Bringing ultrasound down to Earth
10 Aug 2011 by Evoluted New Media
Space bound technology regularly makes its way into our daily lives – more often than not we don’t realise it – and now new ultrasound tools developed in space could help those in remote areas on Earth.
Space bound technology regularly makes its way into our daily lives – more often than not we don’t realise it – and now new ultrasound tools developed in space could help those in remote areas on Earth.
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The training guide highlights the basics of ultrasound examination Credit Scott Dulchavsky |
There is not always a trained radiologist in orbit, and MRI and CAT scans are unavailable, so astronauts are forced to use ultrasound in situations they might not normally use it for. But astronauts are not trained physicians, and communicating with Earth is not always quick enough so scientists with the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) have created a catalogue of ‘space-normal’ imagery of the human body. They have also developed techniques to streamline training and aid non-physician astronauts to perform ultrasound exams.
Dr Scott A Dulchavsky and colleagues from NSBRI and NASA set about developing exam techniques for use on the ISS – they analysed 80 hours of ultrasound examinations and 20,000 images taken by ISS crewmembers as part of the Advanced Diagnostic Ultrasound in Microgravity (ADUM) experiment. They created a ‘space-normal’ atlas of the human body, developing an intuitive ultrasound guide to give astronauts a broader use of ultrasound.
“We demonstrated on the ISS that even non-physicians can produce diagnostic-quality ultrasound images using remote guidance,” said Dr Leroy Chiao, one of the first to be trained and to conduct an ultrasound exam in space. “These ultrasound exam techniques and atlas will be increasingly important as we venture farther and longer into space. Telemedicine using ultrasound will be an invaluable medical diagnostic tool.”
The level of skill needed to analyse the exam results depend on the purpose – diagnosing a broken bone is straight-forward said Dulchavsky, subtle changes in how the heart function in zero-gravity after six months requires considerably more expertise.
The team have also published The ICU Ultrasound Pocket Book – a reference guide for conducting examination on Earth. A lack of trained personnel means ultrasound training courses are now offered not only to surgeons but other medical students too.
It’s also hoped the techniques will be used in rural and remote locations inside and outside the US to offer affordable, immediate, accurate and portable imaging.
