DEVELOPMENT OF A MODERATE COST COMMERCIAL JOSEPHSON JUNCTIONVOLTAGE STANDARD THE BIOLOGIC-DC SYSTEM FOR REMOVING C02 FROM BLOOD

HYPRES PROPOSES A PROGRAM TO DESIGN, DEVELOP, AND MANU- FACTURE A HIGHLY ACCURATE, RELIABLE, MODULAR AND MODERAGE COST VOLTAGE STANDARD UTILIZING JOSEPHSON JUNCTION ARRAYS/. THIS PROJECT WILL DRAW FROM EXPERIENCE AND EXPERTISE ESTABLISHED THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF A WIDE BANDWIDTH COMMERCIAL PRODUCT (THE PSP-1000) ALSO BASED ON NB JUNCTION TECHNOLOGY. COST EFFECTIVENESS OF THIS PROJECT STEMS FROM OUR UNIQUE CAPABILITIES IN NIOBIUM JOSEPHSON JUNCTION CIR- CUIT MANUFACTURING, INNOVATIVE COMPACT CRYOGENIC SUBSYSTEMS,ACHIEVEMENTS IN WIDEBAND (70 GHZ) LOW TEMPERATURE INTER- CONNECTIONS TECHNOLOGY, AND EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE IN MICRO- PROCESSOR-BASED SOFTWARE FOR CONTROL, DIAGNOSIS, AND SELF- TESTING OF JOSEPHSON JUNCTION CIRCUITS AND INSTRUMENTATION. TASKS PROPOSED FOR PHASE-I INCLUDE: (1) A MARKET ANALYSIS TO IDENTIFY PERFORMANCE FEATURES AND ACCEPTABLE PRODUCT COST(2) TOP-DOWN PAPER DESIGN UTILIZING SURVEY INPUTS AND IDENTIFYING CRITICAL PATH ELEMENTS; AND (3) FABRICATION OF NB JUNCTION ARRAYS. PHASE-II PROTOTYPE "BENCH" VERSIONS OF A VOLTAGE STANDARD WILL BE BUILT UTILIZING INITIAL "BEST DESIGN" PARAMETERS. SUBSEQUENT WORK WILL FOCUS ON OPTIMI- ZATION OF THE PRODUCT FOR COST, PERFORMANCE, & FLEXIBILITY. THE GOAL OF THIS PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP AN EXTRACORPOREAL DEVICE TO REMOVE LARGE AMOUNTS OF CARBON DIOXIDE FROM A RELATIVELY SMALL FLOW RATE OF BLOOD. THIS DECARBOXYLATOR DEVICE COULD HELP SUPPORT PATIENTS WHEN RESPIRATORS FAIL TO REMOVE SUFFICIENT C02, OR BE USED IN PLACE OF RESPIRATORS IN PATIENTS WITH MODERATE C02 RETENTION. THE DECARBOXYLATOR SYSTEM WILL BE CREATED BY DEVELOPING A NEW DISPOSABLE PACKAGE FOR THE BIOLOGIC DIALYSIS MACHINE. THIS MACHINE IS DESIGNED TO PERFORM DIALYSIS THROUGH A SINGLE BLOOD ACCESS (SUBCLAVIAN CATHETER OR NEEDLE) USING A PLATE DIALYZER BOTH FOR CHEMICAL CLEARANCE AND FOR PUMPING BLOOD. WE WILL DESIGN A DISPOSABLE PACKAGE (DC PACK) WITH ASUSPENSION OF CALCIUM HYDROXYL WHICH WILL MOVE THROUGH A SCREEN PLATE DIALYZER IN A TO-AND-FRO MANNER TO MAINTAIN FLUIDITY. WITHIN THE DIALYZER, THE CALCIUM HYDROXIDE WILL EXCHANGE ITS HYDROXYL FOR BICARBONATE, REMOVING ALMOST ALL OF THE BLOOD BICARBONATE WITHOUT EXCESSIVE CALCIUM OR HYDROXYL RETURN TO THE BLOOD. IN VITRO TESTS DURING PHASE IWILL DETERMINE THE C02 REMOVAL RATE, CALCIUM RETURN, AND PH CHANGES CAUSED BY THE BIOLOGIC-DC SYSTEM. THESE STUDIES WILL INDICATE WHETHER THE SYSTEM HAS POTENTIAL FOR ASSISTINGPATIENTS IN RESPIRATORY FAILURE.