Engineering topics

Toscano, William

Publications and source records attributed to Toscano, William.

9 records

NASA NTRS2018

Pre-Flight Training of Autonomic Responses for Mitigating the Effects of Spatial Disorientation During Spaceflight

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has identified a potential risk of spatial disorientation, motion sickness, and degraded performance to astronauts during re-entry and landing of the proposed Orion crew vehicle. The purpose of this study was to determine if a physiological training procedure, Autogenic-Feedback Training Exercise (AFTE), can mitigate these adverse effects. Fourteen men and six women were assigned to two groups (AFTE, no-treatment Control) matched for motion sickness susceptibility and gender. All subjects received a standard rotating chair test to determine motion sickness susceptibility; three training sessions on a manual performance task; and four exposures in the rotating chair (Orion tests) simulating angular accelerations of the crew vehicle during re-entry. AFTE subjects received 2 hours of training before Orion tests 2, 3, and 4. Motion sickness symptoms, task performance, and physiological measures were recorded on all subjects. Results showed that the AFTE group had significantly lower symptom scores when compared to Controls on test 2 (p=.05), test 3 (p=.03), and test 4 (p=.02). Although there were no significant group differences on task performance, trends showed that AFTE subjects were less impaired than Controls. Heart rate change scores (20 revolutions per minute minus baseline) of AFTE subjects indicated significantly less reactivity on Test 4 compared to Test 1 (10.09 versus 16.59, p=.02), while Controls did not change significantly across tests. Results of this study indicate that AFTE may be an effective countermeasure for mitigating spatial dis-orientation and motion sickness in astronauts.

Orion↗

NASA NTRS2013

Psychophysiology of Spaceflight and Aviation

In space, the absence of gravity alone causes unique physiological stress. Significant biomedical changes, across multiple organ systems, such as body fluid redistribution, diminished musculoskeletal strength, changes in cardiac function and sensorimotor control have been reported. The time course of development of these disorders and severity of symptoms experienced by individuals varies widely. Space motion sickness (SMS) is an example of maladaptation to microgravity, which occurs early in the mission and can have profound effects on physical health and crew performance. Disturbances in sleep quality, perception, emotional equilibrium and mood have also been reported, with impact to health and performance varying widely across individuals. And lastly, post-flight orthostatic intolerance, low blood pressure experienced after returning to Earth, is also of serious concern. Both the Russian and American space programs have a varied list of human errors and mistakes, which adversely impacted mission goals. Continued probability of human exposure to microgravity for extended time periods provides a rationale for the study of the effects of stress. The primary focus of this research group is directed toward examining individual differences in: (a) prediction of susceptibility to these disorders, (b) assessment of symptom severity, (c) evaluation of the effectiveness of countermeasures, and (d) developing and testing a physiological training method, Autogenic-Feedback Training Exercise (AFTE) as a countermeasure with multiple applications. The present paper reports on the results of a series of human flight experiments with AFTE aboard the Space Shuttle and Mir Space Station, and during emergency flight scenarios on Earth.

Cowings, Patricia↗

NASA NTRS2013

Individual Differences in the Temporal Profile of Cardiovascular Responses to Head Down Tilt and Orthostatic Stress with and Without Fluid Loading

Susceptibility of healthy astronauts to orthostatic hypotension and presyncope is exacerbated upon return from spaceflight. Hypo-volemia is suspected to play an important role in cardiovascular deconditioning following exposure to spaceflight, which may lead to increased peripheral resistance, attenuated arterial baroreflex, and changes in cardiac function. The effect of altered gravity during space flight and planetary transition on human cardiovascular function is of critical importance to maintenance of astronaut health and safety. A promising countermeasure for post-flight orthostatic intolerance is fluid loading used to restore loss fluid volume by giving crew salt tablets and water prior to re-entry. Eight men and eight women will be tested during two, 6-hour exposures to 6o HDT: 1) fluid loading, 2) no fluid loading. Before and immediately after each HDT, subjects will perform a stand test to assess their orthostatic tolerance. Physiological measures (e.g., ECG, blood pressure, peripheral blood volume) will be continuously monitored while echocardiography measures are recorded at 30-minute intervals during HDT and stand tests. Preliminary results (N=4) clearly show individual differences in responses to this countermeasure and the time course of physiological changes induced by HDT.

Cowings, Patricia↗

NASA NTRS2012

Psychophysiological Assessment of Fatigue in Commercial Aviation Operations

The overall goal of this study is to improve our understanding of crew work hours, workload, sleep, fatigue, and performance, and the relationships between these variables on actual flight deck performance. Specifically, this study will provide objective measures of physiology and performance, which may benefit investigators in identifying fatigue levels of operators in commercial aviation and provide a way to better design strategies to limit crew fatigue. This research was supported by an agreement between NASA Ames Research Center and easyJet Airline Company, Ltd., Luton, UK. Twenty commercial pilots volunteered to participant in the study that included 15 flight duty days. Participants wore a Zephyr Bioharness ambulatory physiological monitor each flight day, which measured their heart rate, respiration rate, skin temperature, activity and posture. In addition, pilots completed sleep log diaries, self-report scales of mood, sleepiness and workload, and a Performance Vigilance Task (PVT). All data were sent to NASA researchers for processing and analyses. Heart rate variability data of several subjects were subjected to a spectral analysis to examine power in specific frequency bands. Increased power in low frequency band was associated with reports of higher subjective sleepinesss in some subjects. Analyses of other participants data are currently underway.

Hernandez, Norma↗

NASA NTRS2012

Examining Individual Differences in Temporal Profiles of Cardiovascular Responses to the Head Down Tilt during Fluid Loading

Upon returning to Earth after an extended exposure to micro-gravity in space many astronauts have experienced symptoms of light headedness and fainting associated with post-flight orthostatic intolerance (low blood pressure). The main reason for this condition is the reduced fluid volume in the body while in space. A preventative treatment was proposed to prevent this condition by fluid loading to restore lost plasma volume by giving crew members salt tablets and water prior to re-entry. In order to simulate micro-gravity effects on earth test subjects are placed in a supine position with their head below the level of their heart (6 head down tilt-HDT). The purpose of the present study is to define individual differences in the time course of cardiac stroke volume responses to HDT (6 hours) and the effectiveness of fluid loading for mitigating orthostatic intolerance when standing . Echocardiography and impedance cardiography data will be collected on 8 men and 8 women to examine heart function to HDT. A second objective is to determine if the effects of fluid loading vary due to individual differences (e.g., age, gender, height, weight, physical fitness, etc.).

orthostatic intolerance↗

NASA NTRS2012

A Proposed Study Examining Individual Differences in Temporal Profiles of Cardiovascular Responses to Head Down Tilt During Fluid Loading

Susceptibility of healthy astronauts to orthostatic hypotension and presyncope is exacerbated upon return from spaceflight. The effect of altered gravity during space flight and planetary transition on human cardiovascular function is of critical importance to maintenance of astronaut health and safety. Hypovolemia, reduced plasma volume, is suspected to play an important role in cardiovascular deconditioning following exposure to spaceflight, which may lead to increased peripheral resistance, attenuated arterial baroreflex, and changes in cardiac function. A promising countermeasure for post-flight orthostatic intolerance is fluid loading used to restore lost plasma volume by giving crew salt tablets and water prior to re-entry. The main purpose of the proposed study is to define the temporal profile of cardiac responses to simulated 0-G conditions before and following a fluid loading countermeasure. 8 men and 8 women will be tested during 4 hour exposures at 6o head down tilt (HDT). Each subject will be given two exposures to HDT on separate days, one with and one without fluid loading (one liter of 0.9% saline solution). Stand tests (orthostatic stress) will be done before and after each HDT. Cardiac measures will be obtained with both impedance cardiography and echo ultrasound

Cowings, Patricia↗

NASA NTRS2010

NASA-Navy Telemedicine: Autogenic Feedback Training Exercises for Motion Sickness

Airsickness is the most significant medical condition affecting naval aviation training. A 2001 study showed that airsickness was reported in 81% of naval aviation students and was associated with 82% of below average flight scores. The cost to a single training air-wing was over $150,000 annually for fuel and maintenance costs alone. Resistent cases are sent to the Naval Aerospace Medical Institute (NAMI) for evaluation and desensitization in the self-paced airsickness desensitization (SPAD) program. This approach is 75% successful, but can take up to 8 weeks at a significant travel cost. NASA Ames Research Center's Autogenic Feedback Training Exercises (AFTE) uses physiological and biofeedback training for motion sickness prevention. It has a remote capability that has been used from Moffett Field, CA to Atlanta, GA . AFTE is administered in twelve (30-minute) training sessions. The success rate for the NASA AFTE program has been over 85%. Methods: Implementation Phases: Phase I: Transfer NASA AFTE to NAMI; NASA will remotely train aviation students at NAMI. Phase II: NAMI-centered AFTE application with NASA oversight. Phase III: NAMI-centered AFTE to remotely train at various Navy sites. Phase IV: NAMI to offer Tri-service application and examine research opportunities. Results: 1. Use available telemedicine connectivity between NAMI and NASA. 2. Save over $2,000 per student trained. 3. Reduce aviation training attrition. 4. Provide standardization of multi-location motion sickness training. 5. Future tri-service initiatives. 6. Data to NASA and Navy for QA and research opportunities.

Acromite, Michael T.↗

NASA NTRS2006

User Interactive Software for Analysis of Human Physiological Data

Ambulatory physiological monitoring has been used to study human health and performance in space and in a variety of Earth-based environments (e.g., military aircraft, armored vehicles, small groups in isolation, and patients). Large, multi-channel data files are typically recorded in these environments, and these files often require the removal of contaminated data prior to processing and analyses. Physiological data processing can now be performed with user-friendly, interactive software developed by the Ames Psychophysiology Research Laboratory. This software, which runs on a Windows platform, contains various signal-processing routines for both time- and frequency- domain data analyses (e.g., peak detection, differentiation and integration, digital filtering, adaptive thresholds, Fast Fourier Transform power spectrum, auto-correlation, etc.). Data acquired with any ambulatory monitoring system that provides text or binary file format are easily imported to the processing software. The application provides a graphical user interface where one can manually select and correct data artifacts utilizing linear and zero interpolation and adding trigger points for missed peaks. Block and moving average routines are also provided for data reduction. Processed data in numeric and graphic format can be exported to Excel. This software, PostProc (for post-processing) requires the Dadisp engineering spreadsheet (DSP Development Corp), or equivalent, for implementation. Specific processing routines were written for electrocardiography, electroencephalography, electromyography, blood pressure, skin conductance level, impedance cardiography (cardiac output, stroke volume, thoracic fluid volume), temperature, and respiration

Cowings, Patricia S.↗

NASA NTRS2002

Predictors of response to a behavioral treatment in patients with chronic gastric motility disorders

Chronic gastric motility disorders have proven intractable to most traditional therapies. Twenty-six patients with chronic nausea and vomiting were treated with a behavioral technique, autonomic training (AT) with directed imagery (verbal instructions), to help facilitate physiological control. After treatment, gastrointestinal symptoms decreased by >30% in 58% of the treated patients. We compared those improved patients to the 43% who did not improve significantly. No significant differences existed in baseline symptoms and autonomic measures between both groups. However, baseline measures of gastric emptying and autonomic function predicted treatment outcome. Patients who improved manifested mild to moderate delay in baseline gastric emptying measures. The percent of liquid gastric emptying at 60 mins and the sympathetic adrenergic measure of percent of change in the foot cutaneous blood flow in response to cold stress test predicted improvement in AT outcome, with clinical diagnostic values of 77% and 71%, respectively. We conclude that AT treatment can be efficacious in some patients with impaired gastric emptying and adrenergic dysfunction. More work is warranted to compare biofeedback therapy with gastric motility patients and controls in population-based studies.

NASA Center ARC↗