Onboard medical support system for future of aerospace system flights

A project of an onboard medical support system (OMSS) for future aerospace system (ASS) flights is proposed. The following systems are suggested to be the main components of the OMSS: the basic system for automated estimation of blood redistribution (BSAEBR) in the body, protection and prophylactic means (PPM) for crew members, and the automated PPM control loop. The proposed BSAEBR includes four measurement channels for recording the basic physiological parameters (electrocardiogram, rheoencephalogram, venous-arterial pulsogram of neck blood vessels, and pulsogram of earlobe vessels), the changes in which are used to calculate, by means of a computer, the integrated parameter. The creation of lower body negative pressure (LBNP) was selected as a PPM. The automated PPM control loop individually selects the LBNP modes according to (1) the intensity of the body reactions and (2) individual characteristics of the physiological state. A working laboratory bench model of the OMSS has been manufactured and tested in two series of experiments simulating the conditions of a space flight. In the first series, 29 volunteers were exposed to ?10 deg antiorthostatic hypokinesia (ANOH) for 6–8 h, as well as ANOH + LBNP. In the second series, 26 volunteers were exposed to the combination of ANOH, Coriolis acceleration, and optokinetic stimulation every 5–7 h for three days. The results have demonstrated that the use of the given OMSS ensures, on average, a 17–32% improvement of the psychophysiological parameters of an operator, with the changes in the head circulatory parameters being more favorable.