Space Medicine Requirements open to Innovation in Biomedical Engineering

The International Space Medicine Summit II sought to identify mature data with significant clinical implications for Terrestrial populations. This work aims at identifying innovation in biomedical engineering (BE), involving space medicine and translation.

METHODS

Following PRISMA Guidelines, we sought to review the published literature and NASA technical resources (from 2012 to 2017) to identify space medical technology which has been translated for use by private costumers.

RESULTS

The analysis focuses on technical and medical requirements, human health and Terrestrial implication.

DISCUSSION

Innovation in BE arises from matching space medical requirements for developing autonomous medical systems.

SIGNIFICANCE

Highlighting the use and benefits of aerospace medical research for Terrestrial medical care.

Innovation in Medical Technology Driven by Advances in Aerospace

The International Space Medicine Summit II sought to identify mature data with significant clinical implications for Terrestrial populations. This work aims at identifying space medical technology which has been translated for use by private costumers, those in remote locations on Earth and areas affected by natural disasters.

METHODS

Following PRISMA Guidelines, we sought to review the published literature and NASA technical resources (from 2012 to 2017). Search terms used included "Medical AND Technology AND Diagnosis AND Monitor".

RESULTS

23 applications were identified of medical technology arisen from the Space industry. Of these, 5 were treatment based; 6 diagnostic; 10 medical measurement devices.

DISCUSSION

The Aerospace industry has provided a significant transfer in knowledge and technology which can improve our management of patients on Earth.

SIGNIFICANCE

Highlighting the use and benefits of Aerospace medical research for terrestrial medical care.

Electro-mechanical response of a 3D nerve bundle model to mechanical loads leading to axonal injury

Traumatic brain injuries and damage are major causes of death and disability. We propose a 3D fully coupled electro-mechanical model of a nerve bundle to investigate the electrophysiological impairments due to trauma at the cellular level. The coupling is based on a thermal analogy of the neural electrical activity by using the finite element software Abaqus CAE 6.13-3. The model includes a real-time coupling, modulated threshold for spiking activation, and independent alteration of the electrical properties for each 3-layer fibre within a nerve bundle as a function of strain. Results of the coupled electro-mechanical model are validated with previously published experimental results of damaged axons. Here, the cases of compression and tension are simulated to induce (mild, moderate, and severe) damage at the nerve membrane of a nerve bundle, made of 4 fibres. Changes in strain, stress distribution, and neural activity are investigated for myelinated and unmyelinated nerve fibres, by considering the cases of an intact and of a traumatised nerve membrane. A fully coupled electro-mechanical modelling approach is established to provide insights into crucial aspects of neural activity at the cellular level due to traumatic brain injury. One of the key findings is the 3D distribution of residual stresses and strains at the membrane of each fibre due to mechanically induced electrophysiological impairments, and its impact on signal transmission.

Electro-mechanical response of a 3D nerve bundle model to mechanical loads leading to axonal injury

Axonal damage is one of the most common pathological features of traumatic brain injury, leading to abnormalities in signal propagation for nervous systems. We present a 3D fully coupled electro-mechanical model of a nerve bundle, made with the finite element software Abaqus 6.13-3. The model includes a real-time coupling, modulated threshold for spiking activation and independent alteration of the electrical properties for each 3-layer fibre within the bundle. Compression and tension are simulated to induce damage at the nerve membrane. Changes in strain, stress distribution and neural activity are investigated for myelinated and unmyelinated nerve fibres, by considering the cases of an intact and of a traumatized nerve membrane. Results show greater changes in transmitting action potential in the myelinated fibre.

Thermo-electrical equivalents for simulating the electro-mechanical behavior of biological tissue

Equivalence is one of most popular techniques to simulate the behavior of systems governed by the same type of differential equation. In this case, a thermo-electrical equivalence is considered as a method for modelling the inter-dependence of electrical and mechanical phenomena in biological tissue. We seek to assess this approach for multi-scale models (from micro-structure to tissue scale) of biological media, such as nerve cells and cardiac tissue, in which the electrical charge distribution is modelled as a heat distribution in an equivalent thermal system. This procedure allows for the reduction in problem complexity and it facilitates the coupling of electrical and mechanical phenomena in an efficient and practical way. Although the findings of this analysis are mainly addressed towards the electro-mechanics of tissue within the biomedical domain, the same approach could be used in other studies in which a coupled finite element analysis is required.