Technology Opportunity Showcase highlights some unique technologies that NASA has developed and which we believe have strong potential for commercial application. While the descriptions provided here are brief, they should provide enough information to communicate the potential applications of the technology. For more detailed information, contact the person listed. Please mention that you read about it in Innovation.

Technology Opportunity Showcase

A Program to Measure Carotid-Wall Thickness

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) seeks to transfer the carotid-wall ultrasound measurement technique it developed as a measurement method that uses an automated edge-finding technique to locate the wall boundaries. This method has 5 to 10 times less variability than the manual method. Until recently, measurement of the wall thickness from ultrasound images was accomplished by manually identifying the boundaries of the wall on displayed images using a computer mouse. The thickness of the carotid artery wall has been found to be a highly sensitive indicator of various cardiovascular disorders, such as atherosclerosis and hypertension. Measurement of the wall thickness from ultrasound images is being widely used in epidemiology studies related to these disorders and in clinical tests of various drugs and other therapies. A personal computer operator identifies the approximate location of the arterial wall's boundary. The edge-finding, maximum gradient detection algorithm locates the exact boundary. The tracking method tests the edge "strength" of each detected boundary point and logic to reject poor quality or questionable boundary points. Low measurement variability allows testing the efficacy of drugs and other therapies with fewer subjects in a shorter time, which in turn reduces the testing cost. This new version of PROSOUND, being developed at JPL with funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is an updated version of the first, built in 1988 and 1992 by Robert Selzer in collaboration with the University of Southern California, which holds a copyright and sells the program.

For more information, contact the Technology Transfer Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Call: 818/354-2577. Please mention you read about it in Innovation.

Early Diagnosis of Eye Diseases

Glenn Research Center is seeking industry partners for developing and commercializing a technology for the early detection of various eye diseases. A patent application has been filed. A new fiber-optic probe based on dynamic light scattering has been developed for early detection, which can yield such benefits as screening for anti-cataract drugs, offering better control of diabetes, providing valuable insight into ocular and systemic effects of hyperglycemia, identifying people with undiagnosed disease and better controlling glycemia and diabetes mellitus. A low-power laser beam is aimed into the eye, and the backscattered light is collected and processed to determine the average size and distribution of submicroscopic particles in the eye, such as cholesterol deposits in the anterior chamber, protein crystallines in the lens, and hyaluronon acid molecules and collagen fibers in the vitreous humor. By monitoring the change in the particle size, medical personnel can detect diseases such as cataracts, diabetic retinopathy and asteroid hyalosis in their early stages. Blood sugar and cholesterol levels also could be monitored by such eye measurements without extracting blood. The probe is compact and easy to use. There is no physical contact with the eye, the laser radiation level is extremely low and the measurement duration is very short, ensuring safety. The probe can be easily attached to an existing ophthalmoscope by means of a Hruby lens holder. An optional video imaging system can be added to provide visual monitoring of the eye as the measurements are under way. In collaboration with the National Eye Institute of NIH, experiments are being conducted on congenital and drug-induced cataracts in Philly and transgenic mice. Also, clinical trials on human patients are planned.

For more information, contact Dr. Rafat R. Ansari at Glenn Research Center. Call: 216/433-5008, Fax: 216/977-7138, E-mail: ransari@lerc.nasa.gov Please mention you read about it in Innovation.

Millimeter Wave/Microwave Ablation

Johnson Space Center is seeking industrial partnerships to continue the testing of the millimeter wave/microwave ablation and to license this technology for nonaerospace applications. The technology is for the nonsurgical repair of diseased coronary arteries by intervention cardiologists during coronary catheterization. Potentially safer than balloon angioplasty and other prior forms, the device delivers millimeter/microwave energy by way of a catheter to precise locations of the coronary arteries. The device selectively targets and heats atherosclerotic lesions. It can be used to melt away fatty deposits of atherosclerosis and does not scar the blood vessel, thus preventing restenosis (a condition in which platelets and white blood cells go where the blood vessel was damaged). It is very nonintrusive and can be used as a preventive measure. It can precede the implantation of a stint and allow multiple tasks to be performed in one catheterization. The device consists of a millimeter/microwave power source, a catheter transmission line in the form of a waveguide or coaxial cable and an antenna/radiator located at the distal end of the catheter. The potential commercial use, with a forecasted multibillion-dollar market worldwide, is noninvasive treatment for atherosclerosis.

For more information, contact the Technology Transfer and Commercialization Office at Johnson Space Center. Call: 281/483-1749, Fax: 281/244-8452, E-mail: commercialization@jsc.nasa.gov Please mention you read about it in Innovation.