Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




SPACE MEDICINE
UNL Microgravity Team develops pill to be used to monitor astronauts' vitals
by Colleen Fell for the Daily Nebraskan
Lincoln NE (SPX) Mar 06, 2014


Piotr Slawinski with the pill.

The Microgravity Team at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is making strides in producing technology to aid in the health of astronauts - and NASA is taking notice.

The team, which is a part of UNL's College of Engineering, has been working on a non-invasive method of detecting and monitoring human vitals by means of a swallowable pill. Astronauts are currently required to wear a series of cables and wires, which limit their mobility. A team of eight plans to test the pill in May at NASA's Microgravity University in Houston to see how it holds up in a weightless setting.

Piotr Slawinski, leader of the microgravity team, said research for the project began about two years ago when he was an undergraduate student at UNL.

"I had been working on the project with Professor (Ben) Terry for a long time," said Slawinski, a mechanical engineering and applied mechanics graduate student. "We realized one of its applications might be able to be used for zero gravity."

After graduating from the university in December with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, Slawinski put together a team of undergraduate students with the help of Terry, an assistant professor of mechanical and material engineering at UNL.

The team's job is to figure how to make the device work in outer space. Before testing it in zero gravity with NASA, the team first had to determine whether it worked at all. Before testing the device on humans, it had to be tested on animals, namely pigs from UNL's East Campus.

The device is swallowed by the pig and ends up in its small intestine. The pill, made of plastic and stainless steel parts, attaches itself with tiny teeth to the intestine. Only the inner part of the capsule remains attached to the intestine, while the outer shell travels through the rest of the body.

Originally, the pigs had to be put to sleep before they were given the pill so they wouldn't feel any pain.

The team came up with a more cost-effective way to test the pill without having to kill a pig to do so.

"There are so many animals from East Campus that are sold for meat, including pigs, and nobody really wants the intestine," Terry said.

Using intestines from the sold pigs, the team came up with a machine that contracts them to make them behave like live intestines.

"The machine kind of brings it to life," Terry said.

Slawinski said the team uses two tall pressure vessels to cause the contractions of the intestine.

Once attached to the intestine, the sensors can measure anything from temperature, to blood pressure as well as check for Crohn's disease.

Terry compared the pill to a space shuttle, in that the pill is simply the carrier and detaches itself from the sensors. He said this could lead to more advanced ways of monitoring health issues, such as diabetes.

"Imaginably, a blood glucose monitor could be put in," Terry said. "The sensor would be virtually invisible to other people. You could live your life with it - shower, swim, snowboard, anything."

The sensor still has a ways to go before it's used by humans. One thing that needs to be changed is the size of the pill. At about 18 mm wide and 28 mm long, Terry said it's too large for a human to swallow.

"It's fine for the pigs, but not for people just yet," he said.

The current pill only remains attached to the intestine for about two weeks - Terry said he would like the pill to last for an indefinite amount of time.

Two other universities, the University of Colorado Boulderand Vanderbilt University, are currently working on a similar pill system, one that could perform minor surgeries in a non-invasive way. Colorado, Vanderbilt and UNL are working in collaboration on the projects. Terry said the other pills would have collapsible legs that would let it travel around the body while being controlled by a surgeon.

Eight students and Terry will leave in May to test the pill at NASA's zero gravity facility in Houston. After that, the team will have to write a summary report during the summer.

"We're going to see a new space-age where travel times will be a lot longer," Slawinski said. "It won't be like the '70s or '80s. It will probably be year-long and this equipment could help a lot. "

As for when the technology will be ready for human use, it could be years, Terry said.

"Technically speaking, it could be ready in two years," he said. "But in reality, it will take much longer."

The first trial test on the pig intestine was only last week, so human clinical trials probably won't take place for about two more years. After that, Terry said the possibilities of what the technology will be able to do are endless.

Written by Colleen Fell for the Daily Nebraskan

.


Related Links
Daily Nebraskan
Space Medicine Technology and Systems






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle




Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News





SPACE MEDICINE
Space research institute soliciting First Award Fellowship applications
Houston TX (SPX) Mar 06, 2014
The application period for the National Space Biomedical Research Institute's (NSBRI) First Award Fellowship Program is now open. Two-year fellowships are available to pursue research in any U.S. laboratory conducting space-related biomedical or biotechnological research. NSBRI's First Award Fellowship Program allows future space life scientists, engineers, and physicians to train as indep ... read more


SPACE MEDICINE
Control circuit malfunction troubles China's Yutu

China's Lunar Lander Still Operational

China Focus: Uneasy rest begins for China's troubled Yutu rover

Is Yutu Stuck?

SPACE MEDICINE
Robotic Arm Crushes Rock for Study

Relay Radio on Mars-Bound NASA Craft Passes Checkout

NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover Views Striated Ground

NASA Mars Orbiter Views Opportunity Rover on Ridge

SPACE MEDICINE
Committee Democrats Emphasize Need for Human Space Exploration Roadmap

NASA Commercial Crew Partners Complete Space System Milestones

Last Shuttle Commander Virtually Flies Boeing CST-100 to ISS

DARPA Open Catalog Makes Agency-Sponsored Software and Publications Available to All

SPACE MEDICINE
China expects to launch cargo ship into space around 2016

China capable of exploring Mars

Preparation for Chang'e-5 launch on schedule

China has no plans for lunar base project

SPACE MEDICINE
NASA says US-Russia space ties 'normal'

Cancer Targeted Treatments from Space Station Discoveries

Cosmonauts on space station to turn teacher for Russian students

Space suit leak happened before, NASA admits

SPACE MEDICINE
Payload prep continues for Arianespace Soyuz for Sentinel-1A

Russia to Start Building New Manned Rocket Launch Pad in 2015

New Vostochny space center a key priority for Russian Far East

'Mission of Firsts' Showcased New Range-Safety Technology at NASA Wallops

SPACE MEDICINE
What Would A Rocky Exoplanet Look Like? Atmosphere Models Seek Clues

Super-Earth' may be dead worlds

Kepler Mission Announces a Planet Bonanza, 715 New Worlds

Water is Detected in a Planet Outside Our Solar System

SPACE MEDICINE
ADS builds 'space furnace' to test materials of the future on the ISS

New Record Set for Data-Transfer Speeds

Ecliptic RocketCam Captures Sirius Antenna Deployment In Geo Orbit

3-D printer creates transformative device for heart treatment




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.