Human Factors and ISS Medical Systems: Highlights of Procedures and Equipment Findings

As part of the Space Human Factors Engineering Critical Questions Roadmap, a three year Technology Development Project (TDP) was funded by NASA Headquarters to examine emergency medical procedures on ISS. The overall aim of the emergency medical procedures project was to determine the human factors issues in the procedures, training, communications and equipment, and to recommend solutions that will improve the survival rate of crewmembers in the event of a medical emergency. Currently, each ISS crew remains on orbit for six month intervals. As there is not standing requirement for a physician crewmember, during such time, the maintenance of crew health is dependant on individual crewmembers. Further, in the event of an emergency, crew will need to provide prolonged maintenance care, as well as emergency treatment, to an injured crewmember while awaiting transport to Earth. In addition to the isolation of the crew, medical procedures must be carried out within the further limitations imposed by the physical environment of the space station. For example, in order to administer care on ISS without the benefit of gravity, the Crew Medical Officers (CMOs) must restrain the equipment required to perform the task, restrain the injured crewmember, and finally, restrain themselves. Both the physical environment and the physical space available further limit the technology that can be used onboard. Equipment must be compact, yet able to withstand high levels of radiation and function without gravity. The focus here is to highlight the human factors impacts from our three year project involving the procedures and equipment areas that have been investigated and provided valuable to ISS and provide groundwork for human factors requirements for medical applications for exploration missions

Mechanisms of Injury and Countermeasures for EVA Associated Upper Extremity Medical Issues: Extended Vent Tube Study

The goal of this study is to determine the role that moisture plays in the injury to the fingers and fingernails during EVA training operations in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory. Current Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU, with a PLSS) as configured in the NBL was used for all testing and a vent tube was extended down a single arm of the crewmember during the test; vent tube was moved between left and right arm to serve as experimental condition being investigated and the other arm served as control condition

Risk Reduction and Measures of Injury for EVA Associated Upper Extremity Medical Issues: Extended Vent Tube Study

During Neutral Buoyancy Lab (NBL) training sessions, a large amount of moisture accumulates in the EVA gloves. The glove design restricts the extension of the EVA suit s ventilation/cooling system to the hand. Subungual redness and fingernail pain develops for many astronauts following their NBL training sessions with subsequent oncholysis occurring over succeeding weeks. Various attempts have been made to reduce or avoid this problem. The causal role of moisture has yet to be defined. Methods: To determine the contribution that moisture plays in the injury to the fingers and fingernails during EVA training operations in NBL, the current Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), with a Portable Life Support System (PLSS) was configured with a ventilation tube that extended down a single arm of the crewmember during the test and compared with the unventilated contralateral arm; with the ventilated hand serving as the experimental condition (E) and the opposite arm as the control (C). A cross-over design was used with opposite handedness for the vent tube on a subsequent NBL training run. Moisture content measures were conducted at six points on each hand with three types of moisture meters. A questionnaire was administered to determine subjective thermal hand discomfort, skin moisture perception, and hand and nail discomfort. Photographs and video were recorded. Measures were applied to six astronauts pre- and post-run in the NBL. Results: The consistent trends in relative hydration ratios at the dorsum, from 3.34 for C to 2.11 for E, and first ring finger joint locations, from 2.46 for C to 1.96 for E, indicated the extended vent tube promoted skin drying. The experimental treatment appeared to be more effective on the left hand versus the right hand, implying an interaction with hand anthropometry and glove fit. Video analyses differentiated fine and gross motor training tasks during runs and will be discussed. Conclusions: This potential countermeasure was effective in reducing the risks of hand and nail discomfort symptoms from moderate to low in two of six subjects. Improved design in the ventilation pattern of such a countermeasure is expected to improve the countermeasure s efficiency

Weekly Salivary Biomarkers across a Season for Elite Men Collegiate Basketball Players

International Journal of Exercise Science 11(6): 439-451, 2018. The purpose of this study was to monitor weekly the salivary free testosterone (FT), cortisol (C), and the FT/C ratio in elite men NCAA Division I basketball athletes across an entire season. Twelve athletes gave salivary samples for 30 consecutive weeks, beginning in the pre-season and ending one week after the end of post-season competition. Samples were assayed for FT and C. Additionally, a composite value (CBD) composed of Z-scores for weekly practice minutes, game minutes, resistance training repetitions, academic demands, and travel schedules was determined. One-way RM ANOVAs were used to determine which weekly values were different (a=.05) from the season mean. For FT, 10 weeks were different from the season average (5.1 nmol/L). For C, 11 weeks were different from the season mean (9.0 nmol/L). For FT/C, weeks 7 (p=.007), 17 (p=.007), and 25 (p=.005) were different from the season mean (FT/C=0.69). During Wk7, at the start of regular season play, FT/C was above, while CBD was below the season means. During Wk17, which was leading into a series of important conference games, FT/C was below, while CBD was not different from season means. During Wk25, which was one week before the conference tournament, FT/C was below, while CBD was above season means. The methods of this study can be used for monitoring athlete responses and adaptations to sport-specific training and competition; specifically, for evaluating responses to challenging pre-season training, recovery for regular season play, and how they physiologically cope with the competitive season

Concurrent Sessions A: Passage Effectiveness Monitoring in Small Streams I - Alternatives to Direct Detection for Assessing the Effectiveness of Aquatic Organism Passage

Direct detection of individuals is often considered the most reliable indicator of the effectiveness of aquatic organism passage efforts, but given spatial and temporal variation in movement along with other logistical constraints this detection can be difficult and expensive to obtain, with a high probability of false negatives (concluding no passage when passage is possible). However, the ultimate goal of these projects is to restore population connectivity and increase population resilience. Therefore, we expect that effective aquatic organism passage should be manifest in predictable changes in abundance and genetic structure, which can at the same time serve as indicators of individual movement. Towards this goal we focused on two approaches. First, we used patterns of abundance and diversity above and below road crossings to test whether these patterns could be used to infer passage and connectivity. Second we took advantage of the discrete spawning location strategy used by most stream-dwelling species combined with new tools to assess local genetic structure (via parentage and sibling assignment) to determine whether relatedness structure was consistent with movement and successful dispersal across a potential barrier. For each of these approaches we employed two methods 1) simulation models which define sensitivity, power, and accuracy and 2) field applications which directly test performance. These approaches have been rigorously evaluated in simulations and successfully tested in the field in several locations in the northeastern US and these efforts have helped to define which species, which situations, and which sampling regimes where these techniques will and will not be effective. We are currently working to incorporating these models into assessment frameworks at both site and landscape scales