Headlines
NASA's heartbeat-detecting technology saves lives in Nepal
Washington, May 11
A new heartbeat-detecting
technology developed by NASA has helped rescue at least four men trapped
under as much as 10 feet of bricks, mud and other debris in Nepal in
the aftermath of the April 25 earthquake, the US Department for Homeland
Security (DHS) has said.
The device, called FINDER (Finding
Individuals for Disaster and Emergency Response), uses microwave-radar
technology to detect heartbeats of victims trapped in the wreckage.
Following
the April 25 earthquake in Nepal, two prototype FINDER devices were
deployed to support search and rescue teams in the stricken areas. The
men had been trapped beneath the rubble for days at Chautara in the
badly hit Sindhupalchok district.
"NASA technology plays many
roles: driving exploration, protecting the lives of our astronauts and
improving -- even saving -- the lives of people on Earth," said David
Miller, chief technologist at NASA headquarters in Washington.
The
FINDER search-and-rescue device, developed by Nasa's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory in partnership with DHS, is based on technology originally
developed to find life on other planets.
"FINDER exemplifies how technology designed for space exploration has profound impacts to life on Earth," Miller noted.
FINDER
has previously demonstrated capabilities of detecting people buried
under up to 30 feet of rubble, hidden behind 20 feet of solid concrete
and from a distance of 100 feet in open spaces, DHS said in a statement.
A
new "locator" feature has since been added to not only provide search
and rescue responders with confirmation of a heartbeat, but also the
approximate location of trapped individuals within about five feet,
depending on the type of rubble.
"The true test of any technology
is how well it works in a real-life operational setting," Reginald
Brothers, DHS under secretary for science and technology, said.
"Of
course, no one wants disasters to occur, but tools like this are
designed to help when our worst nightmares do happen. I am proud that we
were able to provide the tools to help rescue these four men," Brothers
noted.