Roundtable No°1 | 2024: Monitoring in zero gravity - Findings from space research
Note: The next roundtable will take place on March 5, 2024, on the topic "Together Towards Innovation: Participatory Implementation for a Digital Healthcare System." If interested, please register here.
The Patient Monitoring year 2024 started with an exciting look beyond the horizon, as we were able to secure Dr. Oliver Opatz from the Institute of Physiology at Charité, a recognized expert in extreme environments and space medicine, for our kick-off event.
Dr. Opatz opened his lecture with a fascinating insight into the history of monitoring in weightlessness. His explanations not only provided the audience with an overview of its development but also an understanding of the complexity and challenges associated with monitoring the health of astronauts in space. The forehead sensor for monitoring "Space Fever," developed by Dr. Opatz and his team, was even tested in space by astronauts Alexander Gerst and Matthias Maurer.
His doctoral students built on this foundation and subsequently presented their current research projects. We learned more about the physiological backgrounds and obstacles in developing non-invasive, cuffless blood pressure measurement and engaged with measures against orthostatic dysregulation, which could occur due to changes in the G-force acting on the body, for example, during a landing on Mars. The possibility of calculating the anaerobic threshold from heart rate variability was also discussed.
The result of AI when asked for a picture showing "Monitoring in space" (Generated with DALL·E by OpenAI)
Following the keynotes was the hands-on session, where participants had the unique opportunity to try out various devices and aids for living in weightlessness. This practical demonstration offered a deep insight into the current state of technology and highlighted the complexity of conducting health monitoring and maintenance in space.
The combination of insightful keynotes and interactive hands-on sessions underscored the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in addressing the challenges that space presents to human health. Furthermore, it became clear that advancements in this area are not only crucial for future space missions but also have the potential to revolutionize medical monitoring on Earth.
Anyone who missed the exciting lecture by Dr. Opatz and his doctoral students now has the first opportunity to watch a recording of the lectures here.
The Patient Monitoring Roundtable is organized and conducted by INCH e.V. (Initiative for Innovation and Collaboration in Healthcare e.V.) in cooperation with the Institute for Medical Informatics at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin.