The manufacture of prosthetics was previously done by casting them in plaster and corn starch molds, which are difficult to ship and easily broken. The Harshberger Prosthetic & Orthotic Center looked to NASA for an answer and found that the foam insulation developed to cover the external tank of a space shuttle — lighter, stronger, and more easily machined than plaster, not to mention less expensive. This ultimately reduced the cost of artificial limbs for patients and enabled mass production of foam “blanks” that can be shipped to prosthetic makers.

In the past, if a mammogram x-ray produced a trouble spot, a doctor would perform a biopsy that required them to cut into the breast for a tissue sample. Technology developed for the Hubble Space Telescope, however, allows biopsies to be performed with just a needle. An advanced, super sensitive ...