NASA SBIR 2005 Solicitation

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN (Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Nanohmics, Inc.
6201 East Oltorf, Suite 400
Austin ,TX 78741 - 7511
(512) 389 - 9990

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER (Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Daniel R Mitchell
dmitchell@nanohmics.com
6201 East Oltorf, Suite 400
Austin, TX  78741 -7511
(512) 389 - 9990

TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
Nanohmics proposes to develop a handheld blood analyzer for micro- and hypo-gravity missions. The prototype instrument will combine impedance analysis with optical spectroscopy techniques to provide a reliable means of performing a complete blood count (CBC) using microliters of sample. An advantage of this hybrid strategy is that a complete blood cell count can be achieved using a microfluidic approach that is controlled via a commercially available personal digital assistant (PDA). Recent advances in the handheld computing market have led to small, powerful, devices that are able to interface and control the microelectronics necessary to operate and collect data from the microfluidic chip and maintain a low power budget. The instrument will exploit both the optical and impedance properties of the whole blood to gain discrimination of the individual components and indices (RBC, WBC, Hemoglobin concentration, hematocrit, WBC differential, and RBC indices). The large amount memory and processing power afforded by the PDA will allow the device to store the blood profiles of many individuals and track their changes from test to test.

POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
A handheld blood analyzer would find great utility in numerous NASA missions where there is presently no convenient, rapid, or portable method of elucidating complete blood counts. The Instrument will be crucial to future missions to the Moon and Mars where health diagnostics willl be a major concern in the absence of conventional laboratory facilities.

POTENTIAL NON-NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
The development of a handheld blood analyzer would find great utility in numerous applications where there is presently no convenient, rapid, or portable method of elucidating complete blood counts. For example, the instrument developed in the Phase II program could be operated as a diagnostic aid in field hospitals.
At the Department of Defense (DOD), there is a great interest in the development and testing of any handheld devices for immediate testing of health status. There is currently no capability to rapidly and reliably determine complete blood count with a man-portable system.
Various deployments for this device could be imagined for impoverished nations without permanent laboratory facilities or adequate power supplies to run traditional instrumentation. Given the low power budget of today's microelectronics one can envision a self-sustaining solar recharged unit.
Additionally, the instrument developed in the Phase II program could be used in small clinics as well, where the demand for compactness and cost-effectiveness will prohibit the implementation of a complete diagnostic laboratory

NASA's technology taxonomy has been developed by the SBIR-STTR program to disseminate awareness of proposed and awarded R/R&D in the agency. It is a listing of over 100 technologies, sorted into broad categories, of interest to NASA.

TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING

Biochemical Biomedical and Life Support Biomolecular Sensors Biophysical Utilization Organics/Bio-Materials Pilot Support Systems