International Space Station Commander Leroy Chiao performs an ultrasound exam on Expedition 10 crewmate Russian Cosmonaut Salizhan Sharipov. The exam was part of a project to develop techniques for non-physician crew members to conduct ultrasound exams in space to send to the Mission Control Center for analysis. Photo Credit: NASA
The development of exam techniques for use on the International Space Station (ISS) is expanding the use of ultrasound on Earth.
These techniques are in use by non-physician astronauts to perform ultrasound exams on their space colleagues.
Why ultrasound?
Ultrasound can be used to assess numerous conditions faced by space travelers, from fractured bones, collapsed lungs, kidney stones to organ damage and other ailments.
Scientists with the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) have developed tools that expand the use of ultrasound during spaceflight and on Earth, especially in rural and underserved locations.
Thanks to an NSBRI grant, researchers have created a catalog, or atlas, of “space-normal” imagery of the human body, setting the stage for astronauts to provide care without consulting a physician on Earth.
This atlas was handed over to NASA earlier this year.
ISS exam techniques
“The ultrasound imagery techniques came from space program constraints of not having a trained radiologist on orbit or having a CAT scan or an MRI available, forcing us to use ultrasound for things in which we would not normally use it,” said Dr. Scott A. Dulchavsky, the Roy D. McClure Chairman of Surgery and Surgeon-in-Chief at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. He is both a principal investigator in this research, and is a member of the NSBRI Smart Medical Systems and Technology Team.
Dulchavsky and colleagues from NSBRI, NASA, Henry Ford and Wyle Integrated Science and Engineering Group began their first ultrasound experiment — Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity (ADUM) — by developing exam techniques for use on the ISS.
The goal was for ISS crewmembers to collect high-quality ultrasound images to send to the Mission Control Center for analysis. NSBRI funded the ground portion of the research, while NASA supported the flight portion.
The researchers conducted 80 hours of ultrasound examinations on the ISS and then sifted through approximately 20,000 images and many hours of video collected during ISS Expeditions 8 through 12 to create the “space-normal” atlas.
Upshot for Earth
One of the first to be trained and to conduct an ultrasound exam in space was NASA Astronaut and ISS Expedition 10 Commander Dr. Leroy Chiao.
“We demonstrated on the International Space Station that even non-physicians can produce diagnostic-quality ultrasound images using remote guidance,” said former astronaut Chiao who is chairman of the NSBRI User Panel and a member of Baylor College of Medicine’s Center for Space Medicine.
So what’s the upshot of this space research for here on Earth?
For one, as in space, low costs and reduced-resource consumption make ultrasound an attractive option on Earth. But until recently, the lack of trained personnel has been an issue. Based on their research for NSBRI, Dulchavsky and his colleagues have spun off the techniques for terrestrial use and published The ICU Ultrasound Pocket Book – a reference guide for conducting examinations.
The techniques developed for space have now been incorporated in ultrasound training courses for all medical students, not just surgeons.
Also, the ultrasound imaging techniques are being used by athletic trainers for some professional sports teams and the United States Olympic Committee to get point-of-care rapid information about athletes’ injuries.
Under-served regions
However, it is rural locations, both inside and outside the United States, that stand to gain the most from the diagnostic ultrasound capabilities and telemedicine.
Dulchavsky has been collaborating with the World Interactive Network Focused on Critical UltraSound (WINFOCUS) to train individuals to use ultrasound techniques in under-served regions.
In addition to Dulchavsky’s work, the NSBRI Smart Medical Systems and Technology Team portfolio contains projects developing other innovative ultrasound technologies.
One such project is developing an ultrasound system to measure bone density and quality and accelerate fracture healing. Another project is developing a system for bloodless tumor removal, internal bleeding treatment and kidney stone reduction.
To check in on all the work underway at NSBRI, go to:
By LD/CSE