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A linear illumination system based on a highly reflective external enclosure improves light efficiency and brightness when utilizing fluorescent lamps, light emitting diodes (LED), laser diodes, organic LEDs, electroluminescent strips, or high-intensity discharge lamps as the light source. The system provides a critical advantage...

For an estimated 10 million people worldwide who are blind due to cornea damage or disease, there may be hope in the form of an innovative artificial cornea design that reportedly overcomes the limitations of existing artificial corneas. Existing cornea implants need to be made larger to prevent excess corneal tissue from growing...

Spectrophotometers are more commonly used today by manufacturers to ensure first-time color quality and lot-to-lot consistency of products on the factory floor. These instruments, as a result, must meet some very demanding conditions, including uneven lighting, high humidity levels, varying temperatures, and shock and vibration.

Portfolio of Clock Synchronization Patents Available for Sale Two US-issued patents and a family of international counterparts are for sale. A hybrid-type clock synchronization tool includes analog and digital components, and optimizing clock skew.

Technology developed for two European Space Agency (ESA) missions could soon be used to cost- effectively, rapidly, and accurately diagnose tuberculosis (TB). Scientists at The Open University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) are developing a mass spectrometer capable of detecting TB in countries where...

NASA Tech Briefs' 2007 National Nano Engineering Conference (NNEC), November 14-15 at the Marriott Boston Copley Place, is the premier event focused on current and future developments in engineering innovations at the nanoscale, as well as the commercialization of nanotechnology. The event also includes the...

University of Cincinnati (UC) radiologists have developed a new technique for capturing images of chest veins that helps diagnose venous diseases. Multi-detector computed tomography (CT) scanners are currently used to create 3D images of arteries. Veins are more difficult to accurately image. The new technique allows...

A company seeks to deactivate or otherwise interfere with the action of pectin methylesterase and polygalacturonase enzymes, which interfere with the processing of certain fruits by degrading fruit pectins. Release of the enzymes decreases the thickening power of the fruit solids, as they act on cell wall pectins. By...

Labs are currently working on growing synthetically engineered tissues such as muscle or cartilage needed for transplants. Towards that end, Cornell University engineers have developed a microvascular system that can nourish growing tissues. They have engineered tiny channels within a water-based gel that mimic a vascular...

Researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), IBM, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, have pushed the measurement of thin films to the edge to produce the first data on how the edges of metallic thin films contribute to their magnetic properties. The results may impact the...

A frictional properties test mechanism for an aircraft brake comprises a means for providing inertial rotary motion, a wheel element attached to the inertial rotary motion means, a means for effecting braking of the wheel element and including braking load receiving means, a means for creating oscillatory motion of the braking...

Objects just a few millimeters across could pierce the thin aluminum skin of spacecraft such as the International Space Station orbiting 220 miles above Earth. And even a tiny hole can mean a leak of pressurized air. Dale Chimenti, an Iowa State University professor of aerospace engineering, is leading a team that has been contracted by...

Your unique invention could win you $20,000 or other great prizes in the 2007 Create the Future Design Contest, presented by SolidWorks Corp. and NASA Tech Briefs. Innovative design ideas are being accepted in six categories: Machinery, Equipment, and Component Technology; Consumer Products; Medical; Safety and...

NASA's Inductive Monitoring System (IMS) is a new computer program that monitors gyroscopes that keep the International Space Station properly oriented in space. Engineers will add the new software to a group of existing tools to identify and track problems related to the gyroscopes. If the software detects warning signs, it...

Small Geometry Flash EEPROM & DRAM Memory Patents These patents cover such topics as Flash EEPROM and DRAM device, high storage capacity, cell size, cell layout, product material, etching masking material, photolithography technique, narrower spacing between adjacent line patterns, high packing density of pattern...

Researchers at the University of Warwick in the UK have developed a way to identify partial, distorted, scratched, smudged, or otherwise warped fingerprints in a few seconds. Previous techniques have tried to identify a few key features on a fingerprint and match them against a database of templates. The new method considers...

Johnson Space Center (Houston, TX) has invented photocatalytic/ magnetic composite particles as an improved method of photocatalysis for removing chemical and biological pollutants from air and water. Read more here.

A company seeks an aerosol that can be easily launched using a pulsed jet fogger, has reflectivity or other optical properties, and is safe for human cutaneous and pulmonary contact. Visually reflective aerosols are sought with emitted or reflected light that can be manipulated using laser or other optical sources. Click here...

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a new technique for identifying and repairing small, potentially dangerous cracks in aircraft wings and other structures made from polymer composites. By infusing a polymer with electrically conductive carbon nanotubes, and then monitoring the structure's electrical...

Each month, NTB highlights tech briefs related to a particular area of technology in a special section called Technology Focus. Here are some of the technologies featured in the October issue focus on Sensors. Wirelessly Interrogated Position or Displacement Sensors Researchers at NASA's Langley Research Center have developed...

The Jettison D® is an ionizer that works in conjunction with a diesel engine's emission control system to decrease the amount of pollutants emitted while improving fuel economy, reducing maintenance, and enhancing engine performance. It changes unburned oil droplets and vapors emitted from the engine into light, burnable...

The University of Illinois (UI) at Urbana- Champaign and Unity High School in Tolono, IL, have teamed with Simbex, a research and product- development company in New Hampshire, to develop a system inside a football helmet that monitors head injuries. It works in tandem with helmets made by Riddell, and was first tested on the...

This monthly review lets you "meet" the new advertisers appearing in Defense Tech Briefs (DTB). Here's a sneak peek at the products, services, and offers available from October's first-time advertisers. AVX Corp. (Myrtle Beach, SC) offers products for defense, aerospace, and space applications, including ceramic capacitors,...

Portfolio of Mobile Messaging Patents for Sale Four U.S. patents, several U.S. applications and a family of international counterparts are available. Reinforced Micromodule This technology relates to a reinforced micromodule of the kind for supporting an integrated circuit adapted here for use in combination with...

Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University, in collaboration with scientists at NASA's Ames Research Center, have built a low-cost robotic device that enables any digital camera to produce gigapixel (billions of pixels) panoramas called GigaPans. The device attaches to any digital camera and enables the public to shoot interactive...

Have you entered your unique invention in the 2007 Create the Future Design Contest, presented by SolidWorks Corp. and NASA Tech Briefs? If not, you only have until October 15 to submit your design idea. Entries are being accepted in six categories: Machinery, Equipment, and Component Technology; Consumer Products; Medical; Safety...

Glenn Research Center (Cleveland, OH) has designed a power supply for a cordless drill in which ultracapacitors, rather than batteries, are used to store energy. Whereas charging of batteries usually takes hours, ultracapacitors can be charged in seconds. Read more here.

The Biomedical Center in Moscow has produced a vaccine that induces cytotoxic lymphocyte (CTL) clones and enables them to recognize and selectively kill Listeria- infected cells. As the lifetime of CTL clones is very long (three-seven years or more), the formulation could be used for both prophylaxis and treatment of Listeriosis,...

Cars already automatically lock doors when they sense motion and turn on warning lights if they detect engine problems. But they are about to get a lot smarter. A research team at Sandia National Laboratories (Albuquerque, NM) is designing cars capable of analyzing human behavior. Future models may, for example, deduce from your driving...