TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER OPPORTUNITY: Portable Slide Staining System for Microscopy (MSC-TOPS-132)

NASA’s Technology Transfer Program solicits inquiries from companies interested in obtaining license rights to commercialize, manufacture and market the following technology. License rights may be issued on an exclusive or nonexclusive basis and may include specific fields of use. NASA provides no funding in conjunction with these potential licenses. 

THE TECHNOLOGY:  

Innovators at NASA Johnson Space Center have developed a handheld slide staining system designed to support medical, research or environmental monitoring. Although deployed aboard the International Space Station to work in conjunction with NASA’s high-powered handheld microscope in the absence of gravity, the system may be applicable to all known staining procedures for terrestrial field and lab microscopes. This novel system is comprised of two primary components which are entirely self-contained when assembled. One component, the dispenser, is designed with an adjustable reagent sponge delivery system that not only serves as a containment unit for fluids, but whose volume allows for multiple uses until the reagents from the dispenser are depleted. The sponges can be replenished with commercial off-the-shelf reagents. The second component, the slide staining device, traps and seals the specimen slide which then receives the titrated reagent from the dispenser. This technology was derived for space-based missions where a specimen’s return to Earth for rapid microscopic analysis would not be viable. A situation could exist within a spacecraft necessitating a rapid in situ medical diagnosis on a crewmember in determining whether an infection is present, conducting a white blood cell count, determining blood platelet concentration, and monitoring the effects of solar particle events as it applies to hematological disturbances.  

To express interest in this opportunity, please submit a license application through NASA’s Automated Technology Licensing Application System (ATLAS) by visiting https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/MSC-TOPS-132  

If you have any questions, please e-mail NASA’s Technology Transfer Program at Agency-Patent-Licensing@mail.nasa.gov with the title of this Technology Transfer Opportunity as listed in this SAM.gov notice and your preferred contact information. For more information about licensing other NASA-developed technologies, please visit the NASA Technology Transfer Portal at https://technology.nasa.gov/ 

These responses are provided to members of NASA’s Technology Transfer Program for the purpose of promoting public awareness of NASA-developed technology products, and conducting preliminary market research to determine public interest in and potential for future licensing opportunities. No follow-on procurement is expected to result from responses to this Notice.