May 2 1978
From The Space Library
NASA announced signing of an agreement with the National Eye Institute (NEI), Bethesda, Md., for laboratory and clinical tests of a new surgical instrument to remove hard cataracts. Lewis Research Center had developed the instrument jointly with Cleveland ophthalmologist Dr. William McGannon. The NASA-NEI program would include refinement of surgical techniques using the cataract instrument, and design and implementation of clinical trials.
The new instrument consisted of a surgical hand piece, a regulated flow system for infusing fluid, and a peristaltic outflow pump with necessary controls. The hand piece would use a high-speed air-turbine drive to power an auger-type cutter capable of both end and side cutting, rotating at speeds between 300 000 and 270 000rpm. The control system had a flow-sensing pressure regulator to maintain intraocular pressure under widely varying flow conditions. Use of the rotary cutting instrument would require only a small opening in the cornea, and should apply to the full range of cataract hardness. As part of the joint agreement, NASA and NEI announced that interested companies might apply for a nonexclusive patent license to manufacture and market the flow-sensing pressure regulator, which might be applicable to other types of eye surgery. (NASA Release 78-66; Lewis News, May 12/78, 1)
NASA announced that Frank Nola, engineer at Marshall Space Flight Center, while working on a NASA solar heating and cooling project, had invented an inexpensive yet revolutionary device called a power-factor controller that could save energy used by billions of electric motors throughout the U.S. The small device would continuously determine the load on the motor to which it was attached by sensing shifts between voltage and current flowing to the motor. When it sensed a light load, it would reduce the voltage to the motor to the minimum required, with accompanying drop in current flow, minimizing power going to heat loss. A typical washing machine using a power-factor controller would drop its power usage from 160watts to about 55watts on an idling motor. Savings would be less on a loaded motor but, as most domestic motors never needed the full 125volts available, the power-factor controller could save up to 8% of the power used by a motor under heavy load. Energy savings for larger motors would be even more dramatic. NASA said patent licensing and technical information for Nola's invention would be available from the MSFC chief counsel. (NASA Release 78-67)
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