Top 5 Healthcare Areas That Space Technology Can Enhance

David Bowie’s iconic song Space Oddity shares the story of fictional astronaut Major Tom as he is about to be launched into space. Its lyrics capture how ground control on Earth keeps in constant communication with Major Tom throughout his space-faring journey, and this much is true. But what is shared between Earth and space is not limited to conversations. Terrestrial technologies are sent to space to assist in astronauts’ health and space tech does get adapted for humans back on Earth too. Smart clothing manufacturer Hexoskin has worked with astronauts to design medical monitoring systems for Lunar and Martian missions. In early June, the handheld ultrasound Butterfly iQ was sent to the International Space Station (ISS) to help monitor and assess astronauts’ health. But even though Jeff Bezos is planning for a suborbital trip this July and Elon Musk wants to die on Mars, the rest of us non-billionaire humans will have to have our feet grounded on Earth; at least for now.  So what interests us is the spillover effects of these outer space missions’ on health tech; and how they can help reshape the future of healthcare. NASA has a history of licensing and transferring its technology for terrestrial uses, and it publishes how these turn into commercial products via its Spinoff publication.  While some of these might start sounding a bit… alien, such health tech development for extraterrestrial missions can find a firm footing back on Earth; an...
Source: The Medical Futurist - Category: Information Technology Authors: Tags: Forecast Lifestyle medicine 3D Printing Artificial Intelligence in Medicine Biotechnology Cyborgization Digital Health Research Future of Medicine Future of Pharma Health Sensors & Trackers Personalized Medicine Telemedicine & Smartp Source Type: blogs