美航宇局兰利研究中心专门为弗吉尼亚州诺福克总医院研究人员设计了一种测量血管张力的实验室仪器。研究人员正在研究血管平滑肌(血管壁的肌肉),对各种刺激物,如咖啡、茶叶、酒精或麻醉品的反应。他们希望兰利中心能帮助他们研究出一种测量因各种刺激物引起的血管扩张的方法。由于血管的“孔”(loops)类似于直径仅半毫米的小橡皮筋,因此要对这种极细的血管样品进行测试,任务是复杂的。尽管如此,兰利中心的仪器研制部还是研究出了一种微型系统。这种微型系统的关键部件是一个能扩张血管孔径的“微定位器”和一个测量平滑肌产生张力的应变计。微定位器是一种两 NASA Langley Research Center specifically designed for Norfolk General Hospital researchers in Virginia to measure vascular tension of a laboratory instrument. Researchers are studying the effects of vascular smooth muscle (the muscle of the blood vessel wall) on various stimuli such as coffee, tea, alcohol or narcotics. They hope Langley will help them to develop a method of measuring vasodilation caused by various stimuli. Since the “loops” of blood vessels resemble small rubber bands that are only half a millimeter in diameter, the task of testing this very thin blood vessel specimen is complex. In spite of this, Langley Center’s Instrument Development Division has developed a micro-system. The key components of this miniature system are a “micro-positioner” that dilates the blood vessel aperture and a strain gauge that measures the tension generated by the smooth muscle. Micro-locator is a kind of two