BROOK PARK, Ohio — While the weightlessness of space eliminates the risk of a fall for astronauts, working in this environment does present its unique set of risks. When injuries occur, a trip to the urgent care is not a possibility, so NASA is constantly looking for ways to provide its astronauts with the medical attention they need. That's where the folks at NASA Glenn come in.
"What we're looking at is a portable X-ray system," said Dr. Chase Haddix, NASA Glenn's lead engineer on the project. "We've been looking at X-ray for many years, but unfortunately it's been too bulky to really be practical to go up in space."
In 2023, they initiated a study of 250 different options, narrowing it down to three. Devices that can check for broken bones and also broken equipment.
"We want to find the most use or get the biggest bang for our buck out of these systems and so we're looking at the non-clinical," said Dr. Cy Peverill, NASA's Task Lead on the project. "As you can see over here we have some rover tires or EVA space suits if there's cracks or fractures that we can identify."
To test the devices, though, they need to go outside of the lab at NASA Glenn, but fortunately not very far.
"It works out really well that there are two renowned institutions for radiography right here in Northeast Ohio," said Haddix.
They would be Cuyahoga Community College and University Hospitals, which have partnered with Glenn. Tri-C is offering its advanced radiography lab and anatomical phantoms to support hands-on testing, while University Hospitals' radiography experts are capturing X-ray images from real patients and providing feedback on device performance. Together, these Cleveland-based teams are helping determine which X-ray device works best for the tight quarters of a spacecraft and the harsh conditions of deep space.
"They really wanted to see a comparison to a hospital x-ray machine or an x-ray taken in a hospital to kind of get an idea of what their medical teams could expect if the crews had to use this equipment on a space mission," said David Jordan, University Hospital's chief medical physicist.
For Tri-C and UH, they were happy to help out with the space effort.
"Anytime your work sort of touches on space and rockets and astronauts it's always cool to sort of feel like well you know I'm going to go to work today I'm doing my regular job but I'm also kind of a rocket scientist," said Jordan.
NASA Glenn hopes to select a device by the end of the year and test it out on the International Space Station sometime in 2026 or 2027.
