Award Data

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Over 60,000 prosthetic grafts, which are comprised of either polyethylene terephthalate (polyester) or expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE), are implanted in the United States each year. Medium (6-8mm) and small (l t5mm) internal diameter (I.D.) prosthetic arterial grafts continue to have unacceptably high failure rates when used in the clinical setting. T ...

In this program, Busek Co. Inc and Stanford University will develop and demonstrate a multi-mode high power plasma gun that can be used for both space propulsion and as a counter-measure against space debris or potentially hostile spacecraft. Investigations of this Coaxial High Energy (CHENG) thruster in the 1980's showed that it can damage a target. Because it is efficient over a wide range of ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Over half of laryngectomy patients use an electrolarynx (EL) to communicate, but current EL devices produce speech that has poor quality ("non-human sounding") and reduced intelligibility. The acoustic deficits in EL speech inhibit the ability of laryngectomy patients to communicate, thus reducing their functional capability and quality of life. The long-term g ...

Modern control theory offers mathematically rigorous and powerful solutions to many dynamic systems. Its limitations are that the classes of dynamic systems covered by the theory are limited to linear systems or certain well-structured nonlinear systems, and the adaptation of the controllers are often slow if the controller parameters are far away from their desired values. On the other hand, the ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A high percentage of the ~ 470,000 children born prematurely each year in the US require intravenous feeding after birth because they do not tolerate oral feeding. This is accomplished with a total parenteral nutrition (TPN) solution, which is prepared from component solutions: small and large volume parenterals (SVPs and LVPs). Aluminum (Al) is a common conta ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Speech is a complex motor behavior often disrupted by neurological dysfunction. Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the main disorders disrupting speech. Recently, deep brain stimulation (DBS) has proven to be effective for motor problems in patients with PD and other movement disorders. However, the effects of DBS on speech have not been consistently positive ...

Window materials are an essential component of some advanced propulsion concepts which require high pressures, high temperatures, low energy losses, and low weights. Window materials must possess a combination of properties such as high mechanical strength, high melting point, high transparency, low density, and good resistance to the operating environment. CeraNova proposes the development of f ...

DESCRIPTION provided by applicant Cancer is the second leading cause of death after heart disease in the US Chemotherapy is a mainstay of treatment after surgical removal of tumors but the balance of clinical benefit versus disabling or life threatening side effects is often uncertain Genotyping of cancers to identify mutated oncogenes has enabled an era of targeted therapy Drugs targeting ...

In this STTR project, Boston Applied Technologies, Inc. (BATi), teaming up with Prof. Di Bartolo’s group at Boston College, aims at developing a large size (300 mm x 300 mm) updatable 3D display with photorefractive polymers for battlefield and command and control applications. The proposed 3D display system features fast response (feasible to video-rate), high diffraction efficiency, and relati ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The current need for routine measurement CD4+ cell counts of HIV-infected individual's is immense. Currently, the cost of CD4+ counting is a major issue (especially) in resource-poor environments, where the infection rates are highest. Cost of obtaining an accurate CD4+ count is not the only barrier to routine CD4+ monitoring in resource poor settings. Personn ...