 A protective paint used on the Statue of Liberty. A tiny laser that unclogs arteries. And for the disabled, a vehicle-controlled system like the Lunar Rovers. These are just a few of many products with roots in NASA technology. This eye-testing device, in use at a kinder care learning center, has recently been developed by the Medical Sciences Corporation in Wodawi, Alabama. It is called the Ocular Screening System. It is based on technology used by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama to analyze pictures like this one of the sun taken during Skylab missions in the early 1970s. Ocular Screening provides a simple, reliable way to detect eye problems in young children, problems which could be incurable if not treated early. The pictures produced by the system look like this. A totally red eye is healthy. White crescents or other variations indicate problems. 8 to 10 percent of the children tested so far have been found to have serious eye diseases or abnormalities, according to kinder care educational specialist Jenny Folsom. With young children, it's virtually impossible to be able to tell you that something is wrong. But this technique is so innovative in that even our infants can focus at the camera and the photograph will display any defects that are apparent there with no response from the child required. And how do the kids feel about the testing? It's just like you're having your picture taken. NASA technology is making an impact in another area as well. More accurately, it's absorbing the impact and a new line of running tubes. Running's popularity continues to grow and the constant pounding can be broken on the legs and feet. To help soften the blow, the Kangaroo Shoe Company, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, has developed a running shoe that incorporates a NASA material like one used in moonwalking astronauts' boots. Called Dynacoil, this springy, fibrous material is filled with polyurethane and placed in the mid-sole of the shoes. Dr. Joseph Hamel, assistant professor and director of biomechanics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, specializes in testing running shoes. According to Dr. Hamel, Dynacoil not only absorbs shock very well, it also helps control side-to-side movement. The high-speed video system he uses in his labs helps illustrate this point. When we run, our feet don't just hit the ground and bounce straight back up. They hit, roll over from outside to in, then come back up again. This is called pronation. If a foot overpronates, injury can occur. And until now, no shoe had ever controlled this motion so well. What we're always seeking is new materials. And if NASA has them and they can be utilized, then that's terrific. NASA and industry bringing space technology down to Earth.