Award Data

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most prevalent liver disease in the United States. This condition encompasses both hepatic steatosis and the more severe non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. It is now estimated that 14-24% of the general population and up to 80% of morbidly obese subjects have contracted NAFLD. Untreated disease may progress to cirrho ...

DESCRIPTION: The fundamental goal of this program is to develop a microfluidics-based artificial kidney that minimizes exposure of blood to artificial surfaces and provides continuous perfusion in a compact, wearable device. This device will provide treatment at low flow rates over long times, greatly reducing concentration and volume transient in body fluids. The key element is a primary separato ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Once heralded as the Holy Grail, the capability of obtaining a comprehensive list of genes, proteins or metabolites that are different between disease and normal is routine today. And yet, the holy grail of high-throughput has not delivered so far. Even though such high-throughput comparisons have become relatively easy to perform, understanding the phenomena t ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Over 60,000 prosthetic grafts, which are primarily comprised of polyethylene terephthalate (polyester) or expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE), are implanted in the United States each year. Unfortunately, these grafts continue to have high failure rates due to secondary complications associated with acute thromboses and incomplete, unregulated cellular prol ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This project proposes the development of flexible multiple contact nerve cuff electrodes with an embedded integrated circuit (IC) electrically connected via a novel high density interconnect and advanced biocompatible packaging scheme. The proposed microfabricated polyimide/silicone hybrid cuff electrode arrays will provide capabilities for both selective stimu ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The long-term goal of this effort is to develop an optical module that will reduce stray light within imaging systems, thereby providing more accurate measurements from digital images and increased dynamic range of detection to enable analysis of objects not currently measurable. The present Phase II proposal is aimed at greatly enhancing the analysis of multic ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Functional MRI, diffusion MRI and MR spectroscopy and spectroscopic imaging have great potential for the study and diagnosis of disease and injury, and guiding surgical therapy. All of these methods benefit greatly fromthe added sensitivity, resolution and contrast from high field strength magnets (3T and above). However, the advantages of higher magnetic field ...

Modern military and security scenarios increasingly demand rapid evaluation of human affective states, accurately detecting stress, anxiety, uncertainty, and fatigue (SAUF) to assess warfighter effectiveness or to advance security screening and interrogation objectives. In our Phase I effort, we designed and demonstrated a system to Analyze Facial Features to Enable Operator Condition Tracking (AF ...

Applied Quantum Technologies proposes the development of a snapshot Raman spectral imager for chemical imaging applications with a 1-5 meter standoff. Standoff chemical imaging methods are typically point-based, making scan times impractical for situations where a wide area needs to be surveyed. The high spectral resolution needed to take advantage of the specificity of Raman spectroscopy limits t ...

This SSTR research project will develop a computerized microscope based imaging system that will allow location and quantization of malarial parasites. The system will automatically scan a blood smear, locating the red cells and parasites. A digital image display will allow interaction with an operator to confirm or reject objects. In Phase II the initial effort to identify trophozoites will be ...