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Image Gallery
The Image Gallery is a photo collection of NSBRI researchers and their projects. |
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Musculoskeletal Alterations |
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| To aid the design of equipment and learn more about the efficacy of exercise in space, a vertical, floating treadmill simulates astronaut exercise on Earth. (Photo by NASA.) |  |
| Investigators evaluate autoradiographs to determine if antioxidant compounds will be potential treatments for impaired muscle function. (Photo by John Glowczwski.) |  |
| Zoledronate, a drug used to treat osteoporosis, is being administered to see if the medication can inhibit bone loss in spinal cord injury patients. Astronauts and paraplegic patients experience bone loss in the same areas - the lower trunk and legs. (Photo by John Glowczwski.) |  |
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Fluorescent labeling allows researchers to determine how rapidly bone
recovers from near weightlessness. Based on the results, various exercise
and drug strategies to accelerate bone recovery will be designed.
(Photo by Jean Wulfson.)
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Cardiovascular Alterations | |
| To preserve astronaut health on long missions, NSBRI is researching the benefits of rowing as part of an exercise program to counteract space-related heart, lung, muscle and bone problems. (Photo courtesy of University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.) |  |
| For five weeks, participants lie at a six-degree angle and leave the bed only when performing exercise training. In this position, subjects show physiologic changes similar to those expressed by astronauts in microgravity for long periods. (Photo courtesy of UT Southwestern.) |  |
| Dr. Benjamin D. Levine is team leader for NSBRI's Cardiovascular Alterations Team, professor of medicine and director of the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine, a collaboration between University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas. (Photo courtesy of UT Southwestern.) |  |
| Bed rest, with the subject's head slightly lower than the feet, is used to simulate weightlessness and study its effects on the cardiovascular system. (Photo by John Glowczwski.) |  |
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Human Factors and Performance |
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| Certain wavelengths in the blue portion of the visible specturm alter melatonin production, affecting the human circadian pacemaker. "Blue light" lamps represent a potential in-flight countermeasure for adaptation to shifts in sleep cycle required by astronauts during spaceflight. On Earth, lighting countermeasures develped for spaceflight can be modified for therapeutic or architectural applications and to facilitate adaptation to shift work. (Photo by Kris Snibbe/Harvard News Office.) |  |
| An instrumented vest and cap monitor breathing and record brain waves during sleep studies. (Photo by John Glowczwski.) |  |
| Researchers are studying various sleep and nap schedules to prevent the effects of chronic sleep loss experienced by astronauts during missions. Chronically reduced sleep impairs thought processes and slows reaction times. (Photo by Daniel Burke.) |  |
| An amino acid and carbohydrate supplement is being studied to determine its value as a nutritional countermeasure to muscle loss during a bed-rest study. (Photo by John Glowczwski.) |  |
| Researchers study how radiation affects colon cancer and whether a diet high in fish oil and fiber can reduce risk or occurrence. (Photo by John Glowczwski.) |  |
Dr. Kim Prisk and Dr. Chantal Darquenne (left) measure aerosol deposition in Jeff Struthers’ lungs during a lunar gravity portion of a Reduced Gravity Flight for an experiment funded by the National Space Biomedical Research Institute. Prisk’s research team is seeking to determine how moon dust acts in the human lungs and its health risks to astronauts. Prisk is the experiment’s principal investigator and Darquenne is a co-investigator. The flights simulate micro- and reduced gravity during a series of steep climbs and descents over the Gulf of Mexico. (Courtesy of Kim Prisk, Ph.D., D.Sc.) |
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Dr. Chantal Darquenne (left) and Mark Olfert measure aerosol deposition in Janelle Fine’s lungs during a lunar gravity portion of a Reduced Gravity Flight for an experiment funded by the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI). Darquenne is a co-investigator on this NSBRI experiment, which is seeking to determine how moon dust acts in the human lungs and its health risks to astronauts. The experiment’s principal investigator is Dr. Kim Prisk. The flights simulate micro- and reduced gravity during a series of steep climbs and descents over the Gulf of Mexico. (Photo by NASA.) |
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Neurobehavioral and Psychosocial Factors |
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National Space Biomedical Research Institute scientists Dr. James Cartreine (left) and Dr. Jay Buckey conduct a test run of a treatment program on the Virtual Space Station. The multi-media system will assist astronauts in recognizing and effectively managing depression and other psychosocial problems, which can pose a substantial threat to crew safety and mission operations during long-duration spaceflights. (Courtesy of James Cartreine, Ph.D.) |
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| NEEMO 13 aquanaut, astronaut Richard Arnold, performs the Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT), a three-minute test which measures vigilance, attention and psychomotor speed. The PVT is taken at least four times a day — on waking, before and after simulated moon walks, dives and habitat experiments, and before bed. (Photo by NASA.) |  |
| During NEEMO 12, veteran astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper is shown with a Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT) device. Also visible on the table is a clear bag for the daily saliva samples, which are used to measure cortisol, a hormone that provides information on stress levels. (Photo by NASA.) |  |
| Near-infrared spectroscopy and functional MRI are being used to validate an imaging cap that will allow remote assessment of brain function. A simulated space-docking task will be used to assess performance during high-level tasks. (Photo by L. Barry Hetherington.) |  |
| Researchers use radio voice transmissions from Mt. Everest climbers to characterize subtle changes in speech that occur when the brain is deprived of oxygen. Because cosmic rays could produce the same effect on the brain that low oxygen produces, the investigators are developing a system using speech recognition to monitor cognition, comprehension and possible personality alterations such as apathy or irritability. (Photo by Philip Lieberman, Ph.D.) |  |
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Radiation Effects |
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| Investigators study promising cancer chemopreventitive agents that could prevent some of the long-term effects of radiation astronauts may encounter during long missions. (Photo by John Glowczwski.) |  |
| The electronic output module held by Vincent L. Pisacane, Ph.D., collects information from sensors housed in various locations within the spacecraft. The microdosimeter will use the measurements to directly estimate radiation risk. (Photo by James T. VanRensselaer.) |  |
| The microdosimeter instrument consists of small sensors connected to an electronics board, shown here without the casing. Spacesuits integrated with this technology can warn astronauts at the onset of an elevated exposure event, assess risk, and help crews determine safe locations during these periods. (Photo by James T. VanRensselaer.) |  |
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Sensorimotor Adaptation |
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| The MIT Remote Manipulation System Simulator is being used to develop more efficient astronaut training for robotic system operations. (Photo by L. Barry Hetherington.) |  |
| Astronauts may learn how to get their bearings in space through a virtual-reality-based training program. (Photo by John Glowczwski.) |  |
Lead investigator Ron Small analyzes data for a National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) project to develop a system that will help astronaut pilots in real-time to overcome the effects of spatial disorientation. The system will also have benefits for military, general aviation and helicopter pilots. Small is a principal system engineer at Alion Science and Technology Corp., in Boulder, Colo., and a member of the NSBRI Sensorimotor Adaptation Team. (Photo by Carmel Zucker.) |
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| The artificial-gravity centrifuge helps astronauts dual-adapt to rotating and non-rotating environments. (Photo by John Glowczwski.) | 
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| Monitoring a test subject's vital signs, head- and eye-movements and verbal accounts of orientation-illusions and well-being are key aspects of each artificial-gravity centrifuge test. (Photo by John Glowczwski.) |  |
| An in-flight treadmill training program under development by the National Space Biomedical Research Institute and NASA will help astronauts readapt to gravity after long periods of weightlessness. (Photo by NASA.) |  |
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Smart Medical Systems and Technology |
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This slide within the Onboard Proficiency Enhancement training program instructs an ultrasound operator on correct cardiac scanning position. The training guide highlights the basics of ultrasound examination such as probe positioning, the location of the organ within the body, the size and structure of the organ, and what the correct ultrasound image should look like on the monitor.
(Courtesy of Scott Dulchavsky, M.D., Ph.D.)
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| Scott A. Dulchavsky, M.D., Ph.D., views a laparoscopic image of a surgical procedure being performed remotely by a non-physician on the NASA Microgravity Research Facility. He uses just-in-time training, combined with voice commands, to guide a minimally trained operator to perform complex procedures in space or on the ground. (Photo by NASA.) |  |
| A portable, ultrasound device is being developed that could one day be used to find and treat ailments using non-invasive surgical treatments. The device generates heat inside the body with pinpoint accuracy to stop bleeding or kill unwanted tissue such as tumors. (Photo by Kathy Sauber.) |
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Investigators are developing a sensor system that will measure blood and
tissue chemistry with no need for blood draws or incisions.
(Photo by L. Barry Hetherington.)
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| Medical Operational Support Team members refer to the International Space Station Integrated Medical Checklist and solicit ground support for an airway procedure during a human patient simulator session. The simulator will enhance training for medical emergencies in space. It is a joint project of the National Space Biomedical Research Institute, NASA Johnson Space Center and its support contractor, Wyle Laboratories. (Photo by NASA.) |  |
| A neutron spectrometer, currently being readied for flight, will measure the neutron radiation exposure astronauts receive. (Photo by John Glowczwski.) |  |
| The lab-on-a-chip is a miniaturized, portable version of a blood-count machine. On long missions, astronauts will need the ability to analyze blood samples in real-time to diagnose infection, allergies, anemia or deficiencies in the immune system. (Courtesy of Yu-Chong Tai, Ph.D.) |  |
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