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Spinoff story
Image-Analysis Software Sees Cancer in 3D
A real-world story of NASA technology finding a life beyond the mission.
About this technology
Overview
NASA studies the physical effects of space travel, and that research benefits ground-based medical research as well. For a 2011 study on vascular changes in microgravity funded by Ames Research Center, lead researcher Ron Midura called on Image IQ, now owned by Philadelphia-based ERT, which developed software that helped count and identify the edges of stained blood vessels. The software has since been used for many clinical studies, and it may one day help doctors better diagnose—and remove—tumors.