ASEN 5016 Lecture 19: Biomedical Countermeasure (CM) Summary
Objectives
1. Summarize the rationale for countermeasures being used (or being studied) to mitigate the detrimental effects of space flight on humans (during each mission phase – pre-flight, launch, orbit and reentry)
2. Describe the basic (functional) understanding of how each CM works
3. Discuss any shortcomings or unknowns associated with the various countermeasures
What are the
undesirable effects?
• Pre-launch infection exposure
• Launch environment
• Orbit
• SMS
• Fluid shift / loss
• Skeletal Muscle and Bone atrophy
• Cardiovascular deconditioning
• Immunological deficiency (?)
• Psychological concerns
• Radiation exposure / damage
• (Medical Emergencies)
•
Post-flight
recovery
•
Orthostatic
intolerance
•
Neurovestibular-related
phenomena
•
Bone
and skeletal muscle atrophy
•
Cardiovascular
deconditioning
•
Psychological
concerns
Q
Seat position (time on back and fluid ‘pre-redistribution’)
Acceleration – positioning and 3g throttling on STS
Vibration – active or passive damage damping (e.g. water suppression system on the pad)
Noise – Passive atten
SMS – drugs, time, training?, electro-stimulation?
Fluid shift – equilibrate to new baseline on orbit, Lower Body Negative Pressure (LBNP), fluid (saline) loading pre-landing
Immunosuppression
– pre-flight q
Skeletal Muscle atrophy – exercise and stretching, Penguin Suit, electro-stimulation?
Cardiovascular deconditioning – exercise, LBNP
Bone loss – “impact exercise”, applied EMF? Vibration? Pharmaceuticals?
Psychological – preflight counseling and training, mission support, plants?
Radiation – mission design, active/passive shielding, pharmaceuticals, ‘safe haven’ concept
(Minimizing risk of medical emergencies)
All g-related
phenomena
Artificial Gravity
Big questions – How much? How long?
Post-flight
Orthostatic Intolerance – pre-landing fluid load (saline) and LBNP (on orbit), g-suits (during entry)
Blood plasma / RBC reduction (‘space flight anemia’) – rehydration, pre-landing LBNP, ‘blood doping’, time
Neurovestibular disturbances – 48-72 hour time course, avoid rapid head movements, slow increase in activities, time
Cardiovascular deconditioning – rehab exercise, dependent on mission duration, time
Muscle atrophy – rehab exercise, dependent on mission duration, time
Bone loss – rehab exercise, dependent on mission duration and age of astronaut, time (maybe)
Psychological issues (post flight ‘blues’) – post-flight counseling, support
Radiation accumulation – pharmaceuticals? diet?
National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI)
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