SBIR-STTR Award

Manned space operations present severe dangers to crew health. Conversely, space operations present severe impediments to delivery of emergency medical care. In order to establish an effective space-based medical care capability, procedures that facilitate the execution of complex medical procedures by non-medical personnel in emergency situations and under difficult operational conditions must be developed. Physiologically based medical patient simulation will be an essential tool for development and Test and Evaluation of such processes. METI proposes to evaluate and demonstrate the ability of the Human Patient Simulator (HPS), the world's leading physiology-based medical patient simulator, in this application. In Phase I, METI will: 1) Research potential medical emergencies of manned space operational environments; 2) Assess the ability of the HPS to simulate such emergencies; 3) Analyze one selected emergency in detail; 4) Simulate that emergency using the HPS; 5) Develop and refine a prototype procedure supporting medical care in such an emergency; 6) Evaluate the efficacy of the HPS as a tool in this overall process; 7) Analyze potential enhancements to the HPS to improve procedure development and, subsequently, train space crews In Phase II, METI will implement said enhancements, execute additional procedures and investigate simulation-based crew training. POTENTIAL COMMERCIAL APPLICATION(S) Many operational environments on Earth present challenges similar, while perhaps less severe, to those of manned space operations. Such challenges include restricted communications, limited resources, limited care provider qualifications, limited access to evacuation, etc. Operational environments presenting similar challenges include conventional military medical operations, military Special Operations, naval and maritime operations, offshore oil exploration, scientific exploration of remote areas (e.g. Antarctica), wilderness medicine and medical operations in under developed third world nations. The body of work proposed herein will evaluate and demonstrate the HPS's applicability to Test and Evaluation (T & E) in challenging operational environments, enhance the ability of the HPS to execute T & E (in Phase II) and both demonstrate and expand (in Phase II) the HPS's overall capability to train medical staff in challenging operational environments. These accomplishments will demonstrate, validate and/or improve the HPS's commercial potential in numerous markets and institutions. These include the US military, foreign militaries, third world nations, the World Health Organization and other organizations delivering health care in third world nations, commercial shipping enterprises, and the oil industry, among others.

As The Center of Excellence for Human Operations in Space seeks to expand the possibilities of space exploration, they have recognized the limitations when it comes to medical care. Small crews have mission critical skills, but receive little training and practice in emergency medical response. If a medical emergency were to occur, these crewmembers will have to handle the diagnosis and treatment under extremely stressful conditions. NASA has recognized that the use of physiological simulation models can aid in protocol and procedure development for emergency medical response.During PH 1, we showed that traditional medical treatment used on Earth may not always be transferable to a space environment. A number of physiological changes take place in space flight and these changes may have important effects on response to treatment. During PH 2, we will model these changes in human physiology using the Emergency Care Simulator. This will aid in both the teaching and learning of appropriate medical management of the most likely medical emergencies that may arise. The simulator will be modified to provide additional visual and audible cues to aid in the diagnosis of conditions, will allow for interaction with commonly used defibrillators and function in rugged environments.