How space technologies like the James Webb Space Telescope are improving healthcare on Earth

From breast cancer treatments to self-driving cars and fitness trackers, space exploration is improving the lives of millions of people on Earth.

When the James Webb Space Telescope sent incredible images back to NASA, scientists welcomed the way the same technique was used to improve eye surgery.

This is the latest example of how space research can be used in different forms of everyday life, especially to improve health care.

By making significant improvements to LASIK eye surgery, the vision of millions has improved, thanks to the techniques used to build the Webb Telescope for decades.

The same process for measuring the powerful mirrors that telescopes used to capture fragments of light in deep space over 13 billion years ago is incorporated into devices for accurate measurement of the human eye.

This technology is built into Johnson & Johnson’s iDesign Refractive Studio. This is a device that makes measurements to map defects in the visual pathway and corneal curvature, as well as optical fingerprints that are unique to each eye.

Lee Feinberg, Webb’s Optical Telescope Element Manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, said:

“We needed to polish them so that when they cooled, they would have the shape of the mirror we wanted.

“We had to match the curvature of one mirror to the next, which was a very difficult problem.”

Since the early 2000s, this technique has been extended and used elsewhere, including in the treatment of people with degenerative eye disease.

Headquartered in Santa Ana, California, Johnson & Johnson Vision acquired the technology in 2017 and incorporated it into iDesign Reflective Studio, which was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2018.

It is used by ophthalmologists in 47 countries in more than 18 million successful procedures worldwide.

Magnetic resonance image

Nasa did not invent the technology used in thousands of hospitals around the world, but used the same digital image processing technology to emphasize the moon’s photographs.

It ultimately led to the evolution of computer tomography, which is used daily in MRI and CT scans to provide physicians with potentially life-saving images.

Heart pump (LVAD, left ventricular assist device)

In 1995, a space engineer worked with a doctor to develop an artificial heart pump that uses a similar technique for the Space Shuttle fuel injector.

The life-saving device pumps blood from the heart to the rest of the body through the control unit and battery pack, acting as a temporary gap for patients waiting for a heart transplant.

Artificial limbs

The next-generation foam used to insulate the Space Shuttle’s external tank has since been used to make molds for amputees.

The materials used are affordable and sturdy, making them ideal for prosthetic development.

Optical technology

NASA’s technology was originally developed for experiments growing plants in space. For over a decade, it has been used to reduce the painful side effects of chemotherapy in patients with cancer and those undergoing stem cell transplantation.

Testing of high-luminance aluminum light-emitting substrates or heel devices at the University of Alabama Birmingham Hospital found that pain management in people using LEDs (semiconductor light sources that emit light when current flows) was improved by 96%. ..

The light source emits energy in the form of photons, stimulating cells and helping the healing process.

Smart watch

Wearable devices for measuring biometric activity are common. However, the Embrace Plus smartwatch, designed to monitor astronauts during deep space exploration, is currently used to monitor patients.

It helps doctors monitor patient physiological data in real time and gather valuable information for research and clinical trials. Research on patients with Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, or brain damage has proven to be particularly effective in neurology when it is difficult to obtain accurate patient-generated data.

NASA has developed Deep Space Network, a GPS navigation system for space. This technique relies on atomic clocks for the exact accuracy required over long distances.

The sophisticated lasers and oscillators used in this technology are useful for communications on Earth and rangefinders for self-driving cars.

Updated: July 23, 2022 8:34 am