Health
Cleveland Health Center Collaborates on Heart Monitor for Astronauts
On the space shuttle, astronauts can see splashes of Earth’s ocean blue, desert red and forest green all in a single glance out the window — a sight that can make anyone’s heart skip a beat.
In fact, there is evidence that astronauts in space experience slight variations in heart rhythms. But the breathtaking views might not be causing this problem; rather, the likely culprit is weightlessness.
As NASA prepares to send humans farther into space, researchers want to know how changes in heart rhythms affect an astronaut’s health. To find out, a team from NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland and the MetroHealth Medical Center has developed a method for doctors on Earth to monitor astronauts’ hearts in space.
Variations in the heart’s rhythm are called cardiac arrhythmias. If untreated, they can lead to chest pains, fainting or even sudden cardiac death. This type of heart attack is the most common cause of death in the United States.
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| Researchers will test this prototype of the heart monitoring system for ambulatory patients with arrhythmia symptoms. |
The heart-monitoring system will use an advanced electrocardiogram (EKG) pioneered at MetroHealth to amplify astronauts’ heart patterns and detect slight changes in rhythm during exercise stress tests. These subtle variations appear in 70 percent to 80 percent of patients at risk for cardiac arrhythmias.
Flight surgeons will be able to monitor astronauts’ heart rates from the ground using NASA’s award-winning Embedded Web Technology. This miniature server records the EKG and sends the information over the Internet, allowing the surgeons to see the heart data in real time on a standard Web browser.
Last summer, researchers tested the system on 15 people to make sure that it will work in the space environment.
“In low gravity, your heart actually floats inside your chest cavity,” says Michael Mackin, NASA’s chief engineer for the project. “We wanted to make sure that the EKG readings in space would be consistent with those on the ground.”
A team of Glenn and MetroHealth researchers conducted tests on the ground and on NASA’s K-135 low-gravity flight research aircraft. The plane flew up and down in about 45 hill-shaped maneuvers called parabolas. At the peak of each parabola, the test subjects experienced approximately 20 seconds of very low gravity similar to the weightlessness experienced on an orbiting spacecraft.
“We’re still evaluating the test results, but it appears that the system works in low gravity and the readings from the flight are consistent with the ones we took on the ground,” says Mackin.
Mackin hopes to use the new system on the international space station to determine whether long-term spaceflight affects the heart. This information is vital before NASA sends astronauts to Mars and beyond, trips that will last months, if not years.
This technology also may improve care for thousands of patients on Earth. The team will conduct clinical tests on the ground version of the system. This version includes a Global Positioning System to track a patient’s location. It will allow medical professionals to monitor outpatients with symptoms of arrhythmia in real time — something they have never been able to do. In an emergency, the hospital will know where to find the patient.
“Doctors will be able to check on their patients using any cell phone, handheld digital device, laptop or desktop computer with a Web browser,” says Mackin. “And patients with arrhythmia symptoms will be able to leave the hospital and go on with their days safely.”
According to Mackin, NASA’s Embedded Web Technology could help medical professionals monitor patients with diabetes, wounds, pulmonary problems and other conditions. It also has practical applications in everyday appliances.
“This technology can be used to control or monitor any device that contains a computer, software, input sensors and output actuators,” says Mackin. “In other words, you could use it with a car, DVD player, fax machine or kitchen appliances.”
Clearly, the heart-monitoring system is a marriage of two technologies with immeasurable potential. NASA’s Embedded Web Technology and MetroHealth’s advanced EKG could save countless lives on Earth and answer fundamental questions about human survival in space.
For more information, contact Laurel Stauber, Glenn Research Center, (216) 433-2820, Laurel.J.Stauber@nasa.gov.
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An interesting fact to stimulate the mind
What innovations stem from a battery-operated magnetometer system used to obtain samples from the lunar surface and subsurface for the study of Moon soil?
Cordless Tools
The Black & Decker Corporation, working with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, created a
lightweight, compact power drill with its own
independent power source to dig into the hard lunar surface. In the years following the Apollo Program, Black & Decker refined this spin-off technology and created entire lines of handy cordless tools for widely different industries. These cordless products now account for hundreds of millions of dollars in sales in America alone.
NASA Official: Janelle Turner • Web Design: Printing
& Design Office, NASA Headquarters • Credits