Assessment of efficiency in using telemedical technologies for getting information from the International Space Station (ISS) Russian crews for medical support of human space flights and information support of life science flight studies. Conduct of several experimental sessions onboard the ISS for filming Russian cosmonauts' dermal integument and mucous membrane.
APPROACH:
BIMS evaluates the skin and mucous membranes to see if there are changes over long-duration space missions. The cosmonauts will use video and digital photography to capture areas of skin, gums, nasal passages and the ear canal.
RESULTS:
Changes in the skin and mucous membranes, the body’s first line of defense against invaders, can signal health problems. This experiment evaluated whether support teams on the ground could use video and digital photographs of astronauts’ skin, gums, nasal passages and ear canals to monitor the health of those crewmembers while aboard the ISS. Results confirm that this approach could be a useful part of medical monitoring. Researchers were also able to analyze images of oral, ear, nose and throat tissues and create a databank of the results that will be useful to medical practitioners.