Briefs: Test & Measurement
Researchers Deploy Smart Technologies to Detect Blood Pressure and Arrhythmias
Smart technologies, including phones and other personal devices, have grown in popularity around the globe. With built-in sensors and the ability to tap expansive...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Monitor Detects White Blood Cell Levels
One of the major side effects of chemotherapy is a sharp drop in white blood cells, which leaves patients vulnerable to dangerous infections. Chemotherapy patients usually receive a dose every 21 days. After each dose, their white blood cell levels fall and then gradually climb again. Doctors usually only...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Corrosion and Coating Evaluation System
Aircraft coatings are the first line of defense when it comes to mitigating structural corrosion of an air platform. As new coatings are developed — particularly those that contain non-chrome primers...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Radiation Detection with Plastic Scintillators
It has been established opinion since the 1950s that organic crystals and liquid scintillators can work for detecting neutrons, but that plastics are not suitable for neutron detection. For...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Radiation Analysis Software
For emergencies involving radiation, decision-makers must have a means to swiftly assess the situation. Having analysis tools that can quickly and reliably make sense of radiation data is of the essence.
Briefs: Medical
Non-Invasive Intracranial Pressure Measurement
An acknowledged objective of critical-care medicine is a timely, accurate, readily deployable, cost-effective, and, importantly, safe means of assessing and/or monitoring critical...
Briefs: Aerospace
Affordable Vehicle Avionics (AVA)
NASA Ames Research Center has developed a novel, low-cost, self-contained guidance system for small payload operators. Small satellites are becoming ever more capable of performing valuable missions for both...
Briefs: Data Acquisition
Algorithm Provides Early Warning of Pathogen Exposure
Overt symptoms of many diseases often do not manifest until days after a person’s initial exposure to the causative pathogen, typically a virus or bacteria. By then, the disease may...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Mobile Health Platform
A mobile health technology was developed to monitor and predict a user’s psychological status, and to deliver an automated intervention when needed. The technology uses smart-phones to monitor the user’s location and ask questions about psychological status throughout the day.
Products: Imaging
Product of the Month: June 2018
Teledyne LeCroy, Chestnut Ridge, NY, introduced WaveSurfer 3000z oscilloscopes that feature a 10.1” capacitive touchscreen, a set of debug and analysis tools, multi-instrument capabilities,...
NASA Spinoff: Test & Measurement
All-in-One Lab Device Gets New Instruments via Software Update
Spinoff is NASA’s annual publication featuring successfully commercialized NASA technology. This commercialization has contributed to the development of products and services...
Application Briefs: Energy
Advanced Data Acquisition Technology Improves Global Weather Predictions
Azusa, CA
www.northropgrumman.com
Two critical instruments built by Northrop Grumman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric...
Briefs: Imaging
Large-Area Structural Damage Nondestructive Evaluation
When testing composite structures, it is important to understand the response of the structure to the load. Of significance is the formation of damage and growth of that damage leading...
Briefs: Imaging
Compact Science Experiment Module
Crew time on the International Space Station (ISS) is extremely limited for any operations on science payloads. Autonomous science experiments in small, self-contained, cubical payloads are highly desirable...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Laser Technique Detects Toxic Agents in the Atmosphere
A real-time instrument was developed that could scan the atmosphere for toxic agents in order to alert communities to a biological or chemical attack.
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Correlation Spectrometer
Correlation spectroscopy is an attractive technique for sensing and analysis applications because it combines the attributes of mechanical and optical simplicity, high selectivity, and good sensitivity. In...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Mobile Instrument Detects and Samples Aerosol Particles
Hazardous airborne particles pose a risk for health and safety in a variety of environments; thus, detection of these small particles is essential. Current particle magnification systems are bulky and require a lot of power for operation, making them unsuitable to easily detect and analyze...
Articles: RF & Microwave Electronics
Products of Tomorrow: May 2018
This column presents technologies that have applications in commercial areas, possibly creating the products of tomorrow. To learn more about each technology, see the contact information provided for that...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
A Fast, Non-Destructive Test for Two-Dimensional Materials
Thinning a material down to a single-atom thickness can dramatically change that material’s physical properties. Graphene, the best known two-dimensional (2D) material, has...
Briefs: Materials
Printing Ink Removes Oxygen in Sealed Packages
Oxygen adversely impacts food flavor and nutrition. NASA’s proposed five-year shelf life for astronaut food requires aggressive measures to minimize oxygen. Previously, NASA packaged foods in containers with a high oxygen and moisture barrier. These materials have limiting properties. They contain...
Products: Manufacturing & Prototyping
New on the Market: May 2018
JW Winco, New Berlin, WI, offers GN 2342 RoHS-compliant stainless steel assembly pins with three washer types available that place the bolt in an axial position in its insertion direction. The...
Briefs: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Miniature Mass Spectrometer
For decades, mass spectrometers have offered a relatively fast and highly sensitive way to analyze and detect chemical compounds. But their bulky size has been a hindrance, limiting the in-field potential of the...
Researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory have observed how lithium moves inside individual nanoparticles that make up batteries. The finding could help...
Briefs: Data Acquisition
Piezomagnetic Material Changes Magnetic Properties When Stretched
Piezoelectric materials, which generate an electric current when compressed or stretched, are familiar and widely used; for example, lighters that spark when a switch is...
Briefs: Medical
Analysis of Molecules in Liquids on a Chip
Much can be detected in blood or urine — viral illnesses, metabolic disorders, or autoimmune diseases can be diagnosed with laboratory tests, for instance. But such examinations often take a few...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Plastic Material Works as a Heat Conductor
Plastics are excellent insulators, meaning they can efficiently trap heat — a quality that can be an advantage in something like a coffee cup sleeve. But this insulating property is less desirable in products such as plastic casings for laptops and mobile phones that overheat, in part, because the...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Technique Enables 3D Printing of Microstructures
Two-photon lithography (TPL), a high-resolution 3D printing technique, is capable of producing nanoscale features smaller than 1/100 the width of a human hair. The technique could enable X-ray...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Thermal Energy Storage and Monitoring
Water heaters and other thermal energy storage devices increase the temperature of a medium above an ambient or normal temperature, and store the warmer medium. Water heaters, in particular, must store...
Articles: Test & Measurement
Essential Principles for Designing and Specifying Laser Optics
Laser engineers are leveraging new materials, unusual gain mechanisms, and innovative cavity designs to push laser performance into new regimes. Pulse lengths are getting...
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