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.
A process for making monodisperse
liposomes having lipid bilayer membranes
involves fewer, simpler process
steps than do related prior methods.
First, a microfluidic, cross-junction
droplet generator is used to produce
vesicles comprising aqueous-solution
droplets contained in single-layer lipid
membranes. The vesicles are collected
in a lipid-solvent mix that is at ... Read More >>
Adjustments enable optimization of support for different body sizes and shapes.
Seats to prevent or limit crash injuries to astronauts
aboard the crew vehicle of the Orion spacecraft are undergoing
development. The design of these seats incorporates
and goes beyond crash-protection concepts embodied in
prior spacecraft and racing-car ... Read More >>
Problems associated with, and new strategies for, inactivating
resistant organisms like Bacillus canaveralius (found at
Kennedy Space Center during a survey of three NASA cleanrooms)
have been defined. Identifying the particular component
of the spore that allows its heightened resistance can
guide the development of sterilization procedures that are
targeted ... Read More >>
Terahertz modulation of permittivity of water would enable solvation of molecules of
interest.
A proposed device, denoted a miniature
microfluidic biomarker extractor
(μ-EX), would extract trace amounts of
chemicals of interest from samples,
such as soils and rocks. Traditionally,
such extractions are performed on a
large scale with ... Read More >>
This system eliminates the need for CT or x-ray
imaging.
Rhino-sinusitis, or sinus infection, is an
inflammation of the paranasal sinuses,
which can be caused by different conditions
(bacterial, fungal, viral, allergic, or
autoimmune). Bacterial rhino-sinusitis is
currently assessed by puncture or imaging
techniques (x-ray or CT) in ... Read More >>
This technique enables detection, sensing, navigation, and actuation in a single
nanosystem.
A project is underway to develop a
novel, versatile, multi-functional convergence
nanoparticle system that utilizes
inorganic nanoparticles for advanced
biomedical applications. Inorganic
nanoparticles exhibit improved optical,
magnetic, and electronic properties
compared to classical bulk materials,
making ... Read More >>
“Laboratory-on-a-chip” devices that
enable the simultaneous culturing and
interrogation of many individual living
cells have been invented. Each such
device includes a silicon nitride-coated
silicon chip containing an array of
micromachined wells sized so that each
well can contain one cell in contact or
proximity with a patch clamp or ... Read More >>
A highly efficient means of microfluidic
mixing has been created for use
with the rHEALTH sensor — an elliptical
mixer and passive curvilinear mixing
patterns. The rHEALTH sensor provides
rapid, handheld, complete blood count,
cell differential counts, electrolyte measurements,
and other lab tests based on a
reusable, flow-based microfluidic platform. Read More >>
An open-access magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI) system is being developed
for use in research on orientational/ gravitational effects on lung physiology
and function. The open-access
geometry enables study of human subjects
in diverse orientations. This system
operates at a magnetic flux density,
considerably smaller than the flux densities
of typical ... Read More >>
Improved polymer hydrophilicity is beneficial for cell culturing and implant growth.
The purpose of this study was to determine
the effect of atomic oxygen (AO)
exposure on the hydrophilicity of nine
different polymers for biomedical applications.
Atomic oxygen treatment can
alter the chemistry and morphology of
polymer surfaces, ... Read More >>
The chemically assisted photocatalytic
oxidation system (CAPOS) has been proposed
for destroying micro-organisms
and organic chemicals that may be suspended
in the air or present on surfaces
of an air-handling system that ventilates
an indoor environment. The CAPOS
would comprise an upstream and a
downstream stage that would implement
a ... Read More >>
Scale-up toward clinically significant dimensions has been partially completed.
Progress has been made in continuing
research on scaffolds for the guided
growth of nerves to replace damaged
ones. The scaffolds contain pores that are
approximately cylindrical and parallel,
with nearly uniform widths ranging from
tens to hundreds of ... Read More >>
Identifying mechanisms of micro-organisms can prevent forward contamination in
space missions and can help in developing new antibiotics and amino acids.
The ultimate goal of planetary protection
research is to develop superior
strategies for inactivating resistance-bearing
micro-organisms like Rummelibacillus
stabekisii. By first identifying the particular
physiologic pathway and/ ... Read More >>
Healthcare providers can view, update, and share patient information from a
handheld device.
PocketChart™, available in numerous
medical specialty editions, is a wireless,
handheld electronic medical
record application that will help physicians
increase productivity, reduce
transcription costs, and increase revenue
through improved code levels.
PocketChart enables a PocketPC ... Read More >>
This technique can help to monitor the quality of water by testing for contamination
at restaurants, water treatment plants, and food processing plants.
The designed benchtop technique is
primed to detect bacteria and viruses
from antigenic surface marker proteins
in solutions, initially water. This inclusive
bio-immunoassay uniquely combines
... Read More >>
A process for isolating tissue-specific
progenitor cells exploits solid fat tissue
obtained as waste from such elective
surgical procedures as abdominoplasties
(“tummy tucks”) and breast
reductions. Until now, a painful and
risky process of aspiration of bone
marrow has been used to obtain a limited
number of tissue-specific progenitor
cells. Read More >>
Advantages over prior OCT systems include less bulk and greater speed.
Three-dimensional (3D) optical coherence
tomography (OCT) is an advanced
method of noninvasive infrared imaging
of tissues in depth. Heretofore, commercial
OCT systems for 3D imaging have
been designed principally for external
ophthalmological examination. As
explained below, such ... Read More >>
A compact, ambulatory biometric
data acquisition system has been developed
for space and commercial terrestrial
use. BioWATCH (Bio medical
Wireless and Ambulatory Telemetry for
Crew Health) acquires signals from bio-medical
sensors using acquisition modules
attached to a common data and
power bus. Several slots allow the user to
configure the ... Read More >>