Applications of aerospace technology in biology and medicine

Utilization of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) technology in medicine is discussed. The objective is best obtained by stimulation of the introduction of new or improved commercially available medical products incorporating aerospace technology. A bipolar donor/recipient model of medical technology transfer is presented to provide a basis for the team's methodology. That methodology is designed to: (1) identify medical problems and NASA technology that, in combination, constitute opportunities for successful medical products; (2) obtain the early participation of industry in the transfer process; and (3) obtain acceptance by the medical community of new medical products based on NASA technology. Two commercial transfers were completed: the Stowaway, a lightweight wheelchair that provides mobility for the disabled and elderly in the cabin of commercial aircraft, and Micromed, a portable medication infusion pump for the reliable, continuous infusion of medications such as heparin or insulin. The marketing and manufacturing factors critical to the commercialization of the lightweight walker incorporating composite materials were studied. Progress was made in the development and commercialization of each of the 18 currently active projects

Marshall Space Flight Center Research and Technology Report 2019

Today, our calling to explore is greater than ever before, and here at Marshall Space Flight Centerwe make human deep space exploration possible. A key goal for Artemis is demonstrating and perfecting capabilities on the Moon for technologies needed for humans to get to Mars. This years report features 10 of the Agencys 16 Technology Areas, and I am proud of Marshalls role in creating solutions for so many of these daunting technical challenges. Many of these projects will lead to sustainable in-space architecture for human space exploration that will allow us to travel to the Moon, on to Mars, and beyond. Others are developing new scientific instruments capable of providing an unprecedented glimpse into our universe. NASA has led the charge in space exploration for more than six decades, and through the Artemis program we will help build on our work in low Earth orbit and pave the way to the Moon and Mars. At Marshall, we leverage the skills and interest of the international community to conduct scientific research, develop and demonstrate technology, and train international crews to operate further from Earth for longer periods of time than ever before first at the lunar surface, then on to our next giant leap, human exploration of Mars. While each project in this report seeks to advance new technology and challenge conventions, it is important to recognize the diversity of activities and people supporting our mission. This report not only showcases the Centers capabilities and our partnerships, it also highlights the progress our people have achieved in the past year. These scientists, researchers and innovators are why Marshall and NASA will continue to be a leader in innovation, exploration, and discovery for years to come

A Microfluidic Platform for Precision Small-volume Sample Processing and Its Use to Size Separate Biological Particles with an Acoustic Microdevice.

A major advantage of microfluidic devices is the ability to manipulate small sample volumes, thus reducing reagent waste and preserving precious sample. However, to achieve robust sample manipulation it is necessary to address device integration with the macroscale environment. To realize repeatable, sensitive particle separation with microfluidic devices, this protocol presents a complete automated and integrated microfluidic platform that enables precise processing of 0.15-1.5 ml samples using microfluidic devices. Important aspects of this system include modular device layout and robust fixtures resulting in reliable and flexible world to chip connections, and fully-automated fluid handling which accomplishes closed-loop sample collection, system cleaning and priming steps to ensure repeatable operation. Different microfluidic devices can be used interchangeably with this architecture. Here we incorporate an acoustofluidic device, detail its characterization, performance optimization, and demonstrate its use for size-separation of biological samples. By using real-time feedback during separation experiments, sample collection is optimized to conserve and concentrate sample. Although requiring the integration of multiple pieces of equipment, advantages of this architecture include the ability to process unknown samples with no additional system optimization, ease of device replacement, and precise, robust sample processing

AUDITORY ALARMS IN THE INTENSIVE CARE UNIT: EXPERIMENTAL AND OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES

There are many problems associated with the number of auditory warnings in hospital environments such as the Intensive Care Unit. As the amount of medical technology used to monitor a patient's condition increases, there is a concomitant increase in the number of auditory warnings. Each piece of equipment has its own alarm and often the sounds used are inappropriate. For example, the sounds are often too loud, too insistent and are irritating to staff, distracting them from other tasks. A further feature of sounds used for auditory alarms is that there is, at present, no agreement between manufacturers on the types of sounds used. This means that the same item of equipment can have different alarms if produced by different manufacturers. Subsequently there is the potential for confusion between alarms to occur if sounds are similar. The research presented in this thesis aims to investigate the psychological dimension of confusion between alarm sounds and the correct identification of a set of twelve auditory warnings currently in use in the I.C.U. Derriford Hospital, Plymouth. Hence, the first set of experiments examines the learning and retention of the set of auditory warnings in a laboratory setting. However, the many problems regarding auditory warnings should not be considered in isolation and in order to determine the types of activities undertaken by staff in the I.C.U. environment when alarms are activated, two observational studies were undertaken. The first study used a video camera and the second study involved direct observation using two observers. A series of tasks were developed that used the multiple resources literature as a framework and also represented tasks undertaken in the environment of the I.C.U. In the second experiment, participants were again required to learn and retain the set of auditory warnings. The tasks were introduced during the return stage of the experiment in order to examine first, whether there was an effect on the primary task of correctly identifying the sounds and whether the confusions between sounds increased or changed, and second to examine performance on the secondary tasks. The results showed that for all experiments in general participants required few trials to learn the sounds and the information was retained for a period of over one week. The results also showed that features of some sounds were easier to learn than other sounds and that certain sounds were consistently confused during each experiment. When the tasks were introduced performance on the primary task remained fairly constant, with no overall change or increase in the number of confusions between sounds. However, there was a decrement in the performance of the secondary tasks, as predicted by the dual-task literature. In conclusion, the results suggest that identification of sounds may depend on a global, overall label for a sound, such as a 'melodic' sound or a 'continuous' sound, with the more intricate details undetected by participants. The results also suggest that participants in the laboratory may alter their strategies to maintain performance on the primary task, by either responding more rapidly to task demands or by consciously deciding not to respond to one of the secondary tasks.Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnboroug

Coupling between gamma-band power and cerebral blood volume during recurrent acute neocortical seizures

Characterization of neural and hemodynamic biomarkers of epileptic activity that can be measured using non-invasive techniques is fundamental to the accurate identification of the epileptogenic zone (EZ) in the clinical setting. Recently, oscillations at gamma-band frequencies and above (>30 Hz) have been suggested to provide valuable localizing information of the EZ and track cortical activation associated with epileptogenic processes. Although a tight coupling between gamma-band activity and hemodynamic-based signals has been consistently demonstrated in non-pathological conditions, very little is known about whether such a relationship is maintained in epilepsy and the laminar etiology of these signals. Confirmation of this relationship may elucidate the underpinnings of perfusion-based signals in epilepsy and the potential value of localizing the EZ using hemodynamic correlates of pathological rhythms. Here, we use concurrent multi-depth electrophysiology and 2-dimensional optical imaging spectroscopy to examine the coupling between multi-band neural activity and cerebral blood volume (CBV) during recurrent acute focal neocortical seizures in the urethane-anesthetized rat. We show a powerful correlation between gamma-band power (25-90 Hz) and CBV across cortical laminae, in particular layer 5, and a close association between gamma measures and multi-unit activity (MUA). Our findings provide insights into the laminar electrophysiological basis of perfusion-based imaging signals in the epileptic state and may have implications for further research using non-invasive multi-modal techniques to localize epileptogenic tissue

Open electronics for medical devices: State-of-art and unique advantages

A wide range of medical devices have significant electronic components. Compared to open-source medical software, open (and open-source) electronic hardware has been less published in peer-reviewed literature. In this review, we explore the developments, significance, and advantages of using open platform electronic hardware for medical devices. Open hardware electronics platforms offer not just shorter development times, reduced costs, and customization; they also offer a key potential advantage which current commercial medical devices lack—seamless data sharing for machine learning and artificial intelligence. We explore how various electronic platforms such as microcontrollers, single board computers, field programmable gate arrays, development boards, and integrated circuits have been used by researchers to design medical devices. Researchers interested in designing low cost, customizable, and innovative medical devices can find references to various easily available electronic components as well as design methodologies to integrate those components for a successful design

Low-power Wearable Healthcare Sensors

Advances in technology have produced a range of on-body sensors and smartwatches that can be used to monitor a wearer’s health with the objective to keep the user healthy. However, the real potential of such devices not only lies in monitoring but also in interactive communication with expert-system-based cloud services to offer personalized and real-time healthcare advice that will enable the user to manage their health and, over time, to reduce expensive hospital admissions. To meet this goal, the research challenges for the next generation of wearable healthcare devices include the need to offer a wide range of sensing, computing, communication, and human–computer interaction methods, all within a tiny device with limited resources and electrical power. This Special Issue presents a collection of six papers on a wide range of research developments that highlight the specific challenges in creating the next generation of low-power wearable healthcare sensors

Towards a simulation-based medical education platform for PVSio-web

Interface design flaws are often at the root cause of use errors in medical devices. Medical incidents are seldom reported, thus hindering the understanding of the incident contributing factors. Moreover, when dealing with a use error, both novices and expert users often blame themselves for insufficient knowledge rather than acknowledge deficiencies in the device. Simulation-Based Medical Education (SBME) platforms can provide appropriate training to professionals, especially if the right incentives to keep training are in place. In this paper, we present a new SBME, particularly targeted at training interaction with medical devices such as ventilators and infusion pumps. Our SBME functions as a game mode of the PVSio-web, a graphical environment for design, evaluation, and simulation of interactive (human-computer) systems. An analytical evaluation of our current implementation is provided, by comparing the features on our SBME with a set of requirements for game-based medical simulators retrieved from the literature. By being developed in a free, open source platform, our SBME is highly accessible and can be easily adapted to specific use cases, such a specific hospital with a defined set of medical devices.Jose Campos work was supported by project "NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000016" financed by the North Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, and through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). Carlos Silva work was supported by grant no. POCI-01-0145-FEDER-031943, co-financed by COMPETE2020 under the PT2020 programme, and supported by FEDER. The authors wish to thank Paolo Masci, developer of PVSio-web, for extensive support and input

An Overview of the Measurement of Permeability of Composite Reinforcements

Liquid composite molding (LCM) is a class of fast and cheap processes suitable for the fabrication of large parts with good geometrical and mechanical properties. One of the main steps in an LCM process is represented by the filling stage, during which a reinforcing fiber preform is impregnated with a low-viscosity resin. Darcy’s permeability is the key property for the filling stage, not usually available and depending on several factors. Permeability is also essential in computational modeling to reduce costly trial-and-error procedures during composite manufacturing. This review aims to present the most used and recent methods for permeability measurement. Several solutions, introduced to monitor resin flow within the preform and to calculate the in-plane and out-of-plane permeability, will be presented. Finally, the new trends toward reliable methods based mainly on non-invasive and possibly integrated sensors will be described