Award Data

Precise measurements of CO2 are important to carbon cycle studies and global warming research, especially with respect to the characterization of sources and sinks. New, miniaturized and low cost instrumentation is required to make measurements of the vertical concentration profiles of CO2 from balloons and small unmanned aircraft. This project will design and develop a new sensor for high preci ...

Nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries are used in hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). In order to increase automobile market share, NiMH costs need to decrease by providing a higher energy density and longer lifetimes. This project will develop a non-fracturing, low-cost, TiMn2 metal hydride negative electrode material. The proposed protective coating on the TiMn2 electrode particles will enable ce ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) is a rapid and cost-effective procedure that uses a syringe to sample fluid from a cyst or remove clusters of cells from a solid mass for diagnostic purposes. The effectiveness of FNAB is operator-dependent and the diagnostic yield could be low, especially for adipose- rich tissue and masses where the percentage of non-diagn ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal addresses a need for an improved technology for both diagnosis and treatment of patients with cystic neoplasms of the pancreas. Currently, endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) technology is used as a first line of diagnosis for pancreatic lesions. However, the complex regional anatomy of the pancreas and the very difficult ...

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The major goal of cancer proteomics is detection and identification of human tumors based on 'protein signatures' characteristic for different malignancies, Early tumor detection is critical for effective treatment and patient survival. Simultaneous identification of multiple cancer specific protein biomarkers in body fluids would dramatically increase specificity and accuracy of cancer detection ...

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) proposes to develop a new adaptive optics imaging approach to high- speed 3D-retinal mapping with enhanced Fourier Domain Mode-locked (FDML) swept-source technology. PSI is currently engaged in ongoing development of high performance, high resolution multimodal adaptive optics (AO) retinal imagers. Such systems resolve and quant ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Improper or incomplete sterilization of manufacturing facilities is a major cause of pharmaceutical product recalls. The economic and societal impact of these recalls is significant and difficult to quantify. Many pharmaceutical companies use vapor phase hydrogen peroxide (VPHP) to decontaminate and sterilize production facilities, including barrier isolators. ...

ABSTRACT: Ozone generation for decontamination systems has been around for many decades but systems, such as dielectric barrier discharge (DBD), are not suited to field use and the high voltages employed present serious safety problems. RF-driven microplasma devices are a unique technology for low-cost and low-power-voltage plasmas in vacuum and in air up to atmospheric pressure with a number of ...