Every year NASA devotes a significant amount of effort to developing new technologies to advance the space program, justify its existence, and as an important but lesser-known part of the agency's official mandate, find practical applications for its technology here on Earth.

With that idea in mind, NASA just released the 2009 version of its annual Spinoff report, showcasing some of the breakthrough technologies that NASA had a direct hand in creating. From innovations in healthcare to new ideas about fishing, the ingenuity of many of these discoveries is only matched by their overall scope.

Here's a few NASA inventions that were successfully "spun off" this year:

Long Distance Medical Screening Device

The International Space Station does not have a wide array of medical screening devices due to weight and cost concerns. In fact, the only device onboard is an ultrasound machine. Recently, NASA has been experimenting with new long distance ultrasound techniques with astronauts aboard the ISS. They now have the capability to look at tooth and sinus infections and judge some of the effects of space travel by measuring the pressure around the brain using only ultrasounds.

The remote ultrasound technology that's so useful to astronauts aboard the ISS has also been integral in the formation of the new company Mediphan. Mediphan has created a device called the DistanceDoc, which can take high-quality medical images using an ultrasound and transmit those images over the Internet. 

In last year's Summer Olympic Games, medical images from China were transmitted back to the U.S. using these techniques. NASA reports that over 345 examinations using these techniques have been performed on athletes. Long distance medicine is heading for a boom, and this NASA-developed procedure will certainly be a key part.

‘Anti-Gravity' Treadmills

If you know any serious athletes, you may be familiar with the toll that gravity can take a person's body. Well, the absence of gravity in space can cause problems for astronauts on long missions too. 

Traditionally, astronauts have used harnesses to hold themselves to treadmills while exercising in space. But harnesses prevent natural and high-intensity exercise. In 1992, a theory was developed to use air-pressure to mimic the Earth's gravity in order to prevent bone and muscle deterioration in astronauts. However, it wasn't until recently that this practice was applied to the private sector. 

The G-Trainer was developed by the company AlterG and is a direct extension of the theory. The G-trainer is a rehabilitation device that uses air pressure to take away some of the stress that gravity puts on the lower body. This helps patients who have serious lower body injuries to incrementally work themselves back to full health. Already, the G-Trainer has been used successfully by military hospitals for orthopedic recovery.

Sensors To Trace and Prevent Microscopic Diseases

Microscopic gastrointestinal diseases, like E. coli and salmonella, have wreaked havoc on the world's population. The nature of these diseases has made detection and prevention difficult. However, researchers at NASA have found a new breakthrough that could make both processes much easier.

While looking for life on Mars, NASA officials developed a unique micro-technology called carbon nanotubes. These nanotubes contain millions of tiny fibers, which release a faint electrical charge when they come in contact with the DNA of a given substance.

A company called Early Warning has developed a working prototype and has used to model to detect E. coli in water.  They are currently working on a sensor that will improve the safety of produce in the U.S. The sensor could take a sample of water from the produce and could tell very quickly if the sample was contaminated.

Forecasting Tool that Helps Locate Fish

Fishing can be frustrating for recreational fisherman when they come home empty-handed. But, it can be even more frustrating for commercial fishermen whose livelihoods and businesses are at stake. Well, NASA data and technology has recently led to a new discovery that should help out both groups.

While trying to study climate change using satellites, NASA collected a considerable amount of data about the ocean. Using up to the minute forecasting data, a company called WorldWinds has developed a computer program called FishBytes. (Get it?) The program can tell its user where specific species of fish are most likely to be in the ocean based upon temperature and salinity preferences. The device is reportedly accurate up to two kilometers.... a distance that in fishing speak is "THIS BIG."