Space Medicine Archives

Plasma Flashlight Torches Bacteria

by Gavin Corley on Apr 10, 2012 •

plasma flashlight Plasma Flashlight Torches BacteriaA collaborative team of scientists from several research institutes in China and Australia has developed a hand held, battery-powered plasma flashlight for removing bacteria from skin and other surfaces. The device was designed for use by paramedics or the military when treatment or sterilization is required in remote locations.

The device is self-contained and operates on a 12V battery without the need for an external gas feed or power. It generates a jet of plasma between 20-23°C (68-73.4°F), so that it won’t harm the skin and contains some protection circuitry to prevent overheating.

The researchers demonstrated the effectiveness of their prototype device by treating thick bacterial biofilms for up to five minutes with the plasma flashlight and measuring the bactericidal effect. Their results are published in the latest edition of Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics. 

The research team has suggested that the device may cost as little as $100 to manufacture and a significant amount of miniaturization would be possible to reduce the size of their bulky prototype.

Press release: Handheld plasma flashlight rids skin of bacteria instantly…

Abstract in : Inactivation of a 25.5 µm Enterococcus faecalis biofilm by a room-temperature, battery-operated, handheld air plasma jet

Space Medicine

Man Meets Machine in Outer Space

by Stanley Darma on Feb 20, 2012
Man Meets Machine in Outer Space

Last Wednesday the first handshake in space between a human and a humanoid took place when commander Daniel Burbank of the International Space Station (ISS) shook hands with Robonaut 2, NASA’s humanoid robot. You may remember Robonaut 2 from last year, when we reported about it (or should we say him?) after it appeared during the Super Bowl commercial break.

Robonaut 2, successor to the original Robonaut and also known as R2, is the first dexterous humanoid robot in space. R2 is capable of speeds more than four times faster, is more compact, is more dexterous and includes a deeper and wider range of sensing than its predecessor. NASA designed Robonaut to help humans work and explore in space and has sent it to the International Space Station as part of the STS-133 mission. Currently, R2 has no lower body and is deployed on a fixed pedestal. Future versions should give it legs and enable the robot to go outside the space station into the vacuum of space, and maybe practice a bit of medicine while inside.

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Medicine / Space Medicine

NASA Biocapsule Implant Diagnoses and Treats Diseases Without Human Intervention

by Wouter Stomp on Feb 9, 2012
NASA Biocapsule Implant Diagnoses and Treats Diseases Without Human Intervention

Gizmodo has a fascinating story on an implant, the Biocapsule, developed by NASA to treat astronauts while they are on a space mission. The device, a small rod to be implanted under the skin before take-off, is made out of carbon nanotubes and is filled with cells that release a substance once a certain trigger activates them.

The cells are trapped withing the capsule, while substances are released by diffusion across the capsule wall, which is also the way nutritients can get in. The capsules could be capable of delivering multiple doses over a long period of time. The nanostructures are inert, making them well-tolerated by the body, and the Biocapsules themselves are inexpensive and easy to make.

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Diagnostics / Radiology / Space Medicine / Telemedicine

Augmented Reality System Helps Astronauts Diagnose Medical Problems in Outer Space

by Wouter Stomp on Feb 9, 2012
Augmented Reality System Helps Astronauts Diagnose Medical Problems in Outer Space

In space, nothing is as easy as it is on Earth, and an ill astronaut could pose a major problem to any space mission. For advanced diagnostis purposes, the International Space Station already carries an ultrasound device, but astronauts are generally not trained ultrasound operators. Also, a connection to ground-based expert help may involve unwieldy communication delays, so it is no surprise space agencies are looking into ways to make future space travellers more self-sufficient.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is working on an augmented reality system that will help astronauts better diagnose medical problems in space. The Computer Assisted Medical Diagnosis and Surgery System, CAMDASS as it is strangely called, is a wearable augmented reality system with a head-mounted display that merges actual and virtual reality by precisely combining computer-generated graphics with the wearer’s view.

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Space Medicine

Microsoft Kinect Camera May One Day Measure Mass of Astronauts in Orbit

by Gene Ostrovsky on Dec 29, 2011
Microsoft Kinect Camera May One Day Measure Mass of Astronauts in Orbit

How do you weigh someone in a zero gravity space station?  Well, you don’t, because their weight is zero.  But mass is ever-present and measuring it can be a difficult proposition without gravity. Currently a motorized chair on springs is used that measures how a person bounces when sitting on it.

Researchers from Eurecom in Alpes-Maritimes, France and Italian Institute of Technology’s Center for Human Space Robotics in Torino have developed a method that relies on a Microsoft Kinect 3D video camera to calculate the volume of a person in front of it and using statistics to turn that into an estimated mass measurement.

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Space Medicine

Study Shows Some Medications Degrade Faster in Space Station than on Earth

by Dan Buckland on Nov 14, 2011
Study Shows Some Medications Degrade Faster in Space Station than on Earth

The medication locker for a long term space flight may need to be larger than currently thought, a study in the The AAPS Journal concludes. One of the first publications from the Stability of Pharmacotherapeutic and Nutritional Compounds (Stability) project determined that after 28 months of storage on the International Space Station some medications degraded faster than controls stored in as similar environment as possible on the ground.

One of the authors, Lakshmi Putcha, Ph.D, said the differences between the ground and control environments “include, but are not limited to, ambient radiation, excessive vibrational forces, multiple gravity environments and carbon dioxide enrichment; this is in addition to unconventional packaging, resupply operations and other unknowns.”

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Genetics / Space Medicine

Prototype DNA Analyzer Tested Under Zero-G Conditions

by Gavin Corley on Sep 6, 2011
Prototype DNA Analyzer Tested Under Zero-G Conditions

Researchers from Lousiana Tech University and NASA will be testing an experimental DNA analyzer under zero gravity conditions this month during parabolic flight testing. The objective of the test is to understand how the instrument behaves in low-gravity conditions. The DNA analyzer was identified by NASA  for possible use on the International Space Station or during unmanned operations, as it was designed to be small, low powered and requires minimal user interaction.

It is hoped that the analyzer may shed some light on the effects of cosmic radiation on the DNA of living organisms.

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Space Medicine

Atlantis Crew to Experiment With Forward Osmosis Urine Filtration Bag

by Gene Ostrovsky on Jul 11, 2011
Atlantis Crew to Experiment With Forward Osmosis Urine Filtration Bag

Included in NASA’s last space shuttle mission to the International Space Station is a novel filtration bag that uses forward osmosis technology to clean water.

Project researchers hope to be able to turn regular old urine into a refreshing beverage, and the bag already filters everything but urea. The team hopes to add a carbon filter to the bag to overcome this problem.

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Space Medicine

New Device on The International Space Station Will Measure Cosmic Radiation Levels

by Scott Jung on Apr 28, 2011
New Device on The International Space Station Will Measure Cosmic Radiation Levels

The penultimate voyage of NASA’s fabled space shuttle program commences tomorrow afternoon, and inside the payload bay of the Space Shuttle Endeavour is a device whose data will affect future generations of astronauts to the final frontier.
The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, or AMS, is a device consisting of a two ton magnet and five detectors, that will be installed on the International Space Station. Scientists hope that the AMS will help them learn more about antimatter and dark matter. Spacecraft engineers, however, are eager to see how the powerful magnetic fields generated by the AMS repel harmful particles of cosmic radiation. The magnetic fields generated by the AMS act as a shield, deflecting any particles or rays that come near it, much in the same way the Earth’s magnetic field deflects cosmic radiation from harming the planet. The AMS will also measure the amount of cosmic energy and the type of radiation detected in space. In whole, the AMS will help provide scientists a better picture of the kind of environment astronauts will face on future explorations, and will help engineers design equipment that will adequately protect these astronauts from the potentially harsh radiation levels in space.

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