Jules Verne Forum

<jvf@Gilead.org.il>

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec 19961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009

("NEMO") Undersea Habitat Becomes Experimental Hospital Bed for NEEMO 7

From: David Merchant <merchant~at~LATECH.EDU>
Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2004 15:30:04 -0500
Resent-From: <merchant~at~LATECH.EDU>
To: "Jules Verne Forum" <jvf~at~math.technion.ac.il>
Resent-Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2004 15:30:05 -0500 (CDT)

PRESS RELEASE
Date Released: Thursday, August 12, 2004
Source: Johnson Space Center
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=14801

Undersea Habitat Becomes Experimental Hospital Bed for NEEMO 7

The days of doctors making house calls may seem like ancient history for
most patients in North America, but in October, three astronauts and a
Canadian doctor will test the latest concepts in long-distance house calls
using a unique underwater laboratory.

The ability to conduct long-distance health care such as telemonitoring and
telerobotic surgery could be key to maintaining the wellness of future
spacefarers and responding to medical emergencies on the International
Space Station, the moon or Mars. Techniques will be tested on a simulated
patient during the upcoming seventh mission of the NASA Extreme Environment
Mission Operations (NEEMO) project.

Canadian Astronaut Dave Williams will lead a crew on the 10- day undersea
mission October 11-20 aboard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration's (NOAA) Aquarius Underwater Laboratory, located off the
coast of Key Largo, Fla.

"Astronauts navigating between planets won't be able to turn around and
come home when someone gets sick, and this undersea mission will help chart
a course for long-distance healing," said NEEMO Project Manager Bill Todd.
"Aquarius, with its physical and psychological isolation on the floor of
the Atlantic, will provide the real stresses needed to validate
telemedicine in an extreme environment," he added

NASA Astronauts Mike Barratt and Cady Coleman, as well as Dr. Craig
McKinley of the Centre for Minimal Access Surgery at St. Joseph's
Healthcare Hamilton, Ontario, will join Williams in the experiment.
Williams, Barratt, and McKinley are physicians. Air Force Lt. Col. Coleman
holds a Ph.D. in engineering. Two other engineers, James Talacek and Ross
Hein of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, will work
side-by-side with the crew in Aquarius.

According to Dr. Mehran Anvari, director of the Centre for Minimal Access
Surgery at St. Joseph's Healthcare, NEEMO 7 will demonstrate and evaluate
innovative technologies and procedures for remote surgery. Anvari, who will
be based in Hamilton during the mission, will use two-way telecommunication
links to guide the aquanauts through diagnosis and surgery on a mock
patient inside Aquarius. Another simulation will involve virtual reality
control technology to guide telerobotic surgery on the mock patient.

Similar in size to the International Space Station's living quarters,
Aquarius is the world's only permanent underwater habitat and research
laboratory. The 45-foot long, 13-foot diameter complex is three miles off
Key Largo in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. It rests about 62
feet beneath the surface.

A buoy on the surface provides power, life support and communications
capabilities for Aquarius. A shore-based mission control for the Aquarius
laboratory in Florida and a control room at NASA's Johnson Space Center
(JSC), Houston, known as the Exploration Planning Operations Center, will
monitor the crew's activities.

Aquarius is owned by NOAA, operated by University of North Carolina at
Wilmington, and funded by NOAA's Undersea Research Program. The NEEMO
missions are a cooperative project between NASA, NOAA and the University.

Reporters interested in interviewing the NEEMO 7 crewmembers during their
mission should contact the JSC newsroom at 281/483-5111.

For additional information about the NEEMO project on the Internet, visit:

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/support/training/neemo/neemo7/

For additional information about Aquarius on the Internet, visit:

http://www.uncw.edu/aquarius/
Received on Wed 18 Aug 2004 - 00:32:13 IDT

JV.Gilead.org.il
Copyright © Zvi Har’El
$Date: 2009/02/01 22:36:11 $$