Spacesuit torso closure

A simple, economical and reliable entry closure is described for joining opposite halves of a torso section for a pressure suit in a manner which simplifies self-donning. A single coupling joins coaxially aligned, axially separable, tubular segments of a hard spacesuit along an angulated zone of separation, adapted to be mated in an hermetrically sealing relation. A releasable C section clamp secures the members in their mated relationship

Cooling system for removing metabolic heat from an hermetically sealed spacesuit

An improved cooling and ventilating system is described for removing metabolic heat, waste gases and water vapor generated by a wearer of an hermetically sealed spacesuit. The cooling system was characterized by a body suit, having a first circuit for simultaneously establishing a cooling flow of water through the thorax and head sections of the body suit. Circulation patches were included mounted in the thorax section and head section of the body suit. A second circuit for discharing a flow of gas throughout the spacesuit and a disconnect unit for coupling the circuits with a life support system externally related to the spacesuit were provided

Development of a prototype automatic controller for liquid cooling garment inlet temperature

The development of a computer control of a liquid cooled garment (LCG) inlet temperature is descirbed. An adaptive model of the LCG is used to predict the heat-removal rates for various inlet temperatures. An experimental system that contains a microcomputer was constructed. The LCG inlet and outlet temperatures and the heat exchanger outlet temperature form the inputs to the computer. The adaptive model prediction method of control is successful during tests where the inlet temperature is automatically chosen by the computer. It is concluded that the program can be implemented in a microprocessor of a size that is practical for a life support back-pack

High pressure space suit assembly

An effort is underway to incorporate advanced suit and LSS components into a functional suit in order to assess the performance of these components. A brief description of the suit configuration is presented

Physiologic and Functional Responses of MS Patients to Body Cooling Using Commercially Available Cooling Garments

Personal cooling systems are widely used in industrial and aerospace environments to alleviate thermal stress. Increasingly they are also used by heat sensitive multiple sclerosis (HSMS) patients to relieve symptoms and improve quality of life. There are a variety of cooling systems commercially available to the MS community. However, little information is available regarding the comparative physiological changes produced by routine operation of these various systems. The objective of this study was to document and compare the patient response to two passive cooling vests and one active cooling garment. The Life Enhancement Technology, Inc. (LET) lightweight active cooling vest with cap, the MicroClimate Systems (MCS) Change of Phase garment, and the Steele Vest were each used to cool 13 male and 13 female MS subjects (31 to 67 yr.) in this study. The subjects, seated in an upright position at normal room temperature (approximately 22 C), were tested with one of the cooling garments. Oral, fight and left ear temperatures were logged manually every 5 min. An-n, leg, chest and rectal temperatures; heart rate; and respiration were recorded continuously on a U.F.I., Inc. Biolog ambulatory monitor. Each subject was given a series of subjective and objective evaluation tests before and after cooling. The LET and Steele vests test groups had similar, significant (P less than 0.01) cooling effects on oral and ear canal temperature, which decreased approximately 0.4 C, and 0.3 C, respectively. Core temperature increased (N.S.) with all three vests during cooling. The LET vest produced the coldest (P less than 0.01) skin temperature. Overall, the LET vest provided the most improvement on subjective and objective performance measures. These results show that the garment configurations tested do not elicit a similar thermal response in all MS patients. Cooling with the LET active garment configuration resulted in the lowest body temperatures for the MS subjects; cooling with the MCS vest was least effective. For functional responses, the LET test group performed better than the other two vests

EEG Analysis of the Effects of Therapeutic Cooling on the Cognitive Performance of Multiple Sclerosis Patients

The objective of this project was to determine whether a controlled period of head and torso cooling would enhance the cognitive performance of multiple sclerosis patients. Nineteen MS patients (11 men and 8 women) participated in the study. Control data were taken from nineteen healthy volunteers (12 men and 7 women). All but six of nineteen MS patients tested improved their cognitive performance, as measured by their scores on the Rao test battery. A second objective was to gain insight into the neurological effects of cooling. Visual evoked potentials (VEPs) stimulated by a reversing checkerboard pattern were recorded before and after cooling. We found that cooling selectively benefited the cognitive performance of those MS patients whose pre-cooling VEPs were abnormally shaped (which is an indication of visual pathway impairment due to demyelinization). Moreover, for female MS patients, the degree of cognitive performance improvement following cooling was correlated with a change in the shape of their VEPs toward a more normal shape following cooling