CAMBRIDGE, Mass., June 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — In September
2010, the DNA Medicine Institute (DMI) successfully completed
reduced-gravity experiments on its rHEALTH sensor for the
NASA Facilitated Access to the Space Environment for Technology
(FAST) program. NASA recently followed that experiment with a
$190,000 contract to DMI to analyze data from the parabolic
flights.
According to DMI’s Chief Scientific Officer Eugene Y. Chan, the
reduced gravity experiments “yielded [fantastic] data, which will
aid DMI in developing our rHEALTH sensor for use as a universal
biomedical laboratory in future space environments.”
Based on DMI’s successful work under a pair of Phase II Small
Business Innovation Research Program contracts designed to develop
nanoscale diagnostic technologies that facilitate whole health
analysis in a single drop of blood, DMI’s rHEALTH sensor has
been identified by NASA as a viable approach for performing blood
and urine analysis on the International Space Station. Rather than
relying on ground-based analysis, NASA is promoting the development
of the rHEALTH sensor to provide on-orbit analysis
capabilities. The device will directly impact all biomedical
research on ISS, and it may also play a critical role in medical
and environmental monitoring.
A second contract, Universal In-Flight Health Diagnostic
Technology — this one in the amount of $420,000 — was also
recently awarded to DMI, to perform clinical validation on white
blood cells. The goal of the contract will be to develop
the capabilities to validate the sensor’s white blood cell counts,
from fingerstick human blood samples, against a recognized medical
standard. This award will be funded by HHC (NASA Human Health and
Countermeasures) and administered by the NASA Glenn Research
Center.
The rHEALTH sensor also has significant dual-use
terrestrial applications, such as real-time health monitor
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