NSBRI Industry Insider

In space, diagnosis and management of health problems can be difficult. On many missions, there is no physician on board. Even when a physician is present, the problem at hand may not fall within his or her area of specialty.

Over the past decade Dr. Scott A. Dulchavsky has developed a program of ultrasound training and remote guidance that allow ISS astronauts to assess conditions as diverse as fractured bones, collapsed lungs, kidney stones, organ damage and tendon injury.

The techniques and training are now being used in sports medicine by non-physician athletic trainers for the Detroit Red Wings, Detroit Lions, and Detroit Tigers, allowing them to assess the extent of player injuries during the course of a game. The capabilities were later extended for use during the Olympic Games in Turino, Beijing, and Vancouver.

Dr. Scott Dulchavsky training astronaut Dr. Leroy Chiao to perform ultrasound exams.

The quality of Dr. Dulchavsky's program is exemplary. His ultrasound training program is now required for surgical residents in the U.S. In addition to its current sports medicine applications, it is also being used to improve maternal and fetal care in under-served regions world-wide.

The implications for pairing basic ultrasound training with video streaming technology are far-reaching. Compact, lightweight, and relatively low cost, ultrasound can now be effectively used for triage and diagnostics in ICUs, ambulances, and medical facilities in rural areas, developing countries or other remote medical environments including space.