NASA Develops Technology in the Medical Field for People with Injuries and Disabilities

One of NASA's auxiliary technologies, Robo-Glove, is for medical purposes (photo: screenshot on NASA site)

JAKARTA - The United States Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is not only developing technology to explore outer space, but also for medical purposes and the future of humans.

So far, NASA has succeeded in helping millions of people with injuries and disabilities. One product that has been successfully produced from NASA technology is the cochlear implant, a bone tube in the inner ear.

Created by Electronic Instrumentation Engineer Adam Kissiah fifty years ago, this technology has helped hundreds of thousands of adults and children around the world. Apart from cochlear implants, NASA is also famous for its Joint Optical Reflective Display (JORDY).

JORDY is assistive technology for people with eye disorders to read and write. This technology can change contrast, brightness, display mode, and magnify objects up to fifty times. This ability is conditioned by the condition of the sufferer.

Even though it has created a number of technologies that are new breakthroughs in the medical world, NASA continues to innovate to improve the world of health. NASA Technology Transfer program executive, Dan Lockney, said that they want to help humans live a quality life.

“Our technology benefits all of humanity, and making it more discoverable by the companies that create these tools to improve people's quality of life makes sense,” Lockney explained.

Currently, NASA has developed a number of new technologies that are ready for use. All of this software technology only requires a license before being widely distributed.

Some of the software that NASA has created includes, Robotic Upper Body Exoskeleton to control shoulders and elbows for stroke and traumatic brain injury sufferers, Robo-Glove to reduce the amount of force in grip, Fully Automated High Yield Additive Manufacturing to make complex parts, and PCI Assembly Design to create circuits.