France – After the MITBO challenge, which was to develop a radiological first aid kit for space, radiologists continue to research and innovate. They are now considering a weightless intervention – via a parabolic flight – in preparation for the Gateway lunar space station project planned for 2024/26. This topic will be the subject of a meeting during the next French Radiology Days (JFR 2023).
Preparing for an extraorbital trip
Since 2020, the French Society of Radiology has been developing CNES (National Center for Space Studies) and that MEDES (Institute for Space Medicine and Physiology) Medical imaging solutions for space flights. Why such a partnership?
“Because we believe that space is an accelerator for the development of innovations, because if we are able to develop innovations for space, we on Earth will benefit from it in one way or another,” explained the Professor Alain LucianiRadiologist at the CHU Henri Mondor (Créteil), during a press conference in front of the JFR [1]. Furthermore, extraorbital travel (to the Moon and Mars) without onboard imaging and interventional radiology is out of the question.
During the JFR 2021, the SFR organized under the leadership of Professor Vincent Vidal, Radiologist at La Timone University Hospital in Marseille, the MITBO competition “Mars International Radiology Toolbox” with the aim for the participating teams to develop a radiological first aid kit that will alleviate a large part of the medical emergencies that astronauts face during their Travel faced are extraorbital. The kits were then presented to the public as part of the JFR 2022. (Read our article “Mission for Mars: What should the first aid kit contain with regard to interventional radiology?”).
Simulation in isolation situation
The collaboration between SFR and CNES-MEDES continued in 2023 with the participation in the Asclepios III mission, which took place last July in Sasso San Gottardo, Switzerland. Asclepios III is a simulation used to see if astronauts can be autonomous in isolated conditions, replicating space travel – here, an environment that simulates life at the moon’s south pole. An international crew of six analog astronauts – a term used to describe people on Earth who recreate the conditions of a long mission in space – were placed in isolation at a base for 15 days with the aim of, among other things, conducting experiments on the study of the Space challenges face challenges in space medicine, particularly due to isolation and the need to be able to act autonomously in the event of medical problems.
“For the radiological part, the analog astronauts had to be able to carry out interventional radiological procedures after training by the institute Professor Julien Frandon, radiologist at the University Hospital of Nîmes. Educational materials were available to them (e-learning courses and videos, visual drainage instructions).
A partnership has been established with CANON, which supplies the ultrasound devices. They also had to independently use the toolbox equipment in IR. “The results of the experiment will be presented on Saturday at the JFR (see box below),” explained the radiologist.
Perform a radiological procedure in zero gravity
Why are these projects particularly important this year? Especially due to the launch of the Artemis mission – an ambitious project led by NASA that aims to return to the moon sustainably together with humans.
After an orbit of the moon without astronauts last year, a mission with a human crew on board is scheduled to launch in November 2024 to carry out the same journey with 10 days in space without landing on the moon.
The next step is to build a space station in orbit around the moon, the gateway station, by 2024/2026. “The medical conditions will then be completely different. Knowing how to provide emergency treatment in the event of a traumatic, hemorrhagic or infectious accident seems to be crucial for us,” emphasized Professor Luciani.
“The challenge in 2024 is to be the first to be able to carry out a radiological procedure in weightlessness. In collaboration with CNES, we hope to bring astronauts and interventional radiologists on board for a parabolic flight. “That would be a world first,” the speaker added.
The French-speaking Days of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology (JFR) will take place from October 13th to 16th, 2023 at the Palais des Congrès (Porte Maillot, Paris). The session on radiology in space will take place on Saturday, October 14, 2023, 2:45 p.m. – VRI Agora Level 3.