Wearable Health Monitoring Systems, Phase I

The objective of this proposal is to demonstrate the feasibility of producing a wearable health monitoring system for the human body that is functional, comfortable, bendable in 3 dimensions, durable, water-proof, washable, and light-weight. This new technology area of wearable health systems, sometimes referred to as smart-clothing, promises to allow for a secondary human nervous system that connects various different electronic devices positioned on or around the human body. As the shrinking in size and weight of electronic circuits has progressed, it is now possible for the modern human astronaut to carry increasing numbers of different electronic devices and sensors such as thermometers, gas monitors, microphones, altimeters, digital processors, digital memory, and push-button controls. These devices allow the astronaut to access data about their current environment and health status, and communicate with other astronauts and/or databases to send and receive information of value. As the variation in the number of devices and sensors that can be deployed increases greatly, a new technology is required to allow the seamless integration of these devices with the human astronaut so that the devices can be electrically powered, operated, re-charged, and communicate with each other over a digital pathway.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.