Methodology for NASA technology transfer in medicine.

A major tenet of NASA's program for technology transfer in medicine is the active involvement of clinicans, the medical device industry, and government health agencies in the transfer process. To ensure availability of the NASA technology to the entire medical community, NASA's methodology emphasizes projects that lead to the development of commercially available medical products incorporating NASA technology. The development of an improved artificial sphincter is an example of a successful transfer of aerospace technology to medicine. Early collaboration between the medical device industry and NASA was critical to the success of this effort to reduce patient risk and health care costs by the incorporation of high-reliability aerospace components in a new prosthesis.