The NASA SBIR product catalog

The purpose of this catalog is to assist small business firms in making the community aware of products emerging from their efforts in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. It contains descriptions of some products that have advanced into Phase 3 and others that are identified as prospective products. Both lists of products in this catalog are based on information supplied by NASA SBIR contractors in responding to an invitation to be represented in this document. Generally, all products suggested by the small firms were included in order to meet the goals of information exchange for SBIR results. Of the 444 SBIR contractors NASA queried, 137 provided information on 219 products. The catalog presents the product information in the technology areas listed in the table of contents. Within each area, the products are listed in alphabetical order by product name and are given identifying numbers. Also included is an alphabetical listing of the companies that have products described. This listing cross-references the product list and provides information on the business activity of each firm. In addition, there are three indexes: one a list of firms by states, one that lists the products according to NASA Centers that managed the SBIR projects, and one that lists the products by the relevant Technical Topics utilized in NASA's annual program solicitation under which each SBIR project was selected

Large space structures and systems in the space station era: A bibliography with indexes (supplement 04)

Bibliographies and abstracts are listed for 1211 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system between 1 Jul. and 30 Dec. 1991. Its purpose is to provide helpful information to the researcher, manager, and designer in technology development and mission design according to system, interactive analysis and design, structural concepts and control systems, electronics, advanced materials, assembly concepts, propulsion, and solar power satellite systems

Cardiovascular instrumentation for spaceflight

The observation mechanisms dealing with pressure, flow, morphology, temperature, etc. are discussed. The approach taken in the performance of this study was to (1) review ground and space-flight data on cardiovascular function, including earlier related ground-based and space-flight animal studies, Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, and recent bed-rest studies, (2) review cardiovascular measurement parameters required to assess individual performance and physiological alternations during space flight, (3) perform an instrumentation survey including a literature search as well as personal contact with the applicable investigators, (4) assess instrumentation applicability with respect to the established criteria, and (5) recommend future research and development activity. It is concluded that, for the most part, the required instrumentation technology is available but that mission-peculiar criteria will require modifications to adapt the applicable instrumentation to a space-flight configuration

The role of non-invasive camera technology for gait analysis in patients with vestibular disorders

Purpose of the study Current balance assessments performed in clinical settings do not provide objective measurements of gait. Further, objective gait analysis typically requires expensive, large and dedicated laboratory facilities. The aim of this pilot study was to develop and assess a low-cost, non-invasive camera technology for gait analysis, to assist the clinical assessment of patients with vestibular disorders. Materials and methods used This is a prospective, case-controlled study that was developed jointly by the local Neurotology Department and the Centre for Sports Engineering Research. Eligible participants were approached and recruited at the local Neurotology Clinic. The gait assessment included two repetitions of a straight 7-metre walk. The gait analysis system, comprised of a camera (P3215-V, Axis Communications, Sweden) and analysis software was installed in an appropriately sized clinic room. Parameters extruded were walking velocity, step velocity, step length, cadence and step count per meter. The effect sizes (ESB) were calculated using the MatLab and were considered large, medium or small if >0.8, 0.5 and 0.2 respectively. This study was granted ethical approval by the Coventry and Warwickshire Research Ethics Committee (15/WM/0448). Results Six patients with vestibular dysfunction (P group) and six age-matched healthy volunteers (V group) were recruited in this study. The average velocity of gait for P group was 1189.1 ± 69.0 mm·s-1 whereas for V group it was 1351.4 ± 179.2 mm·s-1, (ESB: -0.91). The mean step velocities were 1353.1 ± 591.8 mm·s-1 and 1434.0 ± 396.5 mm·s-1 for P and V groups respectively (ESB: -0.20). The average cadence was 2.3 ± 0.9 Hz and 2.0 ± 0.5 Hz for P and V groups respectively (ESB: 0.60). The mean step length was 620.5 ± 150.7 mm for the P group and 728.5 ± 86.0 mm for the V group (ESB = -1.26). The average step count per meter was 1.7 ± 0.3 and 1.4 ± 0.1 for P and V groups respectively (ESB = 3.38). Conclusion This pilot study used a low-cost, non-invasive camera technology to identify changes in gait characteristics. Further, gait measurements were obtained without the application of markers or sensors to patients (i.e. non-invasive), thus allowing current, clinical practice to be supplemented by objective measurement, with minimal procedural impact. Further work needs to be undertaken to refine the device and produce normative data. In the future, similar technologies could be used in the community setting, providing an excellent diagnostic and monitoring tool for balance patients

Medical robots with potential applications in participatory and opportunistic remote sensing: A review

Among numerous applications of medical robotics, this paper concentrates on the design, optimal use and maintenance of the related technologies in the context of healthcare, rehabilitation and assistive robotics, and provides a comprehensive review of the latest advancements in the foregoing field of science and technology, while extensively dealing with the possible applications of participatory and opportunistic mobile sensing in the aforementioned domains. The main motivation for the latter choice is the variety of such applications in the settings having partial contributions to functionalities such as artery, radiosurgery, neurosurgery and vascular intervention. From a broad perspective, the aforementioned applications can be realized via various strategies and devices benefiting from detachable drives, intelligent robots, human-centric sensing and computing, miniature and micro-robots. Throughout the paper tens of subjects, including sensor-fusion, kinematic, dynamic and 3D tissue models are discussed based on the existing literature on the state-of-the-art technologies. In addition, from a managerial perspective, topics such as safety monitoring, security, privacy and evolutionary optimization of the operational efficiency are reviewed

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A cumulative index to a continuing bibliography

This publication is a cumulative index to the abstracts contained in Supplements 138 through 149 of AEROSPACE MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY: A CONTINUING BIBLIOGRAPHY. It includes three indexes -- subject, personal author, and corporate source

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: Cumulative index, 1979

This publication is a cumulative index to the abstracts contained in the Supplements 190 through 201 of 'Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A Continuing Bibliography.' It includes three indexes-subject, personal author, and corporate source

Electrophysiologic assessment of (central) auditory processing disorder in children with non-syndromic cleft lip and/or palate

Session 5aPP - Psychological and Physiological Acoustics: Auditory Function, Mechanisms, and Models (Poster Session)Cleft of the lip and/or palate is a common congenital craniofacial malformation worldwide, particularly non-syndromic cleft lip and/or palate (NSCL/P). Though middle ear deficits in this population have been universally noted in numerous studies, other auditory problems including inner ear deficits or cortical dysfunction are rarely reported. A higher prevalence of educational problems has been noted in children with NSCL/P compared to craniofacially normal children. These high level cognitive difficulties cannot be entirely attributed to peripheral hearing loss. Recently it has been suggested that children with NSCLP may be more prone to abnormalities in the auditory cortex. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether school age children with (NSCL/P) have a higher prevalence of indications of (central) auditory processing disorder [(C)APD] compared to normal age matched controls when assessed using auditory event-related potential (ERP) techniques. School children (6 to 15 years) with NSCL/P and normal controls with matched age and gender were recruited. Auditory ERP recordings included auditory brainstem response and late event-related potentials, including the P1-N1-P2 complex and P300 waveforms. Initial findings from the present study are presented and their implications for further research in this area —and clinical intervention—are outlined. © 2012 Acoustical Society of Americapublished_or_final_versio

Failure Analysis Of Rotating Equipment Using Vibration Studies And Signal Processing Techniques

This thesis focuses on failure analysis of rotating machines based on vibration analysis and signal processing techniques. The main objectives are: identifying machine’s condition, determining the faults specific response, creating methods to correct the faults, and investigating available statistical analysis methods for automatic fault detection and classification. In vibration analysis, the accelerometer data is analyzed in time and frequency domain which will determine the machine’s condition by identifying the characteristic frequencies of the faults. These fault frequencies are specific for each type of machine’s faults. Therefore, they are referred to as faults’ signatures. The most common faults of the rotating machines are unbalanced load torque, misaligned shaft, looseness, and bearing faults. The second objective is to find correction methods for rectifying the faulty situations. Therefore, correction methods for the unbalanced condition are comprehensively studied and a novel method for balancing an unbalanced rotor is developed which is based on image processing methods and results in lowering machine’s vibrations. Another objective of this research is to collect huge amount of vibration data and implement statistical data analysis methods to categorize different machine’s conditions. Therefore, principal components analysis, K-nearest neighbor, and singular value decomposition are implemented to identify different faults of the rotating machines automatically. The statistical methods have demonstrated high precision in classifying different faulty situations. Fault identification at early stages will enhance machine’s health and reduces the maintenance costs significantly. The statistical methods are easy to implement, and have disaffected the need for an expert maintenance engineer and will identify the machine’s fault automatically

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 378)

This bibliography lists 185 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA Scientific and Technical Information System during Aug. 1993. Subject coverage includes: aerospace medicine and physiology, life support systems and man/system technology, protective clothing, exobiology and extraterrestrial life, planetary biology, and flight crew behavior and performance