SBE CHAPTER 40 NEWSLETTER
OCTOBER 2003
San Francisco
Roy Trumbull - Editor roy547@msn.com
Bill Dempster - Artist
Advertisers for this month's newsletter are:
Santucci Video Systems - Sandra Santucci - (818) 704-6324
Belden - Steve Lampen - (415) 440-8393
Media Technical Consulting - Paul T. Black - (925) 827-9511
MARCOM - Martin Jackson - (408) 768-8668
William F. Ruck, Jr. Broadcast Engineer - (415) 564-1450
Ross Marketing Associates - Kevin Frost - (408) 988-8111
Kathrein (Scala Division) - Michael Wm. Bach - (541) 779-6500
Hammett & Edison, Inc. - Dane E. Ericksen, P.E. - (707) 996-5200
Howell Communications - Mike Howell - (559) 674-8989
Econco - George Badger - 650-327-7599
Improbable Missions Fource - Mike Schweizer - (888) 4-ISDN4U
Digi-Gear / Cancomm - Eric Lane - (818) 980-9188
West Penn Wire/CDT - Michael J. La Porte - (650) 652-9080
Microwave Radio Communications - Clark Rhoads - (909) 246-1602

Babes/SBE Luncheon on Wednesday Oct 29th

Rocky Graham of Dolby TV Applications will talk about how to handle multiple channels of sound and metadata prior to AC-3 encoding for transmission.

Dolby is always a step ahead. I recall that about 4 years ago there was a joint meeting with SMPTE at KPIX on digital TV. An impressive 250 people turned out. Pete Hammar spent the early part of the evening slicing cheese cubes out of bulk cheese to keep them fed. I was one of the speakers and I explained what we were going through at Sutro and the strange tortured forward backward moves that revolved around delivery dates for antenna related equipment. Then I mused about AC 3. I asked how many people had anything that recorded video plus 5.1 channels of audio. Nobody. I predicted that maybe that would be answered at NAB. When I sat down I found myself next to Ray Dolby who had this big grin on his face. At NAB that year Dolby E was introduced.

As usual, our luncheon will be at Sinbad's just south of the Ferry Building on the Embarcadero near the foot of Mission St. We meet at 11:30 and are seated at 12:30. To make reservations call Paul Black at 925-827-9511 and leave a message on his machine.

As usual, our luncheon will be at Sinbad's just south of the Ferry Building on the Embarcadero near the foot of Mission St. We meet at 11:30 and are seated at 12:30. To make reservations call Paul Black at 925-827-9511 and leave a message on his machine.

Technology is Where You Find It

As some of you are aware I was in UCSF for an operation to prolong my miserable existence. That's the sort of thing you talk about only if the talker is buying the drinks. So I'll just stick with the technology. Pre-op I had an exploration using the same technology used for angiography. That is to say that a catheter was inserted into the femoral artery in the vicinity of the right groin. It is about the size of a piece of small spaghetti. They can fish it all around through the vascular system. In my case they explored both legs and my abdomen. A slightly different catheter can be used to blow up a balloon and clear a blocked blood vessel and perhaps insert a stent to keep the blood vessel open. The goals vary but the underlying technique is the same.

The images are processed in what looks like a television control room. There are 4 or 5 in the control room and at least 2 with you in the OR. This all takes about 1 1/4 hours and the time goes fast. At the end, when the catheter is removed, a Dr. compresses the entry point for 15 minutes to permit it to seal. Then it is off to the recovery room where you must lie flat without raising you head for 6 hours. No laughing or coughing please. When you are released, Just being able to sit up again is a pleasure beyond description.

I am led to believe that a good number of you will someday learn all about this first hand.

Non Invasive Imaging

Truly the most amazing thing I experienced this year is imaging through ultra-sound. This began rather crudely about 1978. The only training was at manufacturer's plants. Today it is highly sophisticated and the technologists train for 4 years and must pass a certification program. (You know you're in trouble when you get to be on a first name basis with the head of the Vascular Ultra-Sound Dept.)

Through the use of Doppler and false color they can examine flow rates, reflux and clots. It was Ultra Sound that first detected the problem I was treated for. They can do cross sectional views as well as vessel mapping and flow. Ultra-Sound is a bit of a misnomer as they use frequencies up into the low RF range today.

The same essential technology is used for doing echo cardiograms. They can see if there is reflux (reverse flow) or reduced flow between the chambers of the heart.

It's quite a stretch when you realize that before this technology existed, the best they could do was have an experienced physician take a listen with a stethoscope and make an educated guess.

While I was in my room UCSF I resisted the temptation to call Gene Zastrow and ask him to go to the 4th level of the tower and wave at me.

Roy Trumbull

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Web Page

Webmeister Tim Pozar has the current newsletter plus newsletters all the way back to 1996 at: http://www.lns.com/sbe

Roy also posts the current newsletter at http://home.earthlink.net/~rhtrumbull but the posting is without links.