The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has been developing and applying telemedicine to support space flight since the Agency’s beginning. Telemetry of physiological parameters from spacecraft to ground controllers is critical to assess the health status of humans in extreme and remote environments. Requisite systems to support medical care and maintain readiness will evolve as mission duration and complexity increase. Developing appropriate protocols and procedures to support multinational, multicultural missions is a key objective of this activity. NASA has created an Agency-wide strategic plan that focuses on the development and integration of technology into the health care delivery systems for space flight to meet these challenges. In order to evaluate technology and systems that can enhance inflight medical care and medical education, NASA has established and conducted several testbeds. Additionally, in June of 1997, NASA established a Commercial Space Center (CSC) for Medical Informatics and Technology Applications at Yale University School of Medicine. These testbeds and the CSC foster the leveraging of technology and resources between government, academia and industry to enhance health care. This commercial endeavor will influence both the delivery of health care in space and on the ground. To date, NASA’s activities in telemedicine have provided new ideas in the application of telecommunications and information systems to health care. NASA’s Spacebridge to Russia, an Internet-based telemedicine testbed, is one example of how telemedicine and medical education can be conducted using the Internet and its associated tools. Other NASA activities, including the development of a portable telemedicine workstation, which has been demonstrated on the Crow Indian Reservation and in the Texas Prison System, show promise in serving as significant adjuncts to the delivery of health care. As NASA continues to meet the challenges of space flight, the technologies adapted to support humans in extreme and remote environments, and the resultant protocols and procedures will further evolve the commercial practice of medicine and thereby enhance life on Earth.


    Access

    Check access

    Check availability in my library

    Order at Subito €


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    NASA’s telemedicine testbeds: Commercial benefit


    Contributors:

    Conference:

    Space technology and applications international forum - 1998 ; 1998 ; Albuquerque,New Mexico (USA)


    Published in:

    AIP Conference Proceedings ; 420 , 1 ; 829-834


    Publication date :

    1998-01-15


    Size :

    6 pages





    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English



    NASA's Telemedicine Testbeds: Commercial Benefit

    Doarn, C. R. / Whitten, R. / University of New Mexico; School of Engineering; Institute for Space and Nuclear Power Studies | British Library Conference Proceedings | 1998


    Status of NASA’s stellar astrometry testbeds for exoplanet detection: Science and technology overview

    Tuthill, Peter / Guyon, Olivier / Belikov, Ruslan et al. | NTRS | 2020


    Exploring the benefits of commercial robotic lander testbeds

    Ake, Colin / Scotkin, Joel / Masten, David | IEEE | 2012


    NASA's commercial space program

    Ott, Richard H. | NTRS | 1992


    NASA's commercial microgravity program

    OTT, RICHARD | AIAA | 1993