Volume 11, Number 2 • Summer 2003 • Cover Story
Enterprises Partner to Host
First NASA Medical Technology Summit
Teamwork is a way of life at NASA, and the Aerospace Technology and Biological and Physical Research Enterprises are offering others the opportunity to team up with NASA.
In mid-February, NASA held a major event entitled NASA’s Medical Technology Summit: Forging Partnerships to Develop Emerging Technologies. The goal of the summit was to forge partnerships between NASA and the medical device industry to accelerate the development of technologies critical to NASA, while also helping to create a new generation of medical devices. The event enabled the companies to learn about new advances from NASA and understand the Agency’s goals and vision.
“NASA’s technology transfer goals are focused on contributing to the advanced readiness of technologies essential to NASA missions while maximizing their economic impact,” said Michael Weingarten, Director of NASA’s Partnership Development Team.
NASA’s Innovative Technology Transfer Partnerships Program worked together with the Biological and Physical Research Enterprise to identify more than 20 technologies with applications in biomolecular sensors, physiological monitoring, diagnostic instruments and techniques, therapeutic devices and advanced instruments.
“This was an opportunity for the medical device industry to really see what NASA is capable of . . . and how NASA technology can assist these companies with developing new devices and increasing the capabilities of existing technology,” said Weingarten.
Many of the technologies showcased are being developed in support of
NASA’s Space Flight program. As an example, NASA and the National
Cancer Institute (NCI) are cosponsoring a new research program entitled
Fundamental Technologies for the Development of Biomolecular Sensors.
The goal of this program is to develop biomolecular sensors that will
revolutionize the practice of medicine on Earth and in space. NASA and
NCI are seeking innovations in fundamental technologies that will support
the development of minimally invasive biomolecular sensor systems that
can
measure, analyze and manipulate molecular processes in the living body.
Examples included wearable multiparameter physiologic monitors for ambulatory personnel, rapid molecular diagnostics and related technologies. Such tools should find broad applications in the monitoring of patient populations ranging from space flight crews to cardiac patients, athletes in training and first responders.
“We were frankly amazed by the response from industry,”
said Weingarten. “We were able to engage senior-level decision-makers
from many of the leading companies in the medical device industry. What
made this event a success was the amount of homework we put into identifying
companies ahead of the event who would make good research partners for
NASA. This really paid off, as we had more than 130 private meetings with
companies at the summit to begin exploring how we might
collaborate together.”
NASA is engaged in follow-up discussions in a number of promising areas,
including biosensors for pathogen detection and quantification; Fourier
imaging of gamma rays, hard x-rays and neutrons that have several medical
applications; micro-encapsulation of drugs for treating anthrax; an anthrax
detector; a nano-technology chip for restoring vision; and advanced polymers
for balloon angioplasty.
“The NASA Medical Technology Summit showcased many interesting technologies,”
said Frank Abrano, CEO of The Bryan Corporation. “I thought it was
very successful and an excellent opportunity for anyone in the medical
technology field.” Abrano added he is currently negotiating licenses
for
technologies he learned about while attending the summit.
NASA has a promising history of successful technology transfer to the
medical device industry. Two success stories include the MicroMed DeBakey
VAD® and the The BioLuminate Smart Probe.
The MicroMed DeBakey VAD is a miniaturized heart pump designed to provide
increased blood flow from the left ventricle of the heart throughout the
body for patients in end-stage heart failure. Miniature in size and lightweight,
the MicroMed DeBakey VAD reduces surgical time to about one-half the time
of implanting pulsatile devices. It is less expensive than currently marketed
pulsatile VADs, making the process more affordable to a wider group of
patients, while enabling patient mobility. The MicroMed DeBakey VAD is
based in part on technology used in space shuttle fuel pumps. It is intended
as a long-term “bridge” to transplant, or as a more permanent
device to help patients toward recovery. About five million Americans
suffer from heart failure annually. Approximately 35,000 heart-failure
patients need transplants each year, but only 2,500 donor hearts are available.
The concept for the pump began with talks between Baylor College of Medicine’s Dr. Michael DeBakey and one of his heart transplant patients, NASA Engineer David Saucier, who worked at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston. Saucier knew first-hand the urgency heart-failure patients feel while waiting for a donor heart. He also knew space shuttle technology. Six months after his own heart transplant in 1984, Saucier was back at work. With fellow NASA employees, Dr. DeBakey, Dr. George Noon and other Baylor College of Medicine staff, Saucier worked evenings and weekends on the initial pump design. During the effort Saucier said “Since my own transplant, I have spent a lot of time visiting people who are waiting for a donor heart.” He felt a sense of urgency to develop the pump. NASA began funding the project in 1992. The result was a remarkable battery-operated pump—2 inches long, 1 inch in diameter and weighing less than 4 ounces—that seems to be an answer to the decades-long quest to develop an implantable ventricular-assist pump.
NASA Ames Research Center licensed the Smart Surgical Probe to a Silicon Valley start-up company, BioLuminate, Inc. Ames originally developed this technology, which is a small multisensor probe using neural algorithms, to potentially analyze soil samples on Mars and other planets.
The BioLuminate commercial adaptation of the probe is to be used for real-time detailed interpretations of breast tissue from the tip of an inserted needle. This new instrument will allow health care providers to make accurate diagnoses with this less invasive procedure. In addition, it will enable physicians to diagnose tumors without surgery, thereby dramatically reducing the number of unnecessary breast biopsies women undergo annually. BioLuminate also has licensed and incorporated a technology from Lawrence Livermore National Labs to further miniaturize the probe.
These are just two examples of NASA technology changing the course of modern medicine. NASA’s innovation and drive have affected other aspects of life, as well. As we move forward, NASA will continue to be a major player in developing innovations critical to supporting our space flight needs and making those innovations available to companies who can take them to market. Q
For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov and http://www.hq.nasa.gov
NASA Official: Jonathan Root • Web Design: Printing
& Design Office, NASA Headquarters • Credits