Information Resources
Publications
NASA wind tunnel technique for studying the flow of fluid over a surface
by use of multilayered, multicolored coatings helped lead to a breakthrough
in one company's medical diagnostic systems.
This application of NASA technology to the commercial sector did not
happen accidentally it was inspired by technology distributed through the
monthly NASA Tech Briefs publication.
DiaSys Corporation, Waterbury, Connecticut, was experiencing difficulties
with its Optical Slide Assemblies (OSAs) used in its automated urinalysis
system, R/S 2000. Particles tended to collect and bunch up within cell
chambers and obscure the view from the microscopes, rendering the specimens
unacceptable. Then Walter Greenfield of DiaSys discovered several applicable
articles in Tech Briefs, including the wind tunnel technique by
Langley Research Center and work performed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory
on hydro dynamic stability.
| NASA Tech Briefs helped DiaSys Corporation
resolve a difficult problem in the development of the company's R/S 2000
instrument for automated urinalysis. The publication is just one way NASA
disseminates information on cutting-edge research |
This led company researchers to aerospace studies on fluid dynamics,
such as articles on the characteristics of airflow and how it parallels
fluid motion. DiaSys President Todd M. DeMatteo said, "Taking advantage
of the information presented, we were able to design the OSA to be aerodynamicallyand
therefore fluid-dynamicallycorrect." The company later applied the
same technology to its FE-2 workstation, which automates and reduces the
cost of microscopic analysis of fecal concentrates.
The National Aeronautics and Space Act requires NASA contractors to
provide written reports about inventions, improvements and innovations
developed while working for NASA; information from these reports and work
done by NASA scientists and engineers are the basis of NASA Tech Briefs.
About 70 percent of the listings have an accompanying Technical Support
Package (TSP), which has detailed information about the particular technology.
The briefs are also available on the Internet, with searching capabilities
for issues printed over the last two decades. The publication is free and
is an awareness and problem-solving tool for U.S. government and industry
readers. The articles have ranged in subject from increasing the shelf
life of food products to new computer scheduling programs and technology
for aircraft drag reduction.
Tech Briefs began in 1962 as a single white paper, which grew
into a quarterly government-funded publication printed and distributed
by the U.S. Government Printing Office in 1976. The publication evolved
from a black-and-white circular to a full-color magazine, privately-funded
and produced commercially by Associated Business Publications Co., Ltd.
New York, New York. The venture not only saves NASA all printing and postage
costs, but other publication costs as well, totalling approximately $20
million since it began. In January of 1997, the magazine celebrated its
20th yearwith over 12,000 individual briefs published, 1.8 million requests
for Technical Support Packages generated, and over 207,000 current subscribers.
| DiaSys Corporation's automated urinalysis
system (bottom of photo) eliminates the use of potentially messy and hazardous
pipettes, slides and slide cover slips (top of photo). NASA hydrodynamic
studies published in NASA Tech Briefs helped the company resolve fluid
manipulation problems in the system. |
Complementing NASA Tech Briefs is the Spinoff publication,
which highlights technology transfer successes that result in commercial
products or processes. The stories featured include technology transferred
through NASA Tech Briefs, NASA technical reports, former NASA employees,
contractor diversification, technical assistance, patent licenses, and
many other mechanisms. Although distributed by the National Technology
Transfer Center, the NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI) performs
the research and coordination of the publication. Companies with NASA spinoff
products or processes may contact Walter Heiland at CASI directly in order
to be considered for the publication. CASI also maintains a database of
published stories on the Internet which includes abstracts, key centers,
origins of the technologies, and manufacturer's addresses. This database
and a Web version of the publication can be accessed at http://www.sti.nasa.gov/tto/spinoff.html.
Every NASA facility and affiliated organization maintains a site on
the World Wide Web, all of which can be accessed through the NASA Commercial
Technology Network homepage at http://nctn.hq.nasa.gov/nctn/. On-line
versions of many other publications including Aerospace Technology Innovation,
a bimonthly publication of the NASA Office of Aeronautics, and monthly
newsletters from the field centers are also linked to the homepage.
| The FE-2 workstation, developed using
information from NASA Tech Briefs, automates and reduces the cost of microscopic
analysis of fecal concentrates. Shown is a sample containing an ascaris
embryo, magnified 100 times, courtesy of Dr. Dwight F. Miller of Saint
Mary's Hospital in Waterbury, Connecticut |
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