NASA to shoot ATL scanners into space

ATL's HDI 3000 ultrasound scanner has been selected by LockheedMartin to be included in an advanced scientific laboratory LockheedMartin is building for NASA's space station. An HDI 3000 scannerwill be a component of the Human Research Facility, a lab thatwill be used to conduct investigations of the physiological impacton the human body of long periods in space. NASA astronauts willuse ultrasound to study the effect of zero gravity on blood flow,the heart and other internal organs, ligaments, and joints.

Initial shipments of ultrasound scanners for the project havebegun, and the agreement covers HDI 3000 purchases of up to $1.3million, according to the Bothell, WA, company. Blast-off is scheduledfor March 1999.