NASA Tech Briefs’ Bio-Medical Web page spotlights bio-medical technologies and product design ideas that have been published in NASA Tech Briefs magazine. This library of tech briefs pertains to the development and rollout of new bio-medical and life sciences technologies produced by NASA, its partners, and industry. Many of the Tech Briefs below are correlated to a Technical Support Package (TSP) or White Paper that can be downloaded free of charge.
Monitoring Location and Angular Orientation of a Pill
System is part of targeted drug delivery.
A mobile pill transmitter system
moves through, or adjacent to, one or
more organs in an animal or human
body, while transmitting signals from its
present location and/or present angular
orientation. The system also provides
signals from which the present ...
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Molecular Technique to Reduce PCR Bias for Deeper Understanding of Microbial Diversity
This technique has applications in medical manufacturing,
food processing, and municipal water treatment.
Current planetary protection policies
require that spacecraft targeted to sensitive
solar system bodies be assembled
and readied for launch in controlled
cleanroom environments. A better
understanding of the distribution and
frequency at which high-risk contaminant
...
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Improved Whole-Blood-Staining Device
Additional applications have been identified.
Dramatic improvements have been
made in NASA’s Whole Blood
Staining Device (WBSD) since it was
last described in “Whole-Blood-
Staining Device,” NASA Tech Briefs, Vol.
23, No. 10 (October 1999), page 64.
The new system has a longer shelf life,
a simpler and more effective operational
...
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Magnetic Responsive Hydrogel Material Delivery System
Magnetic nanoparticles
can be used as
contrasting agents in
MRIs, and as a drug
delivery mechanism.
Interest in the design of new drug
delivery systems focuses on releasing the
drug at a controlled rate and desired
time. Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs)
have shown great potential for use in
biomedicine ...
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Compact Green Disk Laser for Therapy Systems
This diode-pumped, thin-disk
laser is designed for
applications in
ophthamology,
dematology, and
endoscopy
The JenLas® D2.mini 5/8 W, recently
introduced to the U.S. market, offers
an output power of up to 8 Watts.
Lasers of the JenLas D2 product line
work in continuous wave mode, emitting
green laser ...
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Implantable Prosthetic Interface Securely Integrates With Bone and Soft Tissue
This technique merges
tissue engineering and
medical imaging to directly
implant a prosthetic
interface.
A main limitation in deployment of
prosthetic technology is the integration
of the prosthetic device into the body.
Using current procedures, effective
prosthetic integration often requires 18
months and multiple surgeries. A new
technique involves ...
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Light Source Enables Endoscope Miniaturization
This work will explore an illumination
system's potential to miniaturize
traditional endoscopes by shrinking the
size of the channel used to deliver light.
Physical space constraints continue to impact advanced procedures
such as single-incision laparoscopic surgery, robotic-assisted
surgery, and other minimally invasive surgical procedures.
Additional functionality and instruments ...
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Wireless Tags Quickly Provide Details About Orthopedic Implants
A non-invasive system
employing radio-frequency
identification (RFID)
technology is designed to
give physicians easy
access to information
about implants and
patients.
Radio-frequency technology that
uses human tissue instead of air as a
conduit for radio waves is the basis of
the first electronic “tag” system
designed to track ...
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