Suborbital Evaluation of an Aqueous Immersion Surgical System for Reduced Gravity

The ability to provide healthcare delivery during expeditionary spaceflight and operations on the surface of the Moon or Mars includes the capability of conducting fundamental surgical procedures. In these microgravity (μ-G) or partial gravity working environments, control and containment of the surgical operative site is required to prevent cabin contamination, maintain acceptable visualization of the surgical field, avoid gaseous embolization in the patient, and control bleeding. To address these requirements, a hermetic surgery system (HeSS) is being jointly developed by Dr. George Pantalos (University of Louisville) and his colleagues at Carnegie Mellon University. The HeSS creates a hermetically sealed surgical field that controls and staunches bleeding during surgery by isolating the wound and creating an aqueous environment within the surgical field while leveraging current single incision laparoscopic surgical (SILS) techniques and instruments in clinical use.
This research is a continuation of similar work performed on parabolic flight under T0049.

Currently, no apparatus exists for complex wound care / surgery during spaceflight. This technology will enable better medical options for astronauts and benefit future NASA missions where fast return to earth for treatment is not possible.

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