Show Notes 13 May 2022
Story 1: NASA Plans to Test a Gigantic Centrifuge for Hurling Objects into Space
Source: Gizmodo.com Story by George Dvorsky
Link: https://gizmodo.com/nasa-will-test-gigantic-centrifuge-for-hurling-objects-1848784359
See video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6esOcWrrEE
- Using a system in development by a California startup called SpinLaunch, NASA is planning to test an unconventional centrifuge system that uses tremendous force to fling objects into low Earth orbit.
- The goal is to make launches more affordable and environmentally friendly.
- SpinLaunch’s remarkable system, called the A-33 Suborbital Mass Accelerator, looks like a huge upright disk with a tube on one side pointing up to the sky.
- The system uses an ingenious two-step process:
- First the intense power of the centrifuge system flings an object into high altitude.
- Then a small rocket built into the projectile boosts the payload into low Earth orbit – which is at least an altitude of about 62 miles above sea level.
- Back in October of last year SpinLaunch tested its Suborbital Mass Accelerator which flung a 10-foot-long projectile to an altitude of tens of thousands of feet into the atmosphere. And that impressive feat was done using only 20% of the system’s capacity.
- The current suborbital accelerator is a one-third scale version of the machine SpinLaunch would like to build for NASA — a gigantic kinetic launch system capable of hurling objects to the edge of space.
- The system, should it prove viable, would introduce an entirely new way of delivering everything from small satellites and scientific experiments, to building materials for orbiting space stations.
Story 2: MIT engineers have created a robot for remote emergency stroke surgeries
Source: Engadget.com Story by Mariella Moon
Link: https://www.engadget.com/mit-engineers-robot-emergency-stroke-surgeries-121643239.html
- But first, let’s set the stage for this news:
- There’s a critical window of time after a stroke’s onset during which endovascular treatment should be administered to save a patient’s life or to preserve their brain function.
- Neurosurgeons trained in this procedure are usually found in major urban hospitals.
- So, patients in remote locations that must be transported to these urban centers might miss that critical time window.
- Now, remote robotic-assisted surgery is far from new, but to date there hasn’t been a lot of research and development to create remotely operated endovascular treatment systems for stroke patients.
- For this reason, a team of Massachusetts Institute of Technology engineers has been developing a robotic arm that doctors can control remotely using a modified joystick.
- The robotic arm has a magnet attached to its wrist, and surgeons can adjust its orientation to guide a magnetic wire through the patient’s arteries and vessels to remove blood clots from a patient’s brain.
- HOWEVER, similar to in-person procedures, surgeons will still have to rely on remotely transmitted live imaging to navigate to the blood clot, but the new robotic arm will allow them to treat patients not physically in the room with them.
- Another upside? It minimizes the doctor’s exposure to radiation from X-ray imaging.
Story 3: FDA authorizes 1st COVID-19 ‘breathalyzer’ test
Source: ABC News
Link: https://abcnews.go.com/Health/fda-authorizes-1st-covid-19-breathalyzer-test/story?id=84099986
See video here: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/video/news/video-2663621/Video-InspectIR-Systems-creates-COVID-19-breathalyzer-test.html
- The Food and Drug Administration recently granted emergency use authorization for a COVID-19 test that uses breath samples — the first of its kind to get the agency’s green light.
- The device, called the InspectIR Covid-19 Breathalyzer [which was created by a small Texas company called InspectIR Systems], is “about the size of a piece of carry-on luggage,” and can accurately detect coronavirus on the breath within just a few minutes.
- While other COVID-19 testing methods have used nasal swabs or saliva samples to detect viral particles, this test uses a technique called gas chromatography-combined with mass spectrometry to separate and identify chemical mixtures and rapidly screen for five compounds in a person’s breath associated with a COVID-19 infection.
- More background on the technology employed:
- Gas chromatography is a common type of chromatography used in analytical chemistry for separating and analyzing compounds that can be vaporized without decomposition. Typical uses of GC include testing the purity of a particular substance or separating the different components of a mixture.
- Mass spectrometry is an analytical technique that is used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. The results are presented as a mass spectrum, a plot of intensity as a function of the mass-to-charge ratio.
- Reality Check: A positive result with this device is still considered “presumptive” [like a home nasal swab COVID test]. Users testing positive would need a molecular PCR test for final confirmation.
Story 4: Ukrainians are 3D-Scanning Their Valuable Artifacts in Case They Are Destroyed in the War
Source: WonderfulEngineering.com Story by Jannat Un Nisa
See video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXWD76b5IBw
- The Danish UNESCO National Commission and Blue Shield Denmark are conducting an effort to 3D digitally scan and record Ukraine’s important art objects, buildings, statues, and monuments.
- The project named “Backup Ukraine” uses Polycam, a sophisticated program that allows Ukrainians to use their iPhones or iPads to quickly 3D scan any significant artifact and then upload digital renderings.
- Here’s some background on the Polycam app:
- Polycam is one of the first mobile apps that enabled uploading photo sets taken with an iPhone or iPad to a powerful server in the cloud.
- Once in the cloud, Apple’s Object Capture 3D reconstruction software creates the 3D models which then can be downloaded and viewed.
- Backup Ukraine’s ultimate goal is to create 3D digital copies that can be shared with the world and potentially aid in reconstruction.