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NASA NTRS2016

The First Government Sanctioned Delivery of Medical Supplies by Remotely Controlled Unmanned Aerial System (UAS)

The first government sanctioned delivery of medical supplies by UAS occurred at Wise, Virginia, on July 17, 2015. The "Let's Fly Wisely" event was a demonstration of the humanitarian use of UAS to facilitate delivery of medical supplies to remote or otherwise difficult-to-reach areas. The event was the result of coordinated efforts by a partnership which included the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center (LaRC), Virginia Polytechnic Institute, the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership (MAAP), Flirtey Corporation, Lonesome Pine Airport, Remote Area Medical (RAM), Health Wagon, SEESPAN Aerial Interactive, Rx Partnership, and Wise County, Virginia. The historic event occurred during the annual Remote Area Medical clinic at the Wise County Fairgrounds. The medical supplies in small packages were delivered to the Wise County Fairgrounds from the Lonesome Pine Airport by UAS operated by Firtey. A larger supply of medical supplies were delivered to the Lonesome Pine Airport from the Tazewell County Airport by NASA Langley's SR22 UAS Surrogate Research aircraft. The UAS Surrogate aircraft was remotely controlled for most of the flight by a UAS Ground Control Station located at the Lonesome Pine Airport. The medical supplies were delivered from the UAS Surrogate to Flirtey for final delivery by Hex Multi-Rotor UAS in smaller packages and multiple trips to the fairgrounds. A Certificate of Authorization (COA) issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) designated the site as an authorized UAS test site. The paper will present additional details of the historic delivery of pharmaceuticals by UAS during the "Let's Fly Wisely" event. The paper will also provide details of NASA's SR22 UAS Surrogate Research aircraft. The UAS Surrogate was designed to investigate the procedures, aircraft sensors and other systems that may be required to allow Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) to safely operate with manned aircraft in the National Airspace System (NAS).

Howell, Charles T., III↗

NASA NTRS1991

ATLS-stowage and deployment testing of medical supplies and pharmaceuticals

The objective is to evaluate stowage and deployment methods for the Health Maintenance Facility (HMF) during microgravity. The specific objectives of this experiment are: (1) to evaluate the stowage and deployment mechanisms for the medical supplies; and (2) to evaluate the procedures for performing medical scenarios. To accomplish these objectives, the HMF test mini-racks will contain medical equipment mounted in the racks; and self-contained drawers with various mechanisms for stowing and deploying items. The medical supplies and pharmaceuticals will be destowed, handled, and restowed. The in-flight test procedures and other aspects of the KC-135 parabolic flight test to simulate weightlessness are presented.

Gosbee, John↗

NASA NTRS1991

ATLS: Catheter and tube placement

The specific objectives of this experiment are: to evaluate the rack mounted equipment and medical supplies necessary for medical procedures; to evaluate the attachments, mounting points, and inner drawer assemblies for the medical supplies; and to evaluate the procedures for performing medical scenarios. The resources available in the HMF miniracks to accomplish medical scenarios and/or procedures include: medical equipment mounted in the racks; a patch panel with places to attach tubing and catheters; self contained drawers full of critical care medical supplies; and an ALS 'backpack' for deploying supplies. The attachment lines, tubing and associated medical supplies will be deployed and used with the equipment and a patient mannequin. Data collection is provided by direct observations by the inflight experimenters, and analysis of still and video photography.

Gosbee, John↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Potential of Medical Drones: An Analysis of Current and Future Use Cases

Modern Application of Medical-Based Drone Delivery Drones have been used advantageously by militaries for nearly a century, but their uses in civilian life are still mostly cutting-edge, if not theoretical. After a decade of bold proclamations, Amazon’s “PrimeAir” drone delivery system is still in the stage of “preparing” for deliveries, while the public awaits for start ups like SkyDrop (formerly Flirtey) to follow through on impressive promises. Despite the well-publicized disappointment so far in commercial drone delivery, medical drone delivery has already proven itself practical and cheap in several countries, and it promises to expand in the coming years. Drones are uniquely suited to make valuable and urgent deliveries to remote areas, quickly transporting medical supplies where road transportation is prohibitively slow or not available at all. Drones have been used notably to deliver AEDs for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, frequently beating first-responders to the scene; to deliver blood when there is none on hand at hospitals; to deliver vaccines to an island nation with little transportation infrastructure; and to respond flexibly to medical emergencies in a war zone. Economics make the delivery of food and other cheap goods by drone unattractive in the near-term, but the value and time-sensitivity of medical deliveries mean that drones are already saving lives in healthcare. “We believe the value of new technology is most valuable where it is clearly needed...that’s why we wanted to focus on drones delivering medicine and not delivering pizzas, ”said one executive of a drone system manufacturer. The immediate prospects for the expansion of medical drone use are many; however, they do not exist without their own drawbacks and challenges. Most obvious is the limited range of current commercially-available drones, most of which are isolated to a perimeter of roughly 18 miles. Technological know-how presents another barrier to integration of medical drones on a larger scale. Reports from the United Nations frequently cite a“skill deficit”—a prohibitively low number of qualified drone operators in low-and moderate-income countries (LMICs). Another perhaps more discreet speed bump in global drone development and usage are the various regulations on drone usage. Drone technology has developed so quickly that many states, out of an excess of caution, have nearly snuffed out the fledgling industry with regulation. There also exist significant concerns over the security of private citizens, the efficacy of medical deliveries, and the costs of drone operation. It is these last three barriers which this study will seek to overcome. Put simply, the prospect for human development in LMICs from drone-based medical delivery is far too great to disregard. As of 2020, 3.4 billion people live in rural communities, containing fewer than 5,000 people/km^2. Often lacking infrastructure, these communities are largely isolated from their more populated, urban counterparts. In drones lies the potential to reshape the geographic and developmental distinctions that divide the global population. This development must, therefore, begin first and foremost with advancement in regional well-being and life expectancy. Life expectancy makes up a key facet of human development. The United Nations relies on it as a key indicator of a state’s health. Lars Kunze of the Dortmund University Department of Economic sex plains this as a matter of physical capital accumulation. The longer people live, the more they save as opposed to spend. The more they save, the more which eventually gets invested in themselves and the community as a whole. In providing medical products via drone, it is the intention of this study to enable communities with the means and incentives for long-run savings and investment for future economic development. Through a close analysis of Vanuatu, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Ukraine—four states where drones are currently used to deliver medical supplies—this study develops a framework that LMICs in general and Mexico and particular can adopt and to use medical drones in difficult-to-reach communities for the sake of long-run human developmental initiatives.

Ryan Teoh↗

NASA NTRS1970

Medical vest broadens treatment capability

Universal sized vest, with specially tailored pockets designed to hold medical supplies, provides first aid/first care medical teams with broadened on-site capability. Vest is made of nylon, tough fibrous materials, and polyvinyl chloride. Design facilitates rapid donning, doffing, and adjustment.

Johnson, G. S.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Supply and Resource Management to Progressively Enable EIMO

BACKGROUND: Current medical operations in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) allow for real-time audio-video communication with a flight surgeon at mission control, resupply, and medical evacuation to earth on the order of hours. As mission profiles change from LEO to the Moon, Mars, and beyond, medical risk as a contribution to overall mission risk is anticipated to rise substantially. Concurrently, due to the distance, the medical systems on board vehicles proposed for these mission types are expected to have reduced mass and volume allocation. Together, astronaut crews will be at a higher risk of major medical events, be required to perform a broader set of tasks, and have substantially reduced resources and support to do so. Earth Independent Medical Operations (EIMO) aims to identify and fill the gaps present in this progressively changing paradigm. OVERVIEW: Medical supplies, resources, and skills are central to spaceflight medical systems. Vehicles used for non-LEO missions are anticipated to be smaller and thus the medical system will also need to have reduced mass, volume, and power. Medical resources are another form of consumable and may need resupply or pre-deployment to meet crew needs. One particular concern is the degradation of medications which become less efficacious and potentially toxic with time, particularly given environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity, oxygen, and radiation which have not yet been fully studied. Supply and resource management in LEO is dependent on resupply, however the supply chain of transporting equipment does not yet have a clear infrastructure for missions beyond LEO. DISCUSSION: EIMO is intended to systemically identify and fill these gaps with forward-looking solutions. In mission monitoring of resources with technology like RFID, improving medical resource longevity, targeted resupply and careful pre-mission planning will be central to facilitate crew health and performance. One approach to optimizing resources is the Informing Mission Planning via Analysis of Complex Tradespaces (IMPACT) tool, which uses probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) to quantitatively predict medical risk and identify resources and skills that mitigate this risk. This evidence based, quantitative analysis prediction tool and several other approaches to meeting the challenge of supply and resource management are discussed.

Arian Anderson↗

NASA NTRS2017

Medical Optimization Network for Space Telemedicine Resources

INTRODUCTION: Long-duration missions beyond low Earth orbit introduce new constraints to the space medical system. Beyond the traditional limitations in mass, power, and volume, consideration must be given to other factors such as the inability to evacuate to Earth, communication delays, and limitations in clinical skillsets. As NASA develops the medical system for an exploration mission, it must have an ability to evaluate the trade space of what resources will be most important. The Medical Optimization Network for Space Telemedicine Resources (MONSTR) was developed over the past year for this reason, and is now a system for managing data pertaining to medical resources and their relative importance when addressing medical conditions. METHODS: The MONSTR web application with a Microsoft SQL database backend was developed and made accessible to Tableau v9.3 for analysis and visualization. The database was initially populated with a list of medical conditions of concern for an exploration mission taken from the Integrated Medical Model (IMM), a probabilistic model designed to quantify in-flight medical risk. A team of physicians working within the Exploration Medical Capability Element of NASA's Human Research Program compiled a list diagnostic and treatment medical resources required to address best- and worst-case scenarios of each medical condition using a terrestrial standard of care and entered this data into the system. This list included both tangible resources (e.g. medical equipment, medications) and intangible resources (e.g. clinical skills required to perform a procedure). The physician team then assigned criticality values to each instance of a resource, representing the importance of that resource to diagnosing or treating its associated condition(s). Medical condition probabilities of occurrence during a Mars mission were pulled from the IMM and imported into the MONSTR database for use within a resource criticality-weighting algorithm. DISCUSSION: The MONSTR tool is a novel approach to assess the relative value of individual resources needed for the diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions. Future work will add resources for prevention and long term care of these conditions. Once data collection is complete, MONSTR will provide the operational and research communities at NASA with information to support informed decisions regarding areas of research investment, future crew training, and medical supplies manifested as part of any exploration medical system.

Rubin, D.↗

NASA NTRS2017

Medical Optimization Network for Space Telemedicine Resources

INTRODUCTION: Long-duration missions beyond low Earth orbit introduce new constraints to the space medical system such as the inability to evacuate to Earth, communication delays, and limitations in clinical skillsets. NASA recognizes the need to improve capabilities for autonomous care on such missions. As the medical system is developed, it is important to have an ability to evaluate the trade space of what resources will be most important. The Medical Optimization Network for Space Telemedicine Resources was developed for this reason, and is now a system to gauge the relative importance of medical resources in addressing medical conditions. METHODS: A list of medical conditions of potential concern for an exploration mission was referenced from the Integrated Medical Model, a probabilistic model designed to quantify in-flight medical risk. The diagnostic and treatment modalities required to address best and worst-case scenarios of each medical condition, at the terrestrial standard of care, were entered into a database. This list included tangible assets (e.g. medications) and intangible assets (e.g. clinical skills to perform a procedure). A team of physicians working within the Exploration Medical Capability Element of NASA's Human Research Program ranked each of the items listed according to its criticality. Data was then obtained from the IMM for the probability of occurrence of the medical conditions, including a breakdown of best case and worst case, during a Mars reference mission. The probability of occurrence information and criticality for each resource were taken into account during analytics performed using Tableau software. RESULTS: A database and weighting system to evaluate all the diagnostic and treatment modalities was created by combining the probability of condition occurrence data with the criticalities assigned by the physician team. DISCUSSION: Exploration Medical Capabilities research at NASA is focused on providing a medical system to support crew medical needs in the context of a Mars mission. MONSTR is a novel approach to performing a quantitative risk analysis that will assess the relative value of individual resources needed for the diagnosis and treatment of various medical conditions. It will provide the operational and research communities at NASA with information to support informed decisions regarding areas of research investment, future crew training, and medical supplies manifested as part of the exploration medical system.

Shah, R. V.↗

NASA NTRS2000

STS-99 Crew Activities Report / Flight Day 10 Highlights

The primary objective of the STS-99 mission was to complete high resolution mapping of large sections of the Earth's surface using the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), a specially modified radar system. This radar system produced unrivaled 3-D images of the Earth's Surface. The mission was launched at 12:31 on February 11, 2000 onboard the space shuttle Endeavour. and led by Commander Kevin Kregel. The crew was Pilot Dominic L. Pudwill Gorie and Mission Specialists Janet L. Kavandi, Janice E. Voss, Mamoru Mohri from the National Space Development Agency (Japanese Space Agency), and Gerhard P. J. Thiele from DARA (German Space Agency). This tape shows the activities of the tenth day of the mission. During this day the mapping of the Earth continued. Each of the astronauts gives a brief statement about the mission or some other point of interest. Some of the equipment and supplies on board the shuttle are shown, including the medical supplies. The videotape ends showing some of the images released during the day from the SRTM. These include views of Oahu, Hawaii; Miquelon Island and St. Pierre Island, Newfoundland; Kamchatka, and Baikal, Russia; Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany; Katmandu, Nepal; and Cotopaxi, Ecuador.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS2010

International Space Station Aeromedical Support in Star City, Russia

The Space Medicine Division at Johnson Space Center works with the International Space Station s international partners (IP) to accomplish assigned health care tasks. Each IP may assign a flight surgeon to support their assigned crewmembers during all phases of training, in-flight operations, and postflight activities. Because of the extensive amount of astronaut training conducted in Star City; NASA, in collaboration with its IPs, has elected to keep a flight surgeon assigned to NASA s Star City office to provide support to the U.S., Canadian, Japanese, and European astronauts during hazardous training activities and provide support for any contingency landings of Soyuz spacecraft in Kazakhstan. The physician also provides support as necessary to the Mission Control Center in Moscow for non-Russian crew-related activities. In addition, the physician in Star City provides ambulatory medical care to the non-Russian-assigned personnel in Star City and visiting dependents. Additional work involves all medical supplies, administration, and inventory. The Star City physician assists in medical evacuation and/or in obtaining support from western clinics in Moscow when required care exceeds local resources. Overall, the Russians are responsible for operations and the medical care of the entire crew when training in Star City and during launch/landing operations. However, they allow international partner flight surgeons to care for their crewmembers as agreed to in the ISS Medical Operations Requirements Document. Medical support focuses on pressurized, monitored, and other hazardous training activities. One of the most important jobs is to act as a medical advocate for the astronauts and to reduce the threat that these hazardous activities pose. Although the Russians have a robust medical system, evacuation may be needed to facilitate ongoing medical care. There are several international medical evacuation companies that provide this care.

Cole, Richard↗

NASA NTRS2024

Uncrewed Aerial Systems for Emergency Medical First Response: A Market Research Report

This report presents the findings from market research conducted for NASA’s Aerial Aid Convergent Aeronautics Solutions (CAS) exploration project, which aims to assess the current state of the market and technological readiness for Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) for medical emergency first response. The research reveals a robust and rapidly growing market for UAS, with a notable emerging sector for Drones as First Responders (DFR). Despite this growth, DFR applications are currently limited by regulatory, technical, and other challenges, which restrict their use primarily to manned remote video surveillance, and therefore are primarily employed by police units. To our knowledge, there is no evidence of UAS being utilized by medical first responders for scene assessment. Limited evidence exists for closely related applications; however, these are mostly confined to pilot programs for the delivery of medical supplies or equipment. Although there has been discussion around fully autonomous DFR applications for medical purposes such as UAS ambulances or patient transport drones, these applications are generally not yet operational in practice. The technology for full autonomy, especially in guidance and control, has seen significant advancements, and recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)regulations are likely to accelerate adoption. Computer vision algorithms for fully autonomous medical emergency response scene surveillance are primed for advancement and deployment. A notable gap likely exists between advancements in computer vision research and what is being integrated in the commercial DFR sector. This gap is primarily due to challenges such as quality assurance for autonomous systems, the availability of application-specific training datasets for computer vision algorithms, regulatory constraints, and public perception and privacy concerns.

Joshua M Fody↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Baseline Medical System Translation for the Impact Medical Database

NASA has developed a new evidence-based data-driven probabilistic risk assessment and tradespace analysis tool as a successor to the Integrated Medical Model (IMM). This updated decision support tool is known as IMPACT (Informing Mission Planning via Analysis of Complex Tradespaces). Whereas IMM focuses on the resources and risks associated with International Space Station (ISS) and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) missions, IMPACT estimates the frequency and consequences of medical conditions that might arise during exploration missions. One of the services offered by IMM is a series of generic or baseline medical systems associated with typical mission types or DRMs (Design Reference Missions), such that requestors may prioritize questions pertaining to the mission itself over the medical supplies indicated by the model outputs for that DRM. In a mission focused request, the appropriate baseline medical system is used in place of a prepared or optimized medical kit. In preparation, an effort was undertaken to create baseline systems of medical resources within IMPACT suitable for typical DRMs. Using an existing baseline medical system within IMM’s Integrated Medical Evidence Database (iMED) as a starting point, the resources found within the medical kit were compared to and substituted for equivalent resources available within the IMPACT MD (Medical Database). In consultation with clinicians with knowledge of IMPACT’s MD, each resource was matched as closely as possible to a similarly purposed resource in IMPACT, seeking to preserve the treatment capabilities and procedures offered by the IMM medical system while reconciling the differences in modeled resources and medical conditions between the models. To demonstrate the efficacy of this work, a prototype ISS medical system in IMPACT was translated from the baseline used in the IMM. The appropriate medical system was then run through its associated medical model to compare and validate the resultant risks and risk mitigation provided by each baseline ISS medical kit.

S Schwartz↗

NASA NTRS2014

Arusha Rover Deployable Medical Workstation

The NSBE Arusha rover concept offers a means of human transport and habitation during long-term exploration missions on the moon. This conceptual rover calls for the availability of medical supplies and equipment for crew members in order to aid in mission success. This paper addresses the need for a dedicated medical work station aboard the Arusha rover. The project team investigated multiple options for implementing a feasible deployable station to address both the medical and workstation layout needs of the rover and crew. Based on layout specifications and medical workstation requirements, the team has proposed a deployable workstation concept that can be accommodated within the volumetric constraints of the Arusha rover spacecraft

Rover↗

NASA NTRS2005

JSC Pharmacy Services for Remote Operations

The Johnson Space Center Pharmacy began operating in March of 2003. The pharmacy serves in two main capacities: to directly provide medications and services in support of the medical clinics at the Johnson Space Center, physician travel kits for NASA flight surgeon staff, and remote operations, such as the clinics in Devon Island, Star City and Moscow; and indirectly provide medications and services for the International Space Station and Space Shuttle medical kits. Process changes that occurred and continued to evolve in the advent of the installation of the new JSC Pharmacy, and the process of stocking medications for each of these aforementioned areas will be discussed. Methods: The incorporation of pharmacy involvement to provide services for remote operations and supplying medical kits was evaluated. The first step was to review the current processes and work the JSC Pharmacy into the existing system. The second step was to provide medications to these areas. Considerations for the timeline of expiring medications for shipment are reviewed with each request. The third step was the development of a process to provide accountability for the medications. Results: The JSC Pharmacy utilizes a pharmacy management system to document all medications leaving the pharmacy. Challenges inherent to providing medications to remote areas were encountered. A process has been designed to incorporate usage into the electronic medical record upon return of the information from these remote areas. This is an evolving program and several areas have been identified for further improvement.

Stoner, Paul S.↗

NASA NTRS2024

ISS Technology Demonstrations for Future Spaceflight Medical Systems

Throughout the history of human spaceflight, crewmembers have experienced various in-flight medical conditions including illness and injury. Planned missions to the Moon and Mars will require capabilities to maintain the health of future space travelers. Mass, power, and volume available in the vehicles and habitats for these missions will be severely constrained; resupply of resources will be limited or non-existent, as will opportunities for evacuation to Earth. Furthermore, ground-based support will be hampered by communication latencies and blackouts. These vehicle and mission constraints will necessitate a medical system that has been efficiently planned, providing on-board procedural guidance in addition to a variety of medical devices and consumable resources. Medical capabilities required for the diagnosis and treatment of potential medical conditions during future spaceflight missions may include real-time health monitoring, medical imaging, and biomarker analyses ( e.g., blood or urine). Terrestrial medicine shares these needs, thus many of these medical capabilities could likely be satisfied by Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) devices and methodologies; however, in some cases the unique space environment and increased mission duration will drive the need to modify technologies and the way care is provided. NASA’s Human Research Program (HRP) Exploration Medical Capability (ExMC) Element and Mars Campaign Office’s Exploration Medical Integrated Product Team (XMIPT) are working together to decrease medical risk during exploration missions. Flight-tested medical diagnostic and treatment technologies are necessary to effectively manage medical conditions relevant to exploration missions while meeting vehicle constraints, integrating with medical decision-support tools, and enabling increasingly Earth-independent operations. Several projects have leveraged the ISS as a testbed for exploration, including 1) i n- situ blood analysis, 2) medical inventory, 3) intravenous fluid generation, and 4) autonomous medical procedure guidance. Management of several in-flight medical conditions, such as bacterial and viral infections and acute radiation syndrome, is dramatically improved with ability to assess blood cell populations, electrolytes, and metabolites. I n December 2020 and January 2021 ExMC performed an ISS technology demonstration (Tech Demo) of the HemoCue® WBC DIFF analyzer (HemoCue, Brea, CA), a COTS device that was modified to enable functionality in a spaceflight environment. This Tech Demo marked the first time that hematology measurements were successfully performed real-time in microgravity. Also modified and demonstrated was the reusable Handheld Electrolytes and Lab Technology for Humans (rHEALTH) ONE analyzer (rHEALTH, Bedford, MA), which uses flow cytometry and sheath-based hydrodynamic focusing methodologies. The rHEALTH ONE ISS Tech Demo in May 2022 demonstrated test results obtained in-flight matched those on the ground. NASA currently relies on crew self-reporting to manage and maintain medical inventory on ISS.The ability to maintain an accurate inventory becomes more critical during long duration missions since the crew will need to be increasingly autonomous in finding and utilizing medical items, including those scenarios when alternative treatments need to be considered due to limited or no resupply. HRP’s Medical Consumables Tracking (MCT) project was developed by ZIN Technologies, Inc. (Cleveland, OH), and demonstrated real-time tracking of medical supplies aboard the ISS between December 2016 and July 2018. The MCT system design utilized Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID) technology to perform automated inventory and was installed in the Crew Health Care System (CHeCS) Resupply Stowage Rack (RSR). The challenge of limited shelf life, exacerbated by the lack of resupply opportunities, affects a plethora of medical system components including consumables, pharmaceuticals, and intravenous (IV) fluid. In 2010, ExMC funded ZIN Technologies, Inc. (Cleveland, OH), to develop the Intravenous Fluid Generation (IVGEN) system. IV fluids were successfully generated with IVGEN using the potable water supply on ISS during ISS Expedition 23. The XMIPT is in the process of developing a miniaturized version of the original IVGEN hardware for a future Tech Demo aboard the ISS. Current ISS medical operations rely heavily on preflight training and real-time remote guidance, both of which become impractical or impossible for exploration missions. The primary goal of the Autonomous Medical Officer Support (AMOS) Software Tech Demos on ISS was to confirm telemedical proof-of-concept for autonomous medical imaging in an operational setting. This novel software tool shifts emphasis from preflight training and real-time remote guidance to in-flight just-in-time instruction, a new and necessary paradigm for crew medical autonomy. AMOS introduces a novel, streamlined skill management concept for exploration missions featuring comprehensive training and guidance modules for ultrasound examinations using the ISS Ultrasound 2 (a modified GE Vivid-q™; General Electric HealthCare, Chicago, IL). With no prior crew training or remote guidance, two Tech Demos on the ISS (April 2020 and June 2022) resulted in high quality, clinically useful image sets. We will provide a review of historical, current, and planned medical devices and technologies considered for inclusion within future spaceflight medical systems and summarize hardware development activities and medical device tech demos conducted on the ISS.

Astronaut health and performance↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Developing Mission Segment-Specific Clinical Data for Impact

Space exploration missions represent a significant future objective for NASA’s human spaceflight operations for the near and long term. By operating missions during longer periods and over further distances, NASA’s mission planning models, hardware systems, and medical capabilities will be stretched beyond their original design constraints. The necessity of medical training and medical supply manifesting for such missions is likely to become incredibly intricate as trade-space analysis is performed over varying mission profiles. For this purpose, IMPACT was created to extend and improve the Integrated Medical Model (IMM) which is used for International Space Station (ISS) medical predications and consists of a probabilistic risk assessment tool that simulates missions to calculate risks given the constraints on crew complement, mission duration and activity (such as Extravehicular Activities), power, communication, mass, volume, and evacuation consideration as well as to predict mission outcomes. Currently, the medical evidence used to support IMPACT remains static, addressing risks of a medical condition and the impacts of the condition during spaceflight only, but is only calculated for a small number of mission parameters. Extended missions will consist of new and varied living environments, changing gravitational loads, and dynamic working requirements. Medical risks are not typically constant but will change depending upon the physical and physiological environment of the body during all phases of a mission. Risks are likely to shift during different mission segments, and understanding how components of a mission profile change risks will assist mission planners to increase chances for mission success.

Christopher Zahner↗

NASA NTRS2023

Progressively Enabling Earth Independent Medical Operations (EIMO)

This panel presents the findings from a series of Technical Interchange Meetings (TIMs) hosted by the Exploration Medical Capability Element (ExMC) in NASA’s Human Research Program. The topics for the TIMs were derived from a 2-day conference of senior leaders and subject matters experts that collectively outlined a multi-faceted strategy designed to optimize crew health and performance through an increasingly autonomous medical approach. The first abstract in this panel outlines the scope of issues related to data collection, usage, transmission and computing capacity to facilitate EIMO. The second presentation provides an overview of the challenges in developing curricula and advanced training tools to baseline knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA), verify clinical competency and assure retention during prolonged durations inherent in exploration-class missions. An overview of the complicated medical supply and resource chain necessary to facilitate EIMO is provided in the third presentation of this panel. The final presentation in this EIMO panel surveys the breadth and depth of demands on cognitive load expected to be experienced by crew on an exploration mission and proposes strategies to mitigate the prospect of cognitive overload through methods to shift task load from the crew to multi-modal artificial intelligence based medical support systems. Taken together, these presentations summarize the challenges to be expected and potential solution spaces to be explored and developed to progressively enable increasing autonomous medical operations to support crewed missions beyond low earth orbit. Through EIMO focused pre-mission planning, integrated data architecture design, innovative training development and AI-assisted task load management, the gradual transition of medical care and decision making from terrestrial to space-based assets enabling support of astronaut health and performance and reducing overall mission risk is achievable.

Jay Lemery↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Progressively Enabling Earth Independent Medical Operations (EIMO)

John Lemery↗