ANFF-South Australia research node working with NASA on micro health-test devices for space travellers
ANFF-South Australia node director associate professor Craig Priest working with NASA to develop sensors to monitor human health in space.
Images courtesy ANFF-SA and NASA
A South Australian advanced manufacturing hub specialising in microfluidic sensors was working in 2019 with the United States’ NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) to develop devices to test the health of space travellers.
The South Australian hub is one of eight nodes based in universities around Australia that make up the Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF). This is part of a national research strategy funded by the federal and state government, the CSIRO and the universities taking part.
Working with the University of South Australia’s Future Industries Institute’s research infrastructure at its Mawson Lakes campus, the South Australian NAFF node has more than $12 million worth of state-of-the-art equipment including a high-tech micro-milling machine, micro-injection moulder, 3D micro X-ray imaging plus a deep reactive ion etcher and advanced lithographic equipment within ISO Class 5 & 6 clean rooms.
The South Australian node started around 2010 specialising in microfluidics. Its expertise has since grown to include lab-on-a-chip technology, advanced sensing, functional coatings and separation science.
Node director, associate professor Craig Priest, led research into microfluidic sensor platforms to monitor human health factors – an initial focus of the international partnership with NASA. The South Australian microfluid sensor platforms would be developed with NASA to provide non-invasive health self-assessment, and possibly wearable, tools to analyse things like sweat and saliva and track health effects of space travellers in real time. This would support plans for longer journeys in space but the technology could also be applied on Earth.
Associate professor Priest said the partnership with NASA showed “the very first fruits of return on investment” for Australia’s rebooted space industry and would harness exciting nanotechnology and microfluidics research at University of South Australia Mawson Lakes campus.