Ex level a medical video game company that provides software to remotely train surgeons announced that it will participate in one of 38 science and research experiments that will accompany astronauts on the mission SpaceX on board Polaris Dawn, the first of three manned spaceflight missions.
The Polaris Dawn and Dragon crew will travel to an altitude of 1,400 km, the highest Earth orbit ever, and attempt a commercial spacewalk, the first of its kind to require the astronauts to experience relatively high levels of radiation and are exposed to intense vacuum during the journey.
According to the report published on the Mobi Health News website, the mission will assess the effects of spaceflight on the human body and provide the crew with ultrasound tools to diagnose and treat medical problems.
The Ex level explained: “On manned space missions, crews must be prepared to deal with medical problems as they arise, which is challenging for many reasons, including their limited medical training and the fact that bodies function differently due to microgravity.“.
The Level Ex’s role in the mission
Level Ex contributes to Polaris Dawn research projects by providing a tool that enables astronauts to detect health problems using an ultrasound probe the only imaging modality available in space and will be able to do so en route and independently if required.
With a grant from the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) and NASA, funded by the Mars mission, Level Ex created a realistic ultrasound simulator to capture an astronaut’s digital twin before it travels to space.
The model can be modified based on known physiological adaptations to microgravity over time. Astronauts can then undergo just-in-time training in space that recreates what an astronaut’s physiology should look like under ultrasound after a given time in space.
Research projects aim at improve the health of people on Earth and of astronauts for future long-duration spaceflight..
Polaris Dawn is scheduled to launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in March 2023 at the earliest.