Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Rovers Pave the Way for Hospital Robots

NASA Technology

Before Curiosity came the Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. Before Spirit and Opportunity came Pathfinder and Sojourner. Before Pathfinder and Sojourner, the...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Dry Electrodes Facilitate Remote Health Monitoring

NASA Technology

You wouldn’t find a big bowl of spaghetti served on the International Space Station (ISS). In microgravity, it would be a complete mess. There is, however,...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Superconductors Enable Lower Cost MRI Systems

NASA Technology

The future looks bright, light, and green—especially where aircraft are concerned. The division of NASA’s Fundamental Aeronautics Program called the Subsonic...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Telescope Innovations Improve Speed, Accuracy of Eye Surgery

NASA Technology

One of the main components of NASA’s vision for the future of space exploration will actually have a keen eye for the past. The James Webb Space...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Bioreactors Drive Advances in Tissue Engineering

NASA Technology

It was an unlikely moment for inspiration. Engineers David Wolf and Ray Schwarz stopped by their lab around midday. Wolf, of Johnson Space Center, and Schwarz,...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Tooling Techniques Enhance Medical Imaging

NASA Technology

They can release as much energy as tens of billions of hydrogen bombs exploding at the same time. They send protons and electrons rocketing at near the speed of light....

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Ventilator Technologies Sustain Critically Injured Patients

NASA Technology

Consider this scenario: A soldier has been critically wounded in a sudden firefight in a remote region of Afghanistan. The soldier’s comrades attend...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Protein Innovations Advance Drug Treatments, Skin Care

NASA Technology

Dan Carter carefully layered the sheets of tracing paper on the light box. On each sheet were renderings of the atomic components of an essential human...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Mass Analyzers Facilitate Research on Addiction

NASA Technology

The famous “go/no go” command for Space Shuttle launches comes from a place called the Firing Room. Located at Kennedy Space Center in the Launch Control Center...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Frameworks Coordinate Scientific Data Management

NASA Technology

Voyager 2 sailing beyond the far boundary of the solar system. The rover Opportunity churning across the red soil of Mars. Cassini-Huygens imaging the moons of...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Burnishing Techniques Strengthen Hip Implants

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

When compressed air mixes with jet fuel and is ignited in a turbine engine, the temperature can reach 3,000 °F. As a result of this fiery...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Signal Processing Methods Monitor Cranial Pressure

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

When you think of a beating heart, you might assume it beats at regular intervals, but in actuality, velocity and pressure change with...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Hyperspectral Systems Increase Imaging Capabilities

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

While the human eye can see a range of phenomena in the world, there is a larger range that it cannot see. Without the aid of...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Ultraviolet-Blocking Lenses Protect, Enhance Vision

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

In the 1980s, Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) scientists James Stephens and Charles Miller were studying the harmful properties of...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Image-Capture Devices Extend Medicine’s Reach

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

In spring 2008, Dr. Scott Dulchavsky diagnosed high-altitude pulmonary edema in a climber over 20,000 feet up the slope of Mount Everest....

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Medical Devices Assess, Treat Balance Disorders

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

You may have heard the phrase “as difficult as walking and chewing gum” as a joking way of referring to something that is not...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

NASA Bioreactors Advance Disease Treatments

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

The International Space Station (ISS) is falling. This is no threat to the astronauts onboard, however, because falling is part of the ISS...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Robotics Algorithms Provide Nutritional Guidelines

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

On July 5, 1997, a small robot emerged from its lander like an insect from an egg, crawling out onto the rocky surface of Mars. About...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

‘Anti-Gravity’ Treadmills Speed Rehabilitation

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

On Earth, gravity can cause a lot of stress to a person’s bones and muscles, whether the stress is caused by running a marathon or...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Crew Management Processes Revitalize Patient Care

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

In January 2009, birds struck the engines of US Airways Flight 1549 and forced an emergency landing into the Hudson River. Everyone on...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Hubble Systems Optimize Busy Hospital Schedules

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

Beginning in 1985, a team of engineers at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore began developing software to manage various...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Web-Based Programs Assess Cognitive Fitness

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

Astronauts, pilots, air traffic controllers, truck drivers, shift workers, and mountain climbers have something in common: All are at risk for...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Electrolyte Concentrates Treat Dehydration

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

For astronauts returning to Earth, adjusting to full gravity can be just as demanding as any of the challenges they faced in space. While...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Magnetic Separator Enhances Treatment Possibilities

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

Since the earliest missions in space, NASA specialists have performed experiments in low gravity. Protein crystal...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Periodontal Probe Improves Exams, Alleviates Pain

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

“Dentists,” comedian Bill Cosby memorably mused, “tell you not to pick your teeth with any sharp metal object....

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Photorefraction Screens Millions for Vision Disorders

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

Who would have thought that stargazing in the 1980s would lead to hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren seeing more clearly today?...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Robotic Joints Support Horses and Humans

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

A rehabilitative device first featured in Spinoff 2003 is not only helping human patients regain the ability to walk, but is now helping our...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Lockable Knee Brace Speeds Rehabilitation

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

Marshall Space Flight Center develops key transportation and propulsion technologies for the Space Agency. The Center...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

Polymer Coats Leads on Implantable Medical Device

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

Langley Research Center’s Soluble Imide (LaRC-SI) was discovered by accident. While researching resins and adhesives for advanced...

Spinoff: Health and Medicine

LED Device Illuminates New Path to Healing

Originating Technology/NASA Contribution

Among NASA’s research goals is increased understanding of factors affecting plant growth, including the effects of...