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A biotelemetry system for measuring and transmitting EKG, EMG, and EEG data by an RF link to a receiver was designed, developed, and delivered. The system is battery operated with the batteries and transmitting electronics an integral part of the electrode sensors. The low frequency response of 0.05 Hz assures faithful reproduction of detailed EKG and all measurements are made by the utilization of two electrode sensors.
The hazards inherent in the Portable Medical Status System are identified, and the measures taken to reduce them to an acceptable level are described. Identification of these hazards is a prerequisite to use of the system on humans in the earth environment. One hazard which is insufficiently controlled and which is considered a constraint to use on humans is the level of current possible in the electrodes for the EEG (electroencephalograph) circuitry. It exceeds the maximum specified. A number of procedural and design recommendations for enhancement of safety are made.
Compact transmitter for multichannel telemetry of medical data is carried in patient's belt. Pulse-code modulation (PCM), is used for high-quality signal, and low-power CMOS integrated circuits make miniaturization possible. Transmitter is useful for electro-encephalograms (EEG) and electro-cardiograms (EKG) and other biomedical patient-monitoring situations.
Computer quantification methods were used to analyze the Skylab electroencephalographic data obtained during the course of the M133 series of experiments. This undertaking was prompted by initial observations made during visual analysis of the tape-recorded sleep records where there appeared to be an increase of the alpha-rhythm frequency during some inflight recording sessions, as compared to preflight baseline observations. A number of potential etiological factors are identified and their various possible influences discussed. The presence of the zero-g state is thought to be an important factor, possibly influencing EEG through alteration of vestibular function and/or by producing fluid shifts secondary to loss of hydrostatic pressure.
A replaceable, prefilled electrode enclosed in a plastic seal and suitably adapted for attachment to a reusable, washable cap having snaps thereon is disclosed. The apparatus is particularly adapted for quick positioning of electrodes to obtain an EEG. The individual electrodes are formed of a sponge body which is filled with a conductive electrolyte gel during manufacture. The sponge body is adjacent to a base formed of a conductive plastic material. The base has at its center a male gripper snap. The cap locates the female snap to enable the electrode to be positioned. The electrode can be stored and used quickly by attaching to the female gripper snap. The snap is correctly positioned and located by mounting it in a stretchable cap. The cap is reusable with new electrodes for each use. The electrolyte gel serves as the contact electrode to achieve a good ohmic contact with the scalp.
The purpose of the experiment was objectively to measure sleep quantity and quality during prolonged space flight with the use of automatic equipment for onboard analyses of electroencephalographic (EEG) and electro-oculographic (EOG) activity and telemetry of sleep stage data.
A four-state random stimulus generator, considered to function as an ESP teaching machine was used to investigate an approach to facilitating interactions between man and machines. A subject tries to guess in which of four states the machine is. The machine offers the user feedback and reinforcement as to the correctness of his choice. Using this machine, 148 volunteer subjects were screened under various protocols. Several whose learning slope and/or mean score departed significantly from chance expectation were identified. Direct physiological evidence of perception of remote stimuli not presented to any known sense of the percipient using electroencephalographic (EEG) output when a light was flashed in a distant room was also studied.
Results of the medical experiment on payload specialist workloads conducted as part of the ASSESS II airborne simulation of Spacelab conditions are reported. Subjects were fitted with temperature probes and ECG, EEG and EOG electrodes, and hormone and electrolyte excretion was monitored in order to evaluate the changes in circadian rhythms, sleep patterns and stress responses brought about by mission schedules over the ten days of the experiment. Internal dissociations of circadian rhythms, sleep disturbances and increased stress levels were observed, especially during the first three days of the experiment, indicating a considerable workload to be imposed upon the payload specialists. An intensive premission simulation is suggested as a means of estimating overall workloads and allowing payload specialist adaptation to mission conditions. The bioinstrumentation which was developed and applied to the airborne laboratory is concluded to be a practical and reliable tool in the assessment of payload specialist workloads.
Twenty one albino Wistar rats were subjected to stress for 7 hours. There was a significant difference in the slopes of regression lines for 7 nonulcerous rats and those for 14 ulcerous rats. Nonulcerous rats subjected to stress showed greater EEG curve synchronization than did ulcerous rats. If curve synchronization can be equated to a relaxed state, it may therefore be possible to explain the protective action of hypnotics, tranquilizers and analgesics on ulcers.
The method of constructing fields on the basis of EEG data gives a quantitative characterization of bioelectrical activity. Fields of average rates of the change of potentials in healthy people have a well defined configuration, where the greatest rates are found in the occipital zones, lower in the frontal and parietal, and least in the temporal zones. In response to functional loads the form of the field remains the same because of a synchronous change in the average rates in both hemispheres of the cerebrum to the same extent. The configuration of the fields of background bioelectric activity of the cerebrum in people with Meniere's disease is not uniform. On the basis of this investigation, a clear correlation was found between the subjective sensations of patients during oxygen and carbogen therapy and the changes in the spatial characteristics of the field of potentials of the cerebrum. This correlation makes it possible to objectively identify the nature of the vascular disturbances in Meniere's disease, develop a pathogenetic treatment plan, and evaluate its effectiveness.
A device for providing optokinetic stimulation is described which has the advantages of being small, simple in design, and permits automatic operation in four directions at two drum speeds. The device has a screened chamber allowing polygraphic recording of optokinetic reactions by EEG.
The use of a personal miniature electrophysiological tape recorder to measure the physiological reactions of space flight personnel to space flight stress and weightlessness is described. The Oxford Instruments Medilog recorder, a battery-powered, four-channel cassette tape recorder with 24 hour endurance is carried on the person and will record EKG, EOG, EEG, and timing and event markers. The data will give information about heart rate and morphology changes, and document adaptation to zero gravity on the part of subjects who, unlike highly trained astronauts, are more representative of the normal population than were the subjects of previous space flight studies.
The effect of an orthodynamic hypergravic field of 6 G on the brainstem auditory projections was studied in rats. The brain temperature and EEG activity were recorded in the rats during 6 G orthodynamic acceleration and auditory brainstem responses were used to monitor auditory function. Results show that all animals exhibited auditory brainstem responses which indicated impaired conduction and transmission of brainstem auditory signals during the exposure to the 6 G acceleration field. Significant increases in central conduction time were observed for peaks 3N, 4P, 4N, and 5P (N = negative, P = positive), while the absolute latency values for these same peaks were also significantly increased. It is concluded that these results, along with those for fields below 4 G (Jones and Horowitz, 1981), indicate that impaired function proceeds in a rostro-caudal progression as field strength is increased.
This study examines the sleep responses of primates to acute 3 Gz environments. To investigate this question, loosely-restrained squirrel monkeys were exposed to 70 minutes of 3 Gz during the day. The animals' behavioral state was polygraphically monitored (EEG, EMG, EOG) along with video and deep body temperature. During the control period, animals exhibited slow wave sleep (SWS) napping behavior. SWS occurred during approximately 20 percent of the control period. Body temperature was maintained at 38.7 C. At 3 Gz, SWS was inhibited for 5 minutes, after which SWS occurred at levels 50 percent lower than in the control period. During the post-centrifugation period, SWS was elevated above the control (50 percent) and hyperdynamic (100 percent) levels. Body temperature was depressed 1.5 C when the animals were at 3 Gz. Thus, hyperdynamic environments are capable of modifying primate sleep behavior, at least as a result of acute exposure. Further, the increased arousal in the hyperdynamic environment is correlated with a lower body temperature. This negative correlation differs from the normal positive correlation of arousal and body temperature.
The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) was implicated as a primary component in central nervous system mechanisms governing circadian rhythms. Disruption of the normal synchronization of temperature, activity, and other rhythms is detrimental to health. Sleep wake disorders, decreases in vigilance and performance, and certain affective disorders may result from or be exacerbated by such desynchronization. To study the basic neurophysiological mechanisms involved in entrainment of circadian systems by the environment, Parylene-coated, etched microwire electrode bundles were used to record extracellular action potentials from the small somata of the SCN and neighboring hypothalamic nuclei in unanesthetized, behaving animals. Male Wistar rats were anesthetized and chronically prepared with EEG ane EMG electrodes in addition to a moveable microdrive assembly. The majority of cells had firing rates 10 Hz and distinct populations of cells which had either the highest firing rate or lowest firing rate during sleep were seen.
Physiological recordings of sleep and wakefulness in operating international (B-747) flight crews were obtained. Crews spent their first layover (48 h) of a trip in a sleep laboratory where standardized EEG, electro-oculograph (EOC), and electromyograph (EMG) sleep recordings were carried out whenever volunteers chose to sleep. During periods of wakefulness they underwent multiple sleep latency tests every 2 h in order to assess daytime drowsiness. The same standardized recordings were carried out at a home-based laboratory before departure. Approximately four crews each participated in flights over 7 to 9 time zones on five routes. All participants were encouraged to use whatever sleep-wake strategies they thought would provide them with the most satisfactory crew rest. Overall, layover sleep quality was not seriously disturbed, but eastward flights produced greater sleep disruption. The contributors of individual factors and the usefulness of various sleep strategies are discussed in the individual laboratory reports and in an operational summary.
To better describe the linear-dynamic properties of the human visual-cortical response system, transient and steady state Visual Evoked Response Potentials (VERP) were observed. The stimulus presentation device provided both the evoking stimulus (flickering or pulsing lights) and a video task display. The steady state stimulus was modulated by a complex, ten frequency, sum-of-sines, wave. The transient VERP was the time-locked average of the EEG to a series of narrow light pulses (pulse width of 10 msec). The Fourier transform of the averaged pulses had properties that approximate band limited white noise, i.e., a flat spectrum over the frequency region spanned by the 10 summed sines. The Fourier transform of both the steady state and the transient evoked potentials resulted in transfer that are equivalent and therefore comparable. To investigate the effects of task loading on evoked potentials, a grammatical reasoning task was provided. Results support the relevancy of continued application of a systems engineering approach for describing neurosensory functioning.
The large number of integrated dependent measures available on a command, control, and communications (C3) generic workstation under development are described. In this system, embedded communications tasks will manipulate workload to assess the effects of performance-enhancing drugs (sleep aids and decongestants), work/rest cycles, biocybernetics, and decision support systems on performance. Task performance accuracy and latency will be event coded for correlation with other measures of voice stress and physiological functioning. Sessions will be videotaped to score non-verbal communications. Physiological recordings include spectral analysis of EEG, ECG, vagal tone, and EOG. Subjective measurements include SWAT, fatigue, POMS and specialized self-report scales. The system will be used primarily to evaluate the effects on performance of drugs, work/rest cycles, and biocybernetic concepts. Performance assessment algorithms will also be developed, including those used with small teams. This system provides a tool for integrating and synchronizing behavioral and psychophysiological measures in a complex decision-making environment.