# Presentation: 840970

## AST Commercial Human Space Flight Biomedical Data Collection 

**Vernon McDonald, Ph.D. Wyle Laboratories**

**DOT Volpe Center Contract DTRT57-05-D-30103, **
**Task Order #6**

**Summary Presentation:**
**FAA/AST COMSTAC RLV Working Group**
**17 May 2007**

**AST Commercial Human Space Flight Biomedical Data Collection **

## Outline

**Participants/Contacts**
**Scope**
**Approach**
**Subtasks 1 – 3**
**Process**
**Findings**
**Recommendations**
**Recommended Next Steps**

## Scope

_**Scope**_**:  The Commercial Space Launch Amendments Act of 2004 requires that space flight participants be fully informed of the risks associated with commercial space flight operations.  The intent of this task was to assist the AST Commercial Human Space Flight Biomedical Data Collection Program in defining the risks required for disclosure to space flight participants and in proactively developing corrective actions to reduce such risks.**

## Subtasks

**Identify in-flight and ground biomedical parameters that will enable ****characterization of medical and biological effects experienced by the human body during spaceflight.**
**Identify in-flight and ground biomedical equipment and requirements necessary to ****monitor, measure and record the recommended parameters identified in Subtask 1. **
**Create a biomedical safety database, and identify the information technology ****equipment and requirements needed by AST to continuously analyze sensitive safety data generated from commercial space transportation activities.  Identify compatibility with importing existing NASA data. **

## What we did NOT do

**Did NOT address recommendations for medical standards to be used in certifying participants for the purpose of suborbital flight.  **
**Did NOT define any data acquisition requirements **
**It is assumed that implementation of these recommendations would be on a voluntary basis by the commercial human space flight industry.  **
**In addition, the recommendations made in this report consider biomedical monitoring of those individuals who are permitted to fly suborbital flights.  Consequently, one must assume that there will be a certain number of medical conditions that will not be seen in the suborbital flight participants, because operator medical qualification standards deem them to contraindicate suborbital space flight.**
**The recommendations, if followed, should result in a more complete understanding of the effects of suborbital flight on human physiology.**
**Were NOT asked to consider vehicle/environmental data acquisition recommendations**

## Approach

_**Goal**_**:  Identification and recommendation of specific biomedical data, equipment, and a database that will increase the knowledge and understanding of how short duration exposure to microgravity affects the human body**
_**Objective**_**: Recommend acquisition of biomedical parameters to characterize the cohort that is permitted to fly suborbital flights.**
_**Underlying Question**_**:  How widely can the window of acceptable health can be opened**** and still provide a safe spaceflight experience for passengers?**

## Approach (cont’d)

**Review existing spaceflight data to ascertain those medical events occurring during launch, the first few minutes of microgravity flight, and reentry.**
**Review planned G profiles of commercial suborbital reusable spaceflight vehicles, where available, to ascertain the most likely G profile anticipated for spaceflight passengers.**
**Review existing data from human centrifuge testing to identify those medical events occurring during G****x ****/ G****z**** profiles similar to those likely to be seen in commercial spacecraft.**
**Review demographics and anticipated medical history of individuals most likely to constitute the passengers for commercial suborbital spaceflight.**
**Develop matrix of potential health risks across various flight profiles.**

## Approach (cont’d)

**Based on these initial data reviews, as well as as our experience in supporting astronauts during training and spaceflight, identify those ground-based and in-flight biomedical parameters that will allow for characterization of the biomedical effects to be experienced by commercial suborbital spaceflight passengers.**
**Evaluate the capabilities of existing COTS/GOTS hardware used to monitor the identified biomedical parameters both in ground-based testing and in-flight monitoring.**
**Develop requirements for ground-based and in-flight monitoring equipment.**
**Compare existing equipment to the requirements and identify new equipment requirements, if any.**
**Identify operator requirements for use of the equipment.**

## Approach (cont’d)

_**Database requirements definition:**_
**Review existing databases used to record and analyze astronaut biomedical parameters.**
**Define requirements for a database suitable for commercial suborbital spaceflight passenger data:**
**Data elements**
**Confidentiality protection**
**Data analysis and comparison requirements**
**Identify information technology equipment requirements to assure compatibility with and importability from existing databases.**

## Subtask 1 - Process

***	***_***Identify in-flight and ground biomedical parameters that will enable ***__***characterization of medical and biological effects experienced by the human body during spaceflight.***_
**Identified medical conditions and environmental parameters of concern to support rationale for proposed biomedical parameters**
**Obtained information from space tourist operators about their vehicles’ G profile and cabin atmosphere parameters (limited information available)**
**Reviewed literature and military sources for data on centrifuge/high G tests on human subjects other than healthy, young fighter aircraft pilots – no research data found in populations similar to the space tourist population**
**Reviewed existing launch, in-flight, and landing medical and performance data from prior suborbital missions (Mercury, X15), **
**Reviewed data from orbital spaceflight launches for relevant medical data**

## Subtask 1 - Findings

**Limited human suborbital data**
**No significant physiological effects**
**No performance impairment**
**Astronaut population and centrifuge study participants generally young, healthy, and have already passed stringent medical standards**
**Commercial vehicle flight profiles are not generally available – assumed max of 4G-7G, predominantly x-axis (eyes in)**
**Factors likely impacting passenger health/comfort**
**G-loads**
**Cabin atmosphere (composition/pressure/temperature/humidity)**
**Thermal load**
**Dehydration**
**Multi-axis motion**
**Confinement**
**Anxiety**

## Subtask 1 – Findings (cont’d)

**Recommended systems of interest**
**Cardiac**
**Pre (+ centrifuge)**
**In**
**Post**
**Pulmonary**
**Pre (+ centrifuge)**
**In**
**Post**
**Musculoskeletal**
**Pre**
**Post**
**Neurovestibular**
**Pre**
**Post**

**Recommended systems of interest (cont’d)**
**Psychological**
**Pre**
**Post**
**Gastrointestinal**
**Pre**
**Post**
**Hematological**
**Pre**
**Post**
**Vehicle/environmental**
**In**

## Subtask 1 Recommendations

_**In sequential order:**_
**Perform and evaluate medical history and physical exam data**
**Design & perform client specific pre-flight testing protocol**
**Perform provocative pre-flight testing where required**
**Perform centrifuge testing on all clients**
**Design client specific post-flight testing protocol**
**Perform in-flight monitoring on all clients**
**Perform post-flight testing **

## Subtask 2 - Process

_***Identify in-flight and ground biomedical equipment and requirements necessary to ***__***monitor, measure and record the recommended parameters identified in Subtask 1.***__** **_
**Developed requirements driven by Subtask 1 and knowledge of the environment/use**
**Reviewed existing NASA equipment for biomedical monitoring**
**Reviewed COTS equipment for biomedical monitoring**
**Reviewed available R&D efforts in this area**

## Subtask 2 - Findings

_**Basic system requirements:**_
**Built-in power supply (no vehicle power needed)**
**Built-in data storage capability – minimum 3 hours**
**Include sensors for:**
**Pulse rate**
**Blood Pressure**
**Electrocardiogram, ECG (Frank electrodes or equivalent)**
**Oxygen saturation**
**Respiration rate**
**Portable (can be carried by participant)**
**Noninvasive**
**Technology Readiness Level  (TRL) 6-7**
**Recording Bandwidth: (ECG – 0.47 Hz to 40 Hz)**
**Analog-to-Digital (A/D) resolution: no less than 10 bits**

## Subtask 2 – Findings (cont’d)

_**Unknowns:**_
**No definitive design/concept of operations data are available for the commercial space flight vehicles. **
**Cannot define the operating environment **
**No timeline, procedures, or plan to instrument the space flight participants currently exists.  **
**The exact vehicle seating configuration, **
**Whether participants will be wearing a pressure suit, and to what degree participants will be able/allowed to leave their seat during the weightless portion of the flight.  **

**Without this information, it is challenging to identify a single ideal system compatible with the potentially diverse design and operating specifications.  Also, it is most certainly desirable to collect the data during flight in a manner similar to ground-based controls.**

## Subtask 2 – Findings (cont’d)

**Fully integrated patient monitoring systems**
**Good pedigree/proven technology**
**FDA approval**
**Not certified for suborbital flight environment**
**Limited flexibility**
**Wearable systems**
**Some flexibility**
**No/partial FDA approval**
**Still developing pedigree**
**Lower TRL**
**OEM system**
**Design specifically to meet requirements**
**Components FDA approved; system not**
**Requires design/development**
**Maximum flexibility**

## Subtask 3 - Process

_***Create a biomedical safety database, and identify the information technology ***__***equipment and requirements needed by AST to continuously analyze sensitive safety data generated from commercial space transportation activities.  Identify compatibility with importing existing NASA data.***_
**Reviewed NASA biomedical databases**
**Defined requirements for necessary IT infrastructure**
**Reviewed and prepared set of recommendations for hardware and software to support an FAA database for commercial space transportation biomedical data**

## Subtask 3 - Findings

**The main repositories of biomedical data pertaining to human space flight at NASA are:**
**The Electronic Medical Record (EMR) - astronaut digital health records in the Flight Medicine Clinic (supplemented by paper-based records)**
**The Longitudinal Study of Astronaut Health (LSAH)**
**The Life Sciences Data Archive (LSDA)**
**These principal digital repositories are supplemented by several other sources of medical data including:**
**The Clinical Laboratory Information System (CLIS)**
**The Private Medical Conference (PMC) database**
**Medical Assessment Test (MAT) results**
**Currently designing the Mission Medical Information System (MMIS)**

## Subtask 3 – Findings (cont’d)

**To maximize compatibility with relevant NASA biomedical data, recommend archiving commercial human space flight medical data in a manner consistent with the design of pertinent NASA databases.  **
**The two specific databases that are most relevant are :**
**LSAH database - represents the best source for comparative analyses of coded medical data.  **
**PMC database - To supplement the largely objective data elements of LSAH, we propose that the PMC database be used to capture verbal reports from space flight participants concerning their subjective health response during this experience, coupled with relevant mission operations data.**
**Need to comply with Federal and State regulations concerning medical data management and privacy.**

## Recent Progress

**Interest in pursuing implementation plan received from:**
**FAA/AST**
**FAA/CAMI**
**NASA **
**Operator**
**Developed “Value Proposition” white paper and shared with number of stakeholders**
**Based on a collaborative effort between NASA, FAA, and Operators (perhaps represented by the PSF) **

## Proposed Next Steps

**FAA &/or NASA secure funding for Phase 1 – Program Definition**
**Phase 1 – Program Definition**
**Negotiate Stakeholder Agreements**
**FAA/NASA MOU**
**PSF**
**Operators**
**Develop agreed to set of goals, requirements and deliverables**
**Develop detailed program plan, schedule and budget**
**Phase 2 - Development & Implementation**
**Phase 3 - Sustaining Operations**
**Develop milestones/decision points/metrics for program tracking**
**Develop criteria for providing authority to proceed**
**FAA & NASA secure funding to initiate Phase 2**
**Initiate Phase 2 - Development & Implementation**
**Review Phase 3 plan & revise if necessary based on current data**
**FAA & NASA secure funding to initiate Phase 3**
**Initiate Phase 3 - Sustaining Operations**

## BACKUP

## Contract Summary

_**Contract**_**:  DTRT57-05-D-30103, Task Order #6**
_**Subject**_**:  I****dentification and recommendation of specific biomedical data, equipment, and a database that will increase knowledge and understanding of how short duration exposure to microgravity affects the human body**
_**Purpose**_**:  To provide FAA/AST, through the Volpe Center, with technical support to ****the AST Commercial Human Space Flight Biomedical Data Collection Program in defining risks required for disclosure to space flight participants and in proactively developing corrective actions to reduce such risks**
_**Volpe Center COTR**_**: ****Ann R. DiMare**
_**Volpe Center CO**_**:  Elizabeth A. Segal**** **
_**FAA/AST Technical POC**_**:  Michelle S. Murray**
_**Wyle Laboratories Program Manager**_**:  Dr. P. ****Vernon McDonald**
_**Wyle Laboratories Principal Investigator**_**:  Dr. James M. Vanderploeg**
_**Aerospace Program Manager**_**:  Robert W. Seibold**
_**Aerospace Contracts Administrator**_**:  Debra K. Smith**

## Participants/Contacts

_**Aerospace Corporation Program Manager**_**:**
**Bob Seibold, (310) 336-1326, robert.w.seibold@aero.org**
_**Wyle Laboratories Program Manager**_**:**
**P. Vernon McDonald, Ph.D., (281) 212-1362, vmcdonald@wylehou.com**
_**Wyle Laboratories Principal Investigator**_**:**
**James Vanderploeg, M.D., (281) 212-1365, jvanderploeg@wylehou.com**
_**Wyle Laboratories Participants**_**:**
**Kieran Smart, M.D., (281) 212-1305, ksmart@wylehou.com**
**Doug Hamilton, M.D., (281) 212-1391, dhamilton@wylehou.com**
**Ulf Baldin, M.D., (210) 536-6357, ulf.balldin@brooks.af.mil**
_**University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB)**_**:**
**Richard T. Jennings, M.D., (409) 772-3458, rjenning@utmb.edu**