Award Data

Use of motorcycles helmets significantly reduces the risk of fatality or serious brain injury to riders in the event of a crash, but riders often do not wear helmets in warm weather because of thermal discomfort. We propose to develop an innovative ventilation and cooling system that will maintain a cool, dry environment inside the helmet while also meeting applicable safety standards. The key inn ...

R-DEX Systems proposes to develop the TrackMap System, an innovative and groundbreaking long-range detection and warning system (DWS) for the detection of unlawful targets on the railroad right of way (ROW). TrackMap will leverage low-cost radar sensors, proven software, and high-performance embedded processing to enable the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and its safety partners to signific ...

Progressive noise-induced hearing loss may jeopardize a service members ability to be deployed or continue in communication-critical job duties. It is the fourth leading cause of medical referral for service members returning from deployments. Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) are a sensitive objective screening tool. However, commercially available DPOAE measurement systems are ...

TDAs proposes to develop a novel RF heating process for rewarming cryogenically preserved tissues and organs. TDAs approach is to optimize the RF frequency and power, along with the chemical composition, size and morphology of infused nanoparticles so that they heat tissue samples rapidly and uniformly. In this manner, the cryoprotectant solutions pass from the vitrified state to the liquid stat ...

Atmospheric aerosols, also known as particulate matter (PM), play important roles in weather, climate and human health. Aerosol number, size and chemistry can all exhibit high degrees of spatial and temporal variability, thereby increasing the need for highly time-resolved analyses obtained over extensive time periods (weeks to years). Instrumentation for monitoring the physical characteristics of ...

Polyurethanes (PUs) are made by reacting two components, one of which has two or more hydroxyl (OH) groups (diol or polyol) while the second has two or more isocyanate (NCO) groups. Unfortunately, not only is the isocyanate component a powerful irritant, but sensitized subjects can suffer severe asthma attacks and even death when exposed to trace quantities that are well below permissible exposure ...

Small drinking water systems consistently provide safe, reliable drinking water to their customers. However, challenges of such systems include lack of financial resources, aging infrastructure, cost of scale, and technical/logistical challenges associated with regulation compliance. The deployment of new cost-effective monitoring technologies, such as improved, low cost, in-line, in situ, and rem ...

Military personnel must be protected from diseases transmitted by ticks and fleas, including Lyme disease. Effective surveillance of tick and flea vectors is vital to determine the population present, whether they are carrying disease, and whether control campaigns are working. Unfortunately, current surveillance tools are ineffective. In Phase I TDA designed, prototyped, and tested a novel ti ...

Civilian and military organizations throughout the world perform surveillance to combat vector-borne disease. Of particular concern to the U.S. military are mosquito genera Anopheles, Aedes and Culex, which are important vectors for malaria, dengue and West Nile virus respectively, and sand fly genera Phlebotomus and Lutzomyia, both vectors for leishmaniasis. The trap most commonly used for by U.S ...

Soldiers recovering from mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) or relearning how to walk on a prosthetic lower limb often struggle with their balance. Of patients recovering from acute blast-induced mTBI, almost all (90%) report unsteadiness. These balance deficits affect ability to return to duty and ultimately quality of life. Recent research has shown that improvements can be made in upright st ...