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At least 91 records · Page 5

Earthbound applications for NASA's physician workstation

The dream of a space probe to Mars or an astronaut colony on the moon persists. Despite years of setbacks and delays, NASA continues to lay the foundation for a new frontier in space. The necessity of a self contained health maintenance facility is an integral part of this stellar venture. As a subsystem of this health maintenance facility, the physician or astronaut workstation was envisioned as the vehicle of interface between the computer resources of the space station and the care provider. Our efforts to define and build this interface have resulted in a series of programs which can now be tested and refined using earth-based applications. The modules which have dual-use application from the NASA workstation include: patient scheduling and master patient index, pharmacy, laboratory, medical library, problem list/progress notes, and digital medical records. Our current plan is to develop these tools as objects that can be assembled in a variety of configurations. This will allow the technology to be used by the private sector where each doctor can select the starting point of his outpatient office system and add modules as he makes progress in system integration and training.

NASA Discipline Number 70-30

GCS support/development system configuration document

The software programming environment used in the development of Guidance and Control Software (GCS) implementations used in a software error studies experiment conducted by the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) and the NASA-Langley is described. The Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics RTCA/DO-178A guidelines are fulfilled, and requirements for document number 9 in which the hardware, software, and processes used to develop and maintain the software for the GCS project are described. The software programming environment for GCS largely consists of tools that are included in Digital Equipment Corporations software layered product library or are a part of the VAX/VMS baseline system.

Lowman, Douglas S.

Large Format Multifunction 2-Terabyte Optical Disk Storage System

The Kodak Digital Science OD System 2000E automated disk library (ADL) base module and write-once drive are being developed as the next generation commercial product to the currently available System 2000 ADL. Under government sponsorship with the Air Force's Rome Laboratory, Kodak is developing magneto-optic (M-O) subsystems compatible with the Kodak Digital Science ODW25 drive architecture, which will result in a multifunction (MF) drive capable of reading and writing 25 gigabyte (GB) WORM media and 15 GB erasable media. In an OD system 2000 E ADL configuration with 4 MF drives and 100 total disks with a 50% ration of WORM and M-O media, 2.0 terabytes (TB) of versatile near line mass storage is available.

Kaiser, David R.

Apollo Botany Experiments and Artemis: Discussion of Botany Experiment Records Digitized as Part of the Apollo Records Synthesis Project (ARSP)

The Artemis Program, with its objective of establishing a sustained human presence on the moon, has rekindled interest in lunar botany as an area of inquiry. Limited availability of collected lunar regolith samples for plant growth experiments underlines the need to leverage all existing historic datasets. As part of NASA’s Life Sciences Data Archive’s (LSDA) Apollo Records Synthesis Project (ARSP), a collection of historic Apollo era botany experiment research records from the former Space Life Sciences Archival Library (SLSAL) collection, these records have been digitized to improve access for data reuse. The records are related to post-mission quarantine experiments conducted to characterize any pathogenic effects of lunar regolith on exposed plant specimens and includes several possible dataset sources such as microscopy photos, laboratory notebooks, correspondence, data sheets, and gas chromatography results. This collection includes the output of investigations of taxa previously under-investigated in the context of space biology. An unusually phylogenetically diverse group of plants are represented in this dataset (including Pinaceae, Poeaceae, Solanaceae, Apiaceae and more). This presentation will discuss the contents of the collection, their historic context, the digitization of the collection, and the opportunities they may provide when placed in the larger corpus of lunar botany regolith experiments.

Archives

Dynamic Modeling and Soil Mechanics for Path Planning of the Mars Exploration Rovers

To help minimize risk of high sinkage and slippage during drives and to better understand soil properties and rover terramechanics from drive data, a multidisciplinary team was formed under the Mars Exploration Rover project to develop and utilize dynamic computer-based models for rover drives over realistic terrains. The resulting system, named ARTEMIS (Adams-based Rover Terramechanics and Mobility Interaction System), consists of the dynamic model, a library of terramechanics subroutines, and the high-resolution digital elevation maps of the Mars surface. A 200-element model of the rovers was developed and validated for drop tests before launch, using Adams dynamic modeling software. The external library was built in Fortran and called by Adams to model the wheel-soil interactions include the rut-formation effect of deformable soils, lateral and longitudinal forces, bull-dozing effects, and applied wheel torque. The paper presents the details and implementation of the system. To validate the developed system, one study case is presented from a realistic drive on Mars of the Opportunity rover. The simulation results match well from the measurement of on-board telemetry data. In its final form, ARTEMIS will be used in a predictive manner to assess terrain navigability and will become part of the overall effort in path planning and navigation for both Martian and lunar rovers.

rover

Innovating the next generation of commercial smart building software

Nearly 30% of commercial building energy use is wasted due to equipment faults and HVAC controls problems. The result is increased emissions, compromised comfort and productivity, and less reliable coordination of building power needs with a clean grid. The energy impact alone represents $17 billion in potential savings. Today’s smart building software provides a robust solution to address these operational deficiencies. Energy management and information systems (EMIS) are saving up to 9% on average, with two-year paybacks. They are being incorporated into energy management processes, commissioning services, and utility programs. As effective as they are, two barriers prevent even deeper benefits; limited personnel to fix problems once they are identified, and the expense and time to manually implement changes in control systems. In partnership with the research community, the EMIS industry is developing new capabilities to overcome these barriers. Moving beyond siloed products for either fault detection and diagnostics, or optimal control, these new capabilities empower users to not only automatically identify faults, but also to push corrective action, and control improvements to their buildings. In this paper, several areas for enhancements are documented: ‘one-time’ correction of faults such as setpoints, schedules, and economizer lockouts; short-term active testing for automated proportional integral derivative (PID) loop tuning and functional testing; and continuous supervisory control for demand flexibility and year-round efficiency. Results are presented from a pair of partner implementations out of a dozen providers integrating these enhancements into their products, including field tests from across the country, and insights into operator acceptance and integration into operations and maintenance practices.

Casillas, Armando

A catalog system for remote-sensing data

The Practical System for Cataloging, Indexing, and Retrieval of Remote Sensing Data developed by the Interdisciplinary Remote Sensing Group at the University of Wisconsin consists of a card catalog, a site-index-map, a site-index-file, an industry-index-file, and a project-index-file. The system is designed for retrieval of remote-sensing data which include imagery, magnetic tapes, flight logs, maps, ground-truth reports, and research reports containing raw data. It can be operated by conventional library methods, but provision has been made for digitizing the system for computer retrieval.

Singh, R. S.

Electromagnetic Pain Relief/Blocking: Feasibility Assessment

Context/Background: Astronauts use pharmaceuticals during spaceflight to manage acute and chronic pain, but use of analgesics will have drawbacks for exploration-class missions because the shelf life of these medications is limited, resupply will be curtailed, astronauts may develop tolerance and/or addiction to these medications, and side effects can include impairment of cognitive abilities. Electromagnetic devices have been developed that treat pain terrestrially by affecting neuromodulation–dubbed “electroceuticals”, these devices have varied mechanisms of action that either stimulate or suppress neural activity in the central nervous system or peripheral nerves. Objective/Purpose: The available literature was reviewed and FDA-approved pain treatments (both pharmacological and non-pharmacological), as well as those currently under development, were assessed for their suitability for use in exploration class spaceflight missions. Data Sources: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting closure of libraries, data sources were restricted to those available digitally. Online database searches included PubMed, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, federal grant award databases (National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Department of Defense (DoD), National Institutes of Health (NIH)), and general internet searches. More than 1,600 records were reviewed in this effort. Study Selection/Eligibility Criteria: Targeted searches included different aspects of pain management. Priority was given to review studies, to cover as much of the available literature as possible in this limited effort. Study Appraisal and Synthesis Methods/Data Extraction and Data Synthesis: The titles of the studies and the awards that were obtained by searching online databases were reviewed and further information was sought for the relevant titles. Abstracts or award summaries were generally available online; for journal abstracts, full text articles were either available online or were requested via interlibrary loan. Results: An overwhelming majority of the literature focuses on the treatment of chronic rather than acute pain because it is assumed that acute pain only rarely fails to resolve and instead transitions into chronic pain when the central nervous system becomes hypersensitized. The available electromagnetic devices marketed for pain treatment have varying levels of invasiveness, use different mechanisms of action, and have demonstrated varying efficacy when evaluated scientifically. A truly noninvasive, highly efficient device is desired for use during spaceflight. One portable, self-contained, FDA-approved device was identified that, from preliminarily assessment, best met these criteria; the device noninvasively applies pulsed shortwave therapy (PSWT) to modify pain signals from peripheral nerves, however, the device has limited battery life and the effects are relatively non-selective in type of neural signal modified. Limitations: This current effort, although extensive, did not identify a comprehensive list of all alternatives for pain treatment. Once the pandemic limitations are lifted, a longer, more thorough effort may find additional options. Conclusions/Implications: The ideal electromagnetic pain treatment device for use on exploration-class spaceflight missions does not yet exist, but it may be available soon. It is not feasible for NASA to develop medical devices due to the schedule constraints for pending exploration-class missions, but adapting a promising device that is already FDA-approved might be an option. Monitoring research that is ongoing at other federal agencies is recommended, and further review of the candidate PSWT device identified in this current effort may be warranted.

Carol Mullenax

Electromagnetic Pain Relief/Blocking: Feasibility Assessment

CONTEXT/BACKGROUND Astronauts use pharmaceuticals during spaceflight to manage acute and chronic pain, but use of analgesics will have drawbacks for exploration-class missions because the shelf life of these medications is limited, resupply will be curtailed, astronauts may develop tolerance and/or addiction to these medications, and side effects can include impairment of cognitive abilities. Electromagnetic devices have been developed that treat pain terrestrially by affecting neuromodulation–dubbed “electroceuticals”, these devices have varied mechanisms of action that either stimulate or suppress neural activity in the central nervous system or peripheral nerves. OBJECTIVE/PURPOSE The available literature was reviewed and FDA-approved pain treatments (both pharmacological and non-pharmacological), as well as those currently under development, were assessed for their suitability for use in exploration class spaceflight missions. DATA SOURCES Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting closure of libraries, data sources were restricted to those available digitally. Online database searches included PubMed, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, federal grant award databases (National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Department of Defense (DoD), National Institutes of Health (NIH)), and general internet searches. More than 1,600 records were reviewed in this effort. STUDY SELECTION/ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA Targeted searches included different aspects of pain management. Priority was given to review studies, to cover as much of the available literature as possible in this limited effort. STUDY APPRAISAL AND SYNTHESIS METHODS/DATA EXTRACTION AND DATA SYNTHESIS The titles of the studies and the awards that were obtained by searching online databases were reviewed and further information was sought for the relevant titles. Abstracts or award summaries were generally available online; for journal abstracts, full text articles were either available online or were requested via interlibrary loan. RESULTS An overwhelming majority of the literature focuses on the treatment of chronic rather than acute pain because it is assumed that acute pain only rarely fails to resolve and instead transitions into chronic pain when the central nervous system becomes hypersensitized. The available electromagnetic devices marketed for pain treatment have varying levels of invasiveness, use different mechanisms of action, and have demonstrated varying efficacy when evaluated scientifically. A truly noninvasive, highly efficient device is desired for use during spaceflight. One portable, self-contained, FDA-approved device was identified that, from preliminarily assessment, best met these criteria; the device noninvasively applies pulsed shortwave therapy (PSWT) to modify pain signals from peripheral nerves, however, the device has limited battery life and the effects are relatively non-selective in type of neural signal modified. LIMITATIONS This current effort, although extensive, did not identify a comprehensive list of all alternatives for pain treatment. Once the pandemic limitations are lifted, a longer, more thorough effort may find additional options. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS The ideal electromagnetic pain treatment device for use on exploration-class spaceflight missions does not yet exist, but it may be available soon. It is not feasible for NASA to develop medical devices due to the schedule constraints for pending exploration-class missions, but adapting a promising device that is already FDA-approved might be an option. Monitoring research that is ongoing at other federal agencies is recommended, and further review of the candidate PSWT device identified in this current effort may be warranted.

C A Mullenax

Weaves as an Interconnection Fabric for ASIM's and Nanosatellites

Many of the micromachines under consideration require computer support, indeed, one of the appeals of this technology is the ability to intermix mechanical, optical, analog, and digital devices on the same substrate. The amount of computer power is rarely an issue, the sticking point is the complexity of the software required to make effective use of these devices. Micromachines are the nano-technologist's equivalent of 'golden screws'. In other words, they will be piece parts in larger assemblages. For example, a nano-satellite may be composed of stacked silicon wafers where each wafer contains hundreds to thousands of micromachines, digital controllers, general purpose computers, memories, and high-speed bus interconnects. Comparatively few of these devices will be custom designed, most will be stock parts selected from libraries and catalogs. The novelty will lie in the interconnections. For example, a digital accelerometer may be a component part in an adaptive suspension, a monitoring element embedded in the wrapper of a package, or a portion of the smart skin of a launch vehicle. In each case, this device must inter-operate with other devices and probes for the purposes of command, control, and communication. We propose a software technology called 'weaves' that will permit large collections of micromachines and their attendant computers to freely intercommunicate while preserving modularity, transparency, and flexibility. Weaves are composed of networks of communicating software components. The network, and the components comprising it, may be changed even while the software, and the devices it controls, are executing. This unusual degree of software plasticity permits micromachines to dynamically adapt the software to changing conditions and allows system engineers to rapidly and inexpensively develop special purpose software by assembling stock software components in custom configurations.

Gorlick, Michael M.

Identification of Distorted Gamma-Ray Signature Patterns Using Digital Filtering and Auto-Associative Memory Implemented with a Hopfield Neural Network

The detection and identification of radioactive sources in search applications involve analyzing passive gamma-ray emissions from high-level radioactive materials. This process uses a mobile detector-spectrometer in a complex field test environment. Recently, the use of artificial intelligence for gamma-ray spectrum analysis has shown promising results. However, challenges persist in identifying isotopic signatures from spectral measurements that may be distorted due to source shielding, random variations in natural radioactive background, or insufficient measurement time to obtain clear spectral lines. Here, this paper presents a novel intelligent signature recognition method that combines digital filtering techniques with an artificial Hopfield Neural Network (HNN). The HNN leverages auto-associative memory to store training sample patterns and match them with incoming gamma spectra from distorted sources. It restores the testing sources’ measurements by finding the closest matching signature patterns in the spectral library. Before HNN recognition, the measured spectrum undergoes preprocessing with a digital image filter to reduce fluctuations. Performance of the proposed method is evaluated using a set of gamma-ray spectra measured with a sodium iodide detector. The data collected include measurements from six pure samples: 241 Am, 60 Co, 137 Cs, 192 Ir, 239 Pu, and 235 U, which are used for training and validation (i.e. six cases). Additionally, the data set contains 24 distorted synthesized sources with various fluctuating backgrounds. Test results demonstrate the potential of the proposed method to accurately recognize the correct isotope with high precision, achieving an accuracy rate exceeding 85%. Furthermore, the proposed method exhibits superior performance compared to the conventional multiple regression fitting and simple feedforward neural network methods.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND

A computer program for processing impedance cardiographic data: Improving accuracy through user-interactive software

This report contains the source code and documentation for a computer program used to process impedance cardiography data. The cardiodynamic measures derived from impedance cardiography are ventricular stroke column, cardiac output, cardiac index and Heather index. The program digitizes data collected from the Minnesota Impedance Cardiograph, Electrocardiography (ECG), and respiratory cycles and then stores these data on hard disk. It computes the cardiodynamic functions using interactive graphics and stores the means and standard deviations of each 15-sec data epoch on floppy disk. This software was designed on a Digital PRO380 microcomputer and used version 2.0 of P/OS, with (minimally) a 4-channel 16-bit analog/digital (A/D) converter. Applications software is written in FORTRAN 77, and uses Digital's Pro-Tool Kit Real Time Interface Library, CORE Graphic Library, and laboratory routines. Source code can be readily modified to accommodate alternative detection, A/D conversion and interactive graphics. The object code utilizing overlays and multitasking has a maximum of 50 Kbytes.

Cowings, Patricia S.

Dynamic Modeling and Soil Mechanics for Path Planning of the Mars Exploration Rovers

To help minimize risk of high sinkage and slippage during drives and to better understand soil properties and rover terramechanics from drive data, a multidisciplinary team was formed under the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) project to develop and utilize dynamic computer-based models for rover drives over realistic terrains. The resulting tool, named ARTEMIS (Adams-based Rover Terramechanics and Mobility Interaction Simulator), consists of the dynamic model, a library of terramechanics subroutines, and the high-resolution digital elevation maps of the Mars surface. A 200-element model of the rovers was developed and validated for drop tests before launch, using MSC-Adams dynamic modeling software. Newly modeled terrain-rover interactions include the rut-formation effect of deformable soils, using the classical Bekker-Wong implementation of compaction resistances and bull-dozing effects. The paper presents the details and implementation of the model with two case studies based on actual MER telemetry data. In its final form, ARTEMIS will be used in a predictive manner to assess terrain navigability and will become part of the overall effort in path planning and navigation for both Martian and lunar rovers.

terramechanics

Cell Libraries

A NASA contract led to the development of faster and more energy efficient semiconductor materials for digital integrated circuits. Gallium arsenide (GaAs) conducts electrons 4-6 times faster than silicon and uses less power at frequencies above 100-150 megahertz. However, the material is expensive, brittle, fragile and has lacked computer automated engineering tools to solve this problem. Systems & Processes Engineering Corporation (SPEC) developed a series of GaAs cell libraries for cell layout, design rule checking, logic synthesis, placement and routing, simulation and chip assembly. The system is marketed by Compare Design Automation.

Source record

Expansion and improvements of the FORMA system for response and load analysis. Volume 1: Programming manual

Techniques are presented for the solution of structural dynamic systems on an electronic digital computer using FORMA (FORTRAN Matrix Analysis). FORMA is a library of subroutines coded in FORTRAN 4 for the efficient solution of structural dynamics problems. These subroutines are in the form of building blocks that can be put together to solve a large variety of structural dynamics problems. The obvious advantage of the building block approach is that programming and checkout time are limited to that required for putting the blocks together in the proper order.

Wohlen, R. L.

Electron lithography STAR design guidelines. Part 1: The STAR user design manual

The STAR system developed by NASA enables any user with a logic diagram to design a semicustom digital MOS integrated circuit. The system is comprised of a library of standard logic cells and computer programs to place, route, and display designs implemented with cells from the library. Library cells of the CMOS metal gate and CMOS silicon gate technologies were simulated using SPICE, and the results are shown and compared.

Trotter, J. D.

Electron lithography STAR design guidelines. Part 2: The design of a STAR for space applications

The STAR design system developed by NASA enables any user with a logic diagram to design a semicustom digital MOS integrated circuit. The system is comprised of a library of standard logic cells and computr programs to place, route, and display designs implemented with cells from the library. Also described is the development of a radiation-hard array designed for the STAR system. The design is based on the CMOS silicon gate technology developed by SANDIA National Laboratories. The design rules used are given as well as the model parameters developed for the basic array element. Library cells of the CMOS metal gate and CMOS silicon gate technologies were simulated using SPICE, and the results are shown and compared.

Trotter, J. D.

Reconstituted Three-Dimensional Interactive Imaging

A method combines two-dimensional images, enhancing the images as well as rendering a 3D, enhanced, interactive computer image or visual model. Any advanced compiler can be used in conjunction with any graphics library package for this method, which is intended to take digitized images and virtually stack them so that they can be interactively viewed as a set of slices. This innovation can take multiple image sources (film or digital) and create a "transparent" image with higher densities in the image being less transparent. The images are then stacked such that an apparent 3D object is created in virtual space for interactive review of the set of images. This innovation can be used with any application where 3D images are taken as slices of a larger object. These could include machines, materials for inspection, geological objects, or human scanning. Illuminous values were stacked into planes with different transparency levels of tissues. These transparency levels can use multiple energy levels, such as density of CT scans or radioactive density. A desktop computer with enough video memory to produce the image is capable of this work. The memory changes with the size and resolution of the desired images to be stacked and viewed.

Hamilton, Joseph