NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, United States.
Zin Technologies, Cleveland, Ohio, United States.
Life Sci Space Res (Amst). 2021 Nov;31:29-33. doi: 10.1016/j.lssr.2021.07.003. Epub 2021 Jul 15.
During long duration orbital space missions, astronauts experience immune system dysregulation, the persistent reactivation of latent herpesviruses, and some degree of clinical incidence. During planned NASA 'Artemis' deep space missions the stressors that cause this phenomenon will increase, while clinical care capability will likely be reduced. There is currently minimal clinical laboratory capability aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The ability to monitor the white blood cell count (WBC) and differential during spaceflight has been an unmet NASA medical requirement, primarily due to a lack of capable hardware. We performed ground and flight validation of a device designed to monitor WBC and differential within minutes from a fingerstick blood sample. This device is miniaturized, robust, and generally compatible with microgravity operations. Ground testing for spaceflight consisted of vibration tolerance, power/battery and interface requirements, electromagnetic interference (EMI), and basic evaluation of sample preparation and operations in the context of spaceflight constraints. The in-flight validation performed aboard the ISS by two astronauts included assessment of three levels of control solution (blood) samples as well as a real time analysis of a fingerstick blood sample by one of the crewmembers. Flight and ground testing of the same lot of control solutions yielded similar total WBC values. There was some select discrepancy between flight and ground data for the differential analysis. However, the data suggest that this issue is due to compromise of the control solutions as a result of storage length before flight operations, and not due to a microgravity-associated issue with instrument performance. This evaluation also yielded lessons learned regarding crewmember training for technique-sensitive small-volume biosample collection and handling in microgravity. The fingerstick analysis was successful and was the first real-time hematology assessment performed during spaceflight. This device may provide an in-mission monitoring capability for astronauts thereby assisting Flight Surgeons and the crew medical officer during both orbital and deep space missions.
在长时间的轨道空间任务中，宇航员会经历免疫系统失调、潜伏的疱疹病毒持续激活以及一定程度的临床发病。在计划中的美国宇航局“阿尔忒弥斯”深空任务中，导致这种现象的应激因素将会增加，而临床护理能力可能会降低。目前，国际空间站（ISS）上的临床实验室能力非常有限。在太空飞行中监测白细胞计数（WBC）和分类的能力是美国宇航局尚未满足的医疗要求，主要是由于缺乏可靠的硬件。我们对一种设计用于从指尖血样中在数分钟内监测 WBC 和分类的设备进行了地面和飞行验证。该设备体积小巧、坚固耐用，并且通常与微重力操作兼容。地面测试包括振动耐受、电源/电池和接口要求、电磁干扰（EMI）以及在空间限制条件下对样本制备和操作的基本评估。两名宇航员在国际空间站上进行的飞行验证包括评估三个级别的对照溶液（血液）样本，以及一名机组人员实时分析指尖血样。同批对照溶液的飞行和地面测试得出了相似的总 WBC 值。对于差异分析，飞行数据和地面数据之间存在一些选择性差异。然而，数据表明，这一问题是由于对照溶液在飞行操作之前的储存时间过长而导致的，而不是由于仪器性能与微重力相关的问题造成的。这次评估还为机组人员在微重力环境下进行技术敏感的小体积生物样本采集和处理的培训提供了经验教训。指尖分析取得了成功，是首次在太空飞行中进行实时血液学评估。该设备可以为宇航员提供一种任务中监测能力，从而在轨道和深空任务中为飞行外科医生和机组医疗官提供帮助。
