Clinical Research Directory

Training Non-Anesthesia Personnel to Perform Nerve Blocks in Microgravity

Space exploration is rapidly progressing with multiple upcoming missions planned to the moon and International Space Station, and projected missions to Mars in the early 2030s. Multiple types of injuries and surgical emergencies are possible during space travel. With the rapidly increasing number of travelers, healthcare providers need to refine our plans for responding to surgical emergencies in space. It may not be possible to return injured crew members to earth for medical treatment depending on distance from earth and the severity of the injury. Furthermore, the casualty's physiologic changes in microgravity, and logistical limitations of repatriation make addressing medical emergencies challenging. Pain medications and general anesthesia have side effects that can impact safety in space and have worse side effect profiles when compared to on earth. Regional anesthesia, injecting local anesthetic near to a nerve(s) to create a large area of numbness on the body, has been used for many years for pain management and to allow for surgery in remote settings on earth. Military personnel have used these techniques to provide effective pain control for evacuating wounded soldiers, while maintaining their cognition. For these reasons, regional anesthesia (aka 'nerve block') has been promoted as a viable solution for injured astronauts. Our team has demonstrated that simple nerve blocks are possible in simulated microgravity among trained anesthesia providers. Recognizing that non-physician medical technicians may be integral to future space missions, this study aims to ascertain the feasibility of training such personnel to perform simple nerve blocks in microgravity.

BRAHMS: Bed Rest And HypoMetabolism Study

The goal of this single arm, interventional monocentric clinical trial is to investigate the physiological effects of a combination of head-down bedrest and caloric restriction on the human body. A set of measurements will assess the changes in the musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, hematological, immune, neurological, cognitive and metabolic systems, in 10 healthy male volunteers. The main question it aims to answer is: what are the physiological responses to fasting in a microgravity environment? In an exploratory study such as this one, where many physiological systems are explored, it is difficult to select a single important endpoint. However, given the known effect of both caloric restriction and head-down bedrest on muscle loss, and its critical importance for the success of space missions, lean body mass, as assessed by DEXA, was chosen as the primary endpoint. The secondary endpoints are: * Cardiovascular, muscular, neuro-vestibular and neuropsychological functional performance * The onset of clinical symptoms and biological changes Participants will be exposed to a microgravity analog model (head down bed rest) and controled caloric restriction environment for 10 days, multiple physiological assessments will be performed during this period. Followed by a rehab period before leaving the study.

Neuroimage Genome Study of Neuroplasticity Associated With Microgravity

This clinical trial investigates the neuroplasticity and cognitive status changes of the human brain in microgravity. To explore the relationship between cognitive status changes and brain functional activities, gray matter and white matter changes under microgravity exposure, screen and identify representative image markers, so as to provide decision-making information for the cognitive status changes of relevant personnel under microgravity environment.