Aviation Medicine
Everything about Aviation Medicine
22/01/2024
https://www.innovas**ce.org/blog/microgravity-astronaut-health
Microgravity & Astronaut Health The effects of microgravity on astronaut health is a fascinating topic to study, according to physiotherapist Leonardo Pilatti, who is currently studying for a Master's degree in Space Medicine. Join him in his blog looking at how the microgravity of s**c
17/12/2023
17th December
Wright Brothers Day!
On the morning at 10:35 AM, 120 years back (1903), Wilbur and Orville Wright took turns piloting and monitoring their flying machine in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina.
Orville piloted the first flight that lasted just 12 seconds and 120 feet. On the fourth and final flight of the day, Wilbur traveled 852 feet, remaining airborne for 59 seconds.
That morning, the brothers became the first people to demonstrate sustained flight of a heavier-than-air machine under the complete control of the pilot.
17/12/2023
https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2023/12/15/pilots-mental-health-faa-certification/
Pilots hide mental health issues so they don’t ‘lose their wings’ Airline pilots say the FAA’s system for evaluating their mental health is ‘broken.’ Some hide or ignore problems to stay in the air.
17/09/2023
Airborne telemedicine:
Easier communication with medical experts on the ground when a passenger is sick or injured…
Coming soon: Airborne telemedicine Faster in-flight Wi-Fi is paving the way for airborne telemedicine during in-flight emergencies.
23/08/2023
Military pilots avoid health care, misrepresent and withhold health information from their flight surgeon at greater rates than civilian pilots out of fear they might lose their flying status.
Air Force and civilian medical experts surveyed 264 military pilots, one of the first attempts to scientifically analyze the widely-held belief that military pilots avoid health care, particularly mental health care, out of fear that certain medical conditions will take them off flight status.
Military Pilots Avoid Health Care to Keep Flying, Study Confirms Military pilots avoid health care or withhold information from their flight surgeon out of fear they might lose flying status, a study found.
22/08/2023
NASA Flight Surgeon is using Virtual Reality to teleport his presence onboard the s**ce station.
Hololens technology make it possible for providers to have a virtual exam and presence for patients that are remote, including outers**ce remote...
Augmented Reality Takes Agencies to Unexpected Places NASA, OSHA, VA and others expand their workplaces with the use of AR technology.
14/07/2023
Federal Aviation Administration on LinkedIn: Pilot Minute: What are some important safety considerations regarding… Pilots: Sunglasses do more than make you look cool, they help you fly safely in bright daylight. In this episode of the Pilot Minute, Federal Air Surgeon Dr…
17/04/2023
Pilots avoid designated healthcare and use private health facilities to keep flying… A dangerous trend worldwide!
Military Pilots Avoid Health Care to Keep Flying, Study Confirms Military pilots avoid health care or withhold information from their flight surgeon out of fear they might lose flying status, a study found.
Aircrews are always required to determine their own fitness to operate an aircraft prior to every flight. A surprising number of pilots don’t understand they have this responsibility even if they hold a periodic medical fitness certificate.
Many pilots incorporate the I’M SAFE checklist (Illness, Medication, Stress, Alcohol, Fatigue, and Emotion) into the go/no-go decision process. All pilots, including those who fly ultralights or operate drones, have an obligation to ensure that they are medically fit to fly before operating the controls as a required crew member...
21/08/2022
Fatigue factor?
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/pilots-fall-asleep-while-flying-at-37-000-feet-miss-landing-3268000
Pilots Fall Asleep At 37,000 Feet, Miss Landing Aviation analyst Alex Macheras also posted about the event on Twitter, calling it "deeply concerning". He also blamed pilot fatigue for it.
06/08/2022
Epinephrine auto-injectors should be standard in all Flight’s Emergency Medical Kits…
https://www.allergicliving.com/2022/08/02/anaphylaxis-over-ocean-md-finds-no-epinephrine-vial-in-plane-kit
Anaphylaxis Over Ocean: MD Finds No Epinephrine Vial in Plane's Kit Another doctor faces a food allergy emergency on an airplane. Once again, finding no epinephrine for anaphylaxis in the medical kit.
24/07/2022
Aircraft cabin pressurization briefly explained…
https://simpleflying-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/simpleflying.com/what-happens-when-an-aircraft-loses-cabin-pressurization/amp/
What Happens When An Aircraft Loses Cabin Pressurization? How do pilots and passengers respond in the event of a depressurization?
27/04/2022
https://www.s**ce.com/viruses-in-s**ce-astronaut-health-impacts
How do viruses affect astronauts in s**ce? Here's what we know so far. Even astronauts can't escape viruses, but we still don't know much about how these microbes might affect humans in s**ce.
01/03/2022
Pilot Maintenance-A key part of remaining physically healthy is an activity that is similar to the things we do to keep airplane mechanically sound:
constant monitoring and regular maintenance.
https://medium.com/faa/pilot-maintenance-1e83fa0288a7
Pilot Maintenance “Aeros**ce Medicine and You” Magazine Issue
20/01/2022
https://cnn.it/3IqRW4P?fbclid=IwAR0JJJVg5FP37v-ftUAnvPkdPumJiH29u5roT-fjMGaaPj7bW0OqJDWCwxo
American Airlines flight bound for London turns around mid-flight over mask rule compliance An airplane bound for London was turned around mid-flight after a mask-related disruption, the latest incident in a recent surge in unruly passenger incidents.
15/01/2022
A Canadian doctor helped to deliver a baby mid-flight, at 35,000 feet in the air Last month, a Qatar Airways jet landed with an extra passenger on board — a baby who was delivered by a Canadian doctor mid-flight.
14/01/2022
Aircraft passengers are twice or even three times more likely to catch Covid-19 Omicron variant during a flight since the emergence of the omicron variant, according to the top medical adviser to the world’s airlines association International Air Transport Association (IATA)
https://lnkd.in/eaDCXKTb
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Omicron May Double Risk of Getting Infected on Planes, IATA Says Aircraft passengers are twice or even three times more likely to catch Covid-19 during a flight since the emergence of the omicron variant, according to the top medical adviser to the world’s airlines.
06/11/2021
Australian medical flight service unveils electric air ambulance CareFlight partnered with AMSL Aero to develop the "Vertiia," an electric vertical take-off and landing medical aircraft with a cruising speed of 300 km (about 186 miles) per hour
06/11/2021
Does using the individual air vents (gaspers) on an airplane reduce your chances of catching COVID-19?
The existing research suggests that turning the gasper on does not have any significant impact on aerosol transmission risk and that air vents can continue to be used purely for individual comfort…
https://www-paddleyourownkanoo-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.paddleyourownkanoo.com/2021/10/08/does-using-the-air-vents-on-an-airplane-reduce-your-chances-of-catching-covid-19/amp/
Does Using the Air Vents On an Airplane Reduce Your Chances of Catching COVID-19? There’s no doubt that international air travel helped to quickly spread the virus that we would later refer to as COVID-19 in early 2020 to all four corners of the world. But what is the actual risk of catching COVID-19 on a plane from an infected seatmate and could using the individual air nozzle...
31/10/2021
15/09/2021
Pilots alarmed over Airbus plans for single-pilot aircraft Improvements in automation technology may soon eliminate the need for a co-pilot in commercial flights, a disruptive development that has already sparked criticism from pilots and cabin crew groups on safety grounds.
05/09/2021
The Air Force is fighting in-flight physiological issues but can’t end them, Pentagon watchdog says “All occupations have some hazards that cannot be eliminated.”
18/06/2021
The antisolar point is the center of the circle…. Viewers in aircraft can see circular rainbows, whereas viewers on the ground can only see the light reflected by raindrops above the horizon…
13/06/2021
Ceiling-mounted Covid infection detector developed by British scientists The sensor is being hailed as a potential boon for screening in aircraft cabins, classrooms, care homes and offices.
19/05/2021
Press Release Geneva – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) applauded the growing number of countries making data and evidence-driven decisions to open their borders to vaccinated travelers. The latest data collected by IATA, including its Timatic service, shows that more than 20 countries have w....
14/05/2021
"Of all the challenges of getting humans to Mars, the one we might be farthest from solving has nothing to do with rockets, habitats, or complex water filtration systems. The big problem we have to face up to is the limitations of the human body.
Our bodies are incredibly adaptive to different environments here on Earth, but not so much when it comes to the environment on other planets.
We spoke to two experts in s**ce medicine to learn about how you treat ill or injured patients in s**ce and what some of the big open questions are when it comes to the health of the astronauts we plan to send out into the solar system.
This article is part of Life On Mars, a 10-part series that explores the cutting-edge science and technology that will allow humans to occupy Mars
The body in s**ce
We already know a lot about how the human body reacts to s**ce missions thanks to two-plus decades of studies on the International Space Station (ISS). The microgravity environment there leads to a range of changes to the body, including bone loss, muscle atrophy, and the redistribution of fluids (when there’s no gravity to pull fluids down, they end up pooling in the upper part of the body), as well as other related issues like impaired vision. These symptoms appear in the typical tours of six months to one year that astronauts perform on the ISS, which is roughly comparable to the amount of time a mission would take to travel to Mars.
The good news is that researchers have found many ways to counteract these effects, such as the importance of several hours of daily exercise to prevent muscles from wasting away.
Filippo Castrucci, flight surgeon at the European Space Agency, told Digital Trends that a long-term s**ce flight such as a mission to Mars would be in many ways medically similar to a stay on the ISS. And that means we can be reasonably confident that astronauts would be able to travel to Mars without a health emergency occurring.
“In the 20 years of permanent ISS habitation, no health conditions requiring medical evacuation have presented to date on orbit,” he said, adding that this has been helped by the careful selection of astronauts who are at the peak of health and who are monitored for at least two years before being sent on a mission. “Therefore, the likelihood of a medical event occurring on a Mars mission, although possible, is low, as the current evidence on ISS shows.”
Doctors on board
However, a low chance of a medical emergency isn’t the same thing as no chance of an emergency. A Mars mission crew would have to be ready to deal with anything from common s**ce-related complaints to accidental injuries to unexpected illnesses.
Every astronaut is trained in basic medical skills, and within each crew there are typically at least two members who are given extra medical training to become Crew Medical Officers (CMOs). CMOs are trained to a level similar to paramedics, and are able to use medical supplies, distribute medication, and use a defibrillator.
However, Castrucci says that even well-trained CMOs might not be enough medical support for a Mars mission, so a longer s**ce mission would likely need trained doctors to travel as part of the crew.
“On travel to Mars with no evacuation possible, any emergency exceeding the current CMO capabilities may significantly reduce the patient chances for survival. Therefore, a physician-level capability is a requirement on extended mission away from [low-Earth orbit],” he said. “Two emergency care physicians, to ensure redundancy, with surgical and internal medicine skills should be part of the crew.”
Treating a medical emergency in s**ce
One of the challenges of treatment on a potential Mars mission is the communication delay between the crew and Earth. When astronauts are on the ISS, medical support can be provided in real time by doctors on the ground. But as a s**cecraft gets further away from Earth, communications are delayed more and more, with a delay of up to 20 minutes between Earth and Mars. That means a Mars crew would have to operate more autonomously in the event of an emergency, so support from the ground will come mostly in the form of preparations and instructions.
Procedural issues also arise when trying to use certain treatments in s**ce, so training has to be tailored to a microgravity environment.
Castrucci gave the example of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) maneuvers, which on Earth involve the patient being faceup on a hard surface so the rescuer can use their body weight to compress on the chest. That doesn’t work in microgravity, though.
In s**ce, craft must come equipped with special flat surfaces that are attached to the frame and to which an injured crew member can be secured. The rescuer has to secure themselves to the frame as well, so they can compress the chest without being pushed away. And they have to push harder as they can’t use their body weight in the chest compressions.
All of this makes CPR slower and harder to perform in s**ce than on the ground, and that’s just one example of how tricky s**ce medicine can be.
The challenges of Mars
These are the kinds of challenges that come up when treating a medical issue in s**ce, and they are mostly related to living in microgravity. Once astronauts reach Mars, they’ll get some gravity back – Mars gravity is around 40% that of Earth – but the planet will present new challenges of its own.
Mars is an extremely dusty environment and this could cause skin rashes and eye irritations, as well as respiratory irritation and congestion. That’s not to mention the fatigue, stress, and poor sleep that can be expected from a highly stressful mission, as well as the interplay between psychology and physical health.
But the really big problem on Mars is something invisible to the naked eye: Radiation. Here on Earth, our planet has a magnetosphere that protects us from radiation from cosmic rays and solar wind, but there’s no such thing on Mars. Exacerbating the problem is Mars’ thin atmosphere, which is only around 1% the density of
Earth’s atmosphere.
Previous missions to Mars, like the Mars Odyssey s**cecraft, have found radiation levels 2.5 times higher than those on the ISS. And there were times when radiation spiked (likely related to solar activity) to much higher levels that.
So how do you protect astronauts from this invisible threat?
The unseen danger of radiation
We know that being exposed to radiation puts people at a higher risk for cancer and degenerative diseases, and that it can damage the nervous system. It can also contribute to the development of medical conditions like cataracts or sterility. Just recently, doctors like Manon Meerman, a cardiovascular specialist investigating the health effects of radiation from long-term s**ce missions, have found that the heart and cardiovascular system can be sensitive to s**ce radiation as well.
Meerman told us that one of the worrying things about radiation exposure in s**ce is that we don’t know enough to confidently predict what the health effects would be. It’s unlikely that astronauts would get sick or die from it during a Mars mission, but in the long term, they would be at a higher risk for life-threatening medical conditions like cancer.
“If we eventually want to expand s**ce travel to the moon or to Mars, we really have to dive deeper into what the effects of that type of radiation are on the human body.”
The information we do have about radiation in s**ce beyond low-Earth orbit comes from a tiny sample: The very few people who have visited the moon, which doesn’t provide enough data to draw broad conclusions. We can gather more information from comparable sources such as patients who have been treated with radiotherapy or people who have been exposed to radiation in nuclear accidents like the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. But these can only provide a limited comparison.
That’s because there are two types of radiation to consider for a Mars mission: Firstly, there are galactic cosmic rays, which result in continuous exposure to penetrating ions. Secondly, there are also occasional and very powerful spikes in radiation caused by solar flares. When it comes to how each type of radiation will effect health in the long term, there’s a lot we simply don’t know.
“If we eventually want to expand s**ce travel to the moon or to Mars, we really have to dive deeper into what the effects of that type of radiation are on the human body,” Meerman said.
New research methods
With radiation being such a significant issue for s**ce travel, it’s a topic that has seen huge growth in research in recent years. As well as traditional research methods such as animal studies, one approach Meerman and others are working on is “organ on a chip” research. This involves building a chip containing lab-created cells to simulate the responses of a real human organ. This can be used for research into which studies would be dangerous or impossible to perform on a living person.
This is a big topic of research currently being performed on the ISS, with the hope that using this method can teach us more about how the s**ce environment affects human organs. In the future, it could be a promising avenue for research into s**ce radiation as well.
Another approach is to simulate s**ce radiation in labs here on Earth. Re-creating the radiation environment of s**ce isn’t easy, though, which is why special laboratories like NASA’s Space Radiation Lab, which uses a Heavy Ion Collider to simulate radiation, are so important.
How to protect astronauts from radiation
There are ideas and research about how to protect astronauts from s**ce radiation. Currently, s**ce agencies limit astronauts’ lifetime exposure to low levels that should not create undue risk. But for a mission to Mars, it would help to have more flexibility in terms of how long astronauts spend in s**ce.
The most practical approach to protecting astronauts’ health is the use of shielding, in which thick sheets of metal are used to stop radiation and keep astronauts safe. Shielding can be applied to a s**cecraft or a habitat, allowing astronauts to move freely inside, and there is also work being done on protective vests or suits that have built-in shielding should an astronaut need to move outside the safe environment.
The big drawback of shielding is that it’s very heavy, which is a problem for both launching a rocket with minimal mass, and for humans trying to move around while wearing a lot of extra weight.
Another approach is to look at drugs that could protect people from the effects of radiation, though we’re nowhere near having a pill that can keep astronauts safe. An issue Meerman raised is that even if we could create effective drugs on Earth, we don’t know how these drugs would work in the s**ce environment. The human body goes through so many changes in s**ce that the ways drugs are absorbed might be different, and we just don’t know enough to predict what this might look like.
One final area that could potentially help keep astronauts healthy is to find ways to boost their own natural immune systems, such as by including antioxidant-rich foods in their diet. This is a promising concept as it is much easier to implement than other solutions, though this research is very much in its early stages as well.
Too many unknowns
The big issue for medical doctors like Meerman is how many unknowns there are when it comes to the health of astronauts going to Mars. We just can’t say for sure what the long-term health effects of radiation exposure might be, and we also don’t have a sure way to protect astronauts from these potential effects yet.
So while we might be technologically ready to send people to Mars right now, there’s a question of the morality of making that choice while the medical research is still in its infancy. “We should ask ourselves if we are willing to travel to Mars without knowing the exact risks we’re exposing the astronauts to,” she said. “It’s more of an ethical question than a scientific one.”
Source:
https://www.digitaltrends.com/features/medicine-on-mars/
Medicine on Mars: How To Maintain Health on the Red Planet | Digital Trends The first human visitors that reach Mars will face countless health risks, and when something goes wrong, there won't be doctors around to help
04/05/2021
25/04/2021
Study Reveals Major Misconception About Travel Safety Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic - Worth Misconceptions leave travelers at risk.
21/04/2021
Perspective: “Vaccine Passport” Certification — Policy and Ethical Considerations.
Using Covid-19 vaccine passports to tailor restrictions has drawn staunch opposition based on several weighty concerns.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2104289
“Vaccine Passport” Certification — Policy and Ethical Considerations | NEJM Perspective from The New England Journal of Medicine — “Vaccine Passport” Certification — Policy and Ethical Considerations