http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/special/02/wsc/1611155
In her University of Massachusetts Medical School laboratory, Dr. Babs Soller is developing a sensor that one day may give diabetics early warning of circulation problems and allow needle-free monitoring of babies' blood. But Soller's real task is more immediate. She is calibrating the new device to work in space, to send back blood and tissue measurements that will allow doctors to assess astronauts' muscle strength or injuries. "The beauty of the device is that it will allow physicians to take instantaneous measurements without removing samples from patients," says Soller, a professor of surgery and biomedical engineering. "In other words, it will be great in space, or emergency rooms." Soller's project is one of nearly 100 being done through the National Space Biomedical Research Institute, a harnessing of the nation's best brain power aimed at medical research for space. The 5-year-old institute is based at Houston's Baylor College of Medicine. The projects aim to enable lengthy space travel. The next giant leap into space, such as a manned mission to Mars, hinges not on any dramatic advance in astrophysics but on the human body's ability to withstand the rigors of space travel. Researchers first must better understand the conditions that pose risks to astronauts, then develop measures to prevent them. The greatest benefits, however, should be improvements in medical care on Earth, say some observers. Space poses all manner of medical problems to astronauts because human beings have adapted to life on Earth rather than in space or on a planet like Mars. The research institute has identified 55 space-based risks -- most owing to radiation hundreds of times greater than that on Earth and to the lack of gravity. The risks include the wasting away of muscle and bone; cardiovascular disruptions, nausea and disorientation; increased risk of cancer and damage to the reproductive organs; damage to DNA and decreased memory; potentially dangerous mutations to the bacteria that help digest food; reactivation of latent viruses that would spread quickly in the confined quarters of a spacecraft; disruption of the body's biological clock from the lack of a 24-hour day/night cycle; no hospitals to deal with acute medical emergencies; and psychiatric problems resulting from cramped quarters and the stresses of a non-Earth experience. "Space is the most harsh of environments," says Dr. William Shearer, a Baylor professor who is leading the institute's immunology and infection research team. "It produces profound illnesses and breakdowns." Consider the experience of American astronaut David Wolf, who spent 18 weeks on the Mir space station. Wolf lost 40 percent of his muscle mass, 12 percent of his bone and 23 pounds in weight. Back on Earth, it took him a year to restore the bone and two years to fully recover his strength. For the first six months, his zero-gravity-attuned senses made it difficult for him to go around corners, and he walked into doors and fell over on fast turns. Of course, 40 years of travel and research in space have produced medical breakthroughs. Many devices used in hospitals today derive from telemetrical advances, the measurement and transmission of data from remote sources first developed by the space program decades ago. More recently, renowned cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey and a team of NASA engineers borrowed ideas from the pressurized, high-speed pumps that deliver propellants to the space shuttle's main engines in coming up with a miniature heart pump that is quieter, cheaper and smaller than other pumps. But some say the medical benefits of the space program have been oversold. In the 1970s and 1980s, medical efforts were hampered by NASA's restricted budget and missions with shorter flight durations. Robert Parks, a University of Maryland physicist often critical of NASA, pooh-poohs the biomedical institute, saying he's unaware of any achievements and skeptical of future possibilities. "What happens in microgravity is irrelevant to life on Earth," says Parks, spokesman for the American Physical Society in Washington. "Missions like the space station and shuttle are users of science, not producers of it." But many others expect big things from the institute, which boasts a $22 million budget and more than 269 investigators from 75 institutions in 22 states. Supporters note that some findings, such as the beneficial effect of day and night light cycles on human sleep and performance, have already been implemented by space station crew members, and they cite a number of projects close to completion. Soller's sensor is on the list. The device, which must be made smaller for use in space, uses two optical fibers, one shining light into the patient and the other carrying the reflected light back to a device that analyzes the data. It uses near-infrared spectroscopic techniques to measure, say, whether there are adequate levels of oxygen and blood flow to muscle tissue cells. Another project could help surgeons operate on tumors or stop internal bleeding without breaking the skin. The lightweight, portable device focuses ultrasound -- in the same way a magnifying glass focuses sunlight -- to destroy unwanted tissue or cauterize a blood vessel. Its potential applications range from use on battlefields to cancer care. Other projects include a brain scanner small enough to be worn as a cap and therefore useful for child patients; a computerized self-help system for conflict resolution or mild depression; and the development of new drugs that inhibit the bone loss that occurs among astronauts and spinal-cord injury patients. "Since conditions in space have analogues on Earth, it's inevitable that we'll make discoveries and technologies that impact health on Earth," says Dr. Jeffrey Sutton, director of the biomedical institute. "We're already beginning to see the fruits of that." xponent Benefits Maru rob _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
