NASA www.nasa.gov has signed two patent license agreements with GRoK Technologies LLC of Houston www.groksolutions.com to help develop novel biotechnology approaches to regenerate bone and muscle. This could have multiple applications not only on Earth but also in space. The agreements grant rights for four patented technologies invented by NASA and GRoK scientists.
NASA is interested in these technologies to help regenerate bone and muscle, since during long spaceflights, astronauts are susceptible to developing osteopenia a condition arising from the loss of bone and muscle mass and bone density.
GRoK will be able to use these patented methods on two platform technologies the company is developing. The first platform called BioReplicates will enable users to create 3-D human tissue models that can be used to test cosmetics, drugs, and other products for safety, efficacy, and toxicity with greater accuracy, reliability, and cost efficiency.
The second platform called Scionic could lead to the development of medical devices designed to target musculoskeletal pain and inflammation in humans and animals noninvasively without the use of pharmaceuticals.
Sandia National Laboratories at www.roswell.ca.sandia.gov/hatch.html or ahatch@sandia.gov has developed a rapid automated point-of-care system called RapiDx that is capable of providing lab-on-a-chip portable technology to use for medical diagnostics. RapiDx is a miniaturized devices that requires only microliters of a sample to measure protein signatures.
When using the device, drawing tubes of blood is no longer required. Instead drops of blood or saliva can be collected and analyzed at the point-of-care enabling low cost and a rapid diagnoses during an office visit.
The device has a number of uses. The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research has funded a project to enable the research team to use the device to analyze clinical samples and to detect a collagenase enzyme associated with periodontal disease. The device can also be used to detect biomarkers that may be pre-symptomatic indicators of disease as in the case of cancer and cardiovascular disease.