Analysis and simulation software continues evolving to keep up with a changing market. Virtual prototyping is enabling designers to simulate a design on the computer instead of building a physical prototype, and examine why a product will fail or succeed when physical testing is unable to explain the results. In addition, as CAE software enables more complete analysis, CAE analysts are shifting their role to play a more proactive, up-front role in product design and testing.

In the article “Industry Update: Analysis & Simulation Software”, executives from leading CAD/CAE software companies discuss these and other trends affecting analysis and simulation software. For more information, see page 14 of the November issue of NASA Tech Briefs, or click here.

Engineers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., used software called Disruption-Tolerant Networking, or DTN, to transmit dozens of space images to and from a NASA science spacecraft located more than 32 million kilometers (20 million miles) from Earth. The successful experiment could pave the way for an interplanetary Internet, able to support complex missions involving multiple landed, mobile and orbiting spacecraft, as well as providing reliable communications for astronauts on the moon’s surface.

NASA and Vint Cerf, a vice president at Google, Inc., in Mountain View, Calif., partnered 10 years ago to develop the DTN software protocol, which unlike TCP/IP does not assume a continuous end-to-end connection. In DTN, data packets are not discarded if a destination path can’t be found. Instead, each network node keeps custody of the information as long as necessary, until it can safely communicate with another node. This store-and-forward method ensures that information does not get lost when no immediate path to the destination exists.

The experiment is the first in a series of planned demonstrations to qualify the technology for use on various upcoming space missions, according to Jay Wyatt, manager of the Space Networking and Mission Automation Program Office at JPL. In the next round of testing, a NASA-wide demonstration using new DTN software loaded onboard the International Space Station is scheduled to begin next summer.

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The blood-thinning drug heparin is highly effective when used to prevent and treat blood clots in veins, arteries, and lungs, but contaminated heparin products recently caused serious allergic reactions that led to many deaths. Now, University of Michigan researchers have demonstrated a simple, inexpensive method for detecting contaminants in heparin that relies on potentiometric polyanion sensors originally developed in the lab of researcher Mark Meyerhoff for detecting heparin in blood.

The disposable sensors can also be used to distinguish pure heparin from heparin that is tainted with small quantities of oversulfated chondroitin sulfate (OSCS), the culprit in the recent deaths. The new method is simpler and less expensive than analytical methods such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and capillary electrophoresis (CE), which have been suggested for detection of OSCS contaminants. The procedure could be used on site in drug manufacturing plants to screen raw materials or finalized, biomedical-grade heparin products for contaminants.

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Researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston are developing an imaging system that will essentially light up and color cancerous tumors, enabling surgeons to evaluate whether they’ve resected an entire diseased area. The system, called fluorescence- assisted resection and exploration – or FLARE – is portable and consists of a near infrared (NIR) imaging system, a video monitor, and a computer.

Chemical dyes called NIR fluorophores are designed to target specific structures when injected into patients. When exposed to NIR light, the contrast agents light up targeted cells and are viewed on a video monitor during surgery. If, for instance, cancer cells are targeted, the image of the lit-up cancer cells can be superimposed over the surgical field, allowing surgeons to cut away the fluorescent “glowing” cells – sparing nerves and other healthy structures in the area. The BIDMC team is currently focusing human trials on sentinel lymph node mapping in patients with breast cancer.

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A National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) study is tackling the issue of spatial disorientation, which is responsible for up to 10 percent of general aviation accidents in the United States and is a major concern for astronaut pilots. The project involves specially designed software that monitors the flight of the vehicle – speed, heading, pitch and altitude – and the actions of the pilot. The system will use audio and visual cues to alert pilots of problems before things get out of hand. The group is also looking at the option of testing a vest with pager-like vibrators distributed to alert the pilot when an orientation correction is needed.

According to Project Leader Ron Small, the root cause leading to spatial disorientation, which tends to occur in poor visibility conditions, is physiology. “Humans are notoriously bad at figuring out their orientation when flying because we did not evolve in a flight environment, in contrast with birds,” said Small, a member of NSBRI’s Sensorimotor Adaptation Team. “It is worse in a spacecraft because the vehicle can move side to side, up and down, and rotate in all directions.

The group has tested the software’s ability to detect spatial disorientation incidents. They are now working to better understand the differences in craft movement in the atmosphere and in space and how the human inner ear functions in both environments. The researchers are putting emphasis on lunar landings due to the challenges of reduced gravity and the unfamiliar, dusty terrain.

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