Medical Care in Microgravity

By Tina Beychok

One of the inevitable outcomes of longer-duration space missions is the eventual need to deal with medical emergencies that may require surgery. A major concern is how best to store necessary surgical equipment in microgravity. Additionally, human ergonomics becomes a bigger factor in the microgravity environment.

An article in the October 2001 issue of Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine examined three methods of restraining surgical instruments in microgravity. Researchers compared a surgical kit, a surgical restraint scrub suit and a surgical tray during parabolic flight surgical procedures.

The surgical restraint kit was found to have the best results. It was easily stored and deployed and had the greatest ability to facilitate medical procedures. The researchers concluded that several factors must be considered in looking at surgical restraint systems for spaceflight:

organization of supplies
ability to keep instruments sterile
accessibility
ergonomic efficiency
ability to dispose of biological waste products such as needles and swabs

Abstracts from the journal can be found online at: www.asma.org/Publications.

Tina Beychok is a medical editor and is married to OASIS president Steve Bartlett. When not working as a space activist, she teaches fencing at Renaissance Fairs and greatly enjoys allowing five-year-olds to poke holes in her.