In addition to the first aid courses, they also learn to close a wound with stitches, place an injection and even extract a tooth. The kit on the International Space Station (ISS) is essential.
In addition to having the necessary utensils for first aid, they have a fairly comprehensive book on medical conditions and useful equipment such as defibrillators, portable ultrasound apparatus to look in the eye and two liters of saline water.
Although ultrasound can produce very clear images of what is inside the human body-and be sent to a computer on Earth to attend in the diagnostic-these men and women who go into space are just preparing a paramedic.
Dr. David Green, senior lecturer in aerospace physiology at King’s College London, believes that the best option would be to return the patient to Earth in the Soyuz spacecraft is on the station. This would be a trip of about three hours, although it would not be easy.
“The IEE have limited resources, but Soyuz even have life support,” Green explains. “To have a good flight back, on entering the Earth’s atmosphere may experience a G-force of 4g to 5g. If this is bad enough for a healthy person, imagine for someone who is seriously ill.”
However, Green explained that the chances of an astronaut falls seriously ill are one to two percent per person per year. This is because the health of astronauts are closely monitored before and during the mission by an expert who also tracks their families.
Also on Earth
The challenges of dealing with a medical emergency in isolation are not unique to the ISS. Dr. Fred Papali, intensive care at the University of Maryland, USA, who has spent time working in emergency rooms Haiti and South Sudan, says there are lessons to learn from the most remote areas on Earth.
The expert parallels between isolation in space and some rural areas of poor countries lacking in medical care. “In many parts of the world, there are simply no emergency services. There doctors have no experience or training, and patients often cling to life with her nails.”
He has witnessed how an ultrasound and an internet connection has saved lives in places where there is no running water or electricity. “It is a simple and revolutionary technology that should look more closely,” he adds.
Papali says a connection to an expert is all it takes to make the difference between life and death. And as more space missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond are planned, the need to improve health care in space.
Doctor aboard
Making qualified physicians are part of the crew can be used to solve the problem of dealing with an emergency to thousands of kilometers away. It worked for the Starship Enterprise in Star Trek television series. But is it feasible to have a surgeon in the mission?
Currently, it would be impractical, because on the ISS there is no gravity and blood and fluids to escape the patient’s body to float everywhere, infect other astronauts and contaminate the station. US scientists have been testing the idea of placing over the wound a kind of transparent dome and fill fluids like Salina- solution to stop the flow of blood. This could stop the blood or allow time for the surgeon to seal the wound.
NASA is also planning to convert surgeons robots in space. The Robonaut 2 is already aboard the ISS and aims to develop basic medical functions that can be controlled from Earth.
The idea is that in the future to perform complicated surgeries, but this is something that still It is far away. For long-duration missions smarter medical devices, drugs longer and more extensive medical training.
The path to Mars is long will be needed, and a delay in communicating with Earth 20 minutes it would not be possible to obtain prompt medical advice. Space medicine experts have to work hard, but would not bet against him for an innovative solution that can benefit all
. Source: BBC / Philippa Roxby
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