Page 13 - Aerotech News and Review, Oct 5 2018 - NASA Anniversary Special

NASA spinoff technologies improve everyday life
NASA spinoff technologies are commercial products and services which have been developed with the help of NASA, through research and development contracts, such as Small Business Innovation Re- search or STTR awards, licensing of NASA patents, use of NASA facilities, technical assistance from NASA personnel, or data from NASA research.
Information on new NASA technology that may be useful to indus- try is available in periodical and website form in “NASA Tech Briefs”, while successful examples of commercialization are reported annually in the NASA publication “Spinoffs”.
In 1979, notable science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein helped bring awareness to the spinoffs when he was asked to appear before Congress after recovering from one of the earliest known vascular by- pass operations to correct a blocked artery; in his testimony, reprinted in the book Expanded Universe, he claimed that four NASA spinoff technologies made the surgery possible, and it was a few from a long list of NASA spinoff technologies from space development.
For more than 50 years, the NASA Technology Transfer Program has connected NASA resources to private industry, referring to the commercial products as spinoffs. Well-known products that NASA claims as spinoffs include memory foam (originally named temper foam), freeze-dried food, firefighting equipment, emergency “space blankets”, DustBusters, cochlear implants, LZR Racer swimsuits, and CMOS image sensors.
As of 2016, NASA claims that there are nearly 2,000 other spinoffs in the fields of computer technology, environment and agriculture, health and medicine, public safety, transportation, recreation, and in- dustrial productivity. Contrary to common belief, NASA did not invent Tang, Velcro or Teflon.
Health and medicine
Infrared ear thermometers: Diatek Corporation and NASA de- veloped an aural thermometer that measures the thermal radiation emitted by the eardrum, similar to the way the temperature of stars and planets are measured. This method avoids contact with mucous membranes and permits rapid temperature measurement of newborn or incapacitated patients. NASA supported the Diatek Corporation through the Technology Affiliates Program.
Ventricular assist device: Collaboration between NASA, Dr. Mi- chael DeBakey, Dr. George Noon, and MicroMed Technology Inc. resulted in a heart pump for patients awaiting heart transplants. The MicroMed DeBakey ventricular assist device functions as a “bridge to heart transplant” by pumping blood until a donor heart is avail- able. The pump is approximately one-tenth the size of other currently marketed pulsatile VADs. Because of the pump’s small size, fewer patients developed device-related infections. It can operate up to 8 hours on batteries, giving patients the mobility to do normal, everyday activities.
LASIK: LASIK technology comes from the 1980s efforts for autonomous rendezvous and docking of space vehicles to service satellites. Eventually a range and velocity imaging LADAR was dem- onstrated that could be used for docking spacecraft. LADAR was also
used in military and NASA-sponsored research for applications in strategic target tracking and weapons firing control. This technology is used by Eye surgeons to track eye movements at a rate of 4,000 times per second while reshaping the cornea, the clear front surface of the eye, using a laser.
Artificial limbs: NASA’s continued funding, coupled with its col- lective innovations in robotics and shock-absorption/comfort mate- rials are inspiring and enabling the private sector to create new and better solutions for animal and human prostheses. Advancements such as Environmental Robots Inc.’s development of artificial muscle sys- tems with robotic sensing and actuation capabilities for use in NASA space robotic and extravehicular activities are being adapted in order to create more functionally dynamic artificial limbs.
Additionally, other private-sector adaptations of NASA’s temper foam technology have brought about custom-moldable materials of- fering the natural look and feel of flesh, as well as preventing friction between the skin and the prosthesis, and heat/moisture buildup.
Light-emitting diodes in medical therapies: After initial experi- ments using light-emitting diodes in NASA space shuttle plant growth experiments, NASA issued a small business innovation grant that led to the development of a hand-held, high-intensity, LED unit devel- oped by Quantum Devices Inc. that can be used to treat tumors after other treatment options are depleted. This therapy was approved by the FDA and inducted into the Space Foundation’s Space Technology Hall of Fame in 2000.
Invisible bracea: Invisible braces are a type of transparent ceram- ics called translucent polycrystalline alumina. A company known as Ceradyne developed TPA in conjunction with NASA Advanced Ce- ramics Research as protection for infrared antennae on heat-seeking missile trackers.
Scratch-resistant lenses:A sunglasses manufacturer called Foster Grant first licensed a NASA technology for scratch-resistant lenses, developed for protecting space equipment from scratching in space, especially helmet visors.
Space blanket: So-called space blankets, developed in 1964 for the space program, are lightweight and reflect infrared radiation. These
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Dynamic Systems Inc. photograph
Initially referred to as “slow spring back foam”, temper foam matches pressure against it and slowly returns to its original form once the pressure is removed.
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