| NASA Imaging Technology Used to Fight Diabetes |
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| Jul 31 2006 | |
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advertisement:  This photomicrograph of a sliced rat beta cell has been processed with the modified NASA imaging technology. Insulin granules are the dark black spots surrounded by the white halo area. The colored borders around the granules are labels added to identify and classify them. (NASA/Tim McClanahan) The original NASA technology is being used to classify image elements and identify different types of landforms, geology, and vegetation. It has also been adapted to identify biological structures — in this case, insulin granules — in electron photomicrographs. The team observed the number, size, and position of the insulin granules in the beta cell in response to glucose. “NASA technology, combined with our modifications, has provided us with new tools for fighting diabetes,” said Murray Loew, director of the Biomedical Engineering Program and professor of engineering at George Washington University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science. For more information, visit: www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/technologies/diabetes_research.html |
