The Future of
Medical Research is Now
Tomorrow's technology will examine: gender-based studies of the heart; ways to control blood pressure by bio-feedback and automatic "resets;" Telemedicine Instrumentation Packs for conducting physical examinations remotely; sending medical data over Internet lines; improved fetal monitoring and cardiac imaging; computer measurement of coronary artery disease from x-ray angiograms and ultrasound images; treating heart disease with microwaves; and creating drugs in the pure micro-gravity of space.
"If the past is our guide," Administrator Goldin said, "our
future in space will continue to advance medical science."
For more information on photodynamic therapy for cancer, contact Steve Roy at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, email him, or call Dr. Harry Whelan, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, at (414) 456-4090.
For more information on other medical advances evolving from the U.S. Space Program, visit the NASA Commercial Technology Network.
For information on clinical trials and other medical issues, see our e-gov links.
| Here are some examples of how NASA research has advanced the treatment and detection of heart disease. | |
| What NASA Was Researching | The Medical Spin-Off |
| Air-flows over aircraft at ultra-high speeds to create faster, safer airplanes | Blood Flow Modeling - - Greater understanding of human blood-flow through the heart that will lead to new designs for artificial heart pumps, valves, and even artificial hearts themselves, as well as knowledge that may uncover ways to prevent the formation of artery-clogging clots |
| Two-way communication technology with satellites | Advanced Pacemakers - - Self-adjusting pacemakers that respond automatically with an electrical stimulus to irregular heart rhythms and can be adjusted in the physician's office from outside the body |
| Blood analysis in space | Automatic Blood Analyzer - - A small device that rapidly separates and analyzes blood, now used in doctors' offices to quickly perform 80 to 100 different chemical blood tests from a single drop of blood in just five minutes |
| Monitoring astronaut heart rates in space | Exercise Equipment - - New devices that continually monitor the user's heart rate and set the machine's pace accordingly as prescribed by a doctor or certified trainer |
3/15/00
