for opening and closing the valve. When the valve gate reaches the end of its travel in either direction, the motor merely stalls, still under pressure. There can be no leakage, and shutoff devices are unnecessary. The valves can be operated by a wide range of liquids or gases a t pressures from 40 to 300 psi. Aerial-pickup System.--A "fishing reel" aerial-pickup system perfected b y a n Air Force officer in Panama makes it possible for a light plane to pick up messages and mail without descending to dangerously low altitudes. A t 200 ft. the plane lets out, by gravity fall of a h e a v y lead sinker, a line to which is attached a 2-in. hook. This engages the mail bag or message container, suspended between two poles on the ground. When the "catch" is made, a certain amount of line runs out to absorb the shock, then a spring-loaded brake stops the drum. Should the hook engage too h e a v y a n object, the line runs out to a s t r a n d of smaller diameter which parts without ill effect on the aircraft. Radar for the Medical Profession.--Detection of foreign bodies such as gallstones within human tissues, by means of a technique employing the radar principle, may be possible in t h e near future. The method, so far used only on animals, has been developed a t the Naval Medical Research Institute in Bethesda, Md. It involves transmitting ultrasonic energy into body tissues and observing on a cathode-ray oscillograph screen the reflected and transformed waves from the foreign body. Distance of the echo from the initial pulse gives the d e p t h of the foreign object in the tissue.