High-tech sleeping bag designed to protect astronauts’ eyesight as experts try to tackle problems caused by microgravity
A HIGH-tech sleeping bag may be able to prevent vision problems that astronauts often suffer during long space missions.
The new invention aims to relieve pressure that builds up behind the eyes when a person is in a low-gravity situation for a long period of time.
Astronauts deal with this micro-gravity while in space, and it can lead to something called spaceflight-associated-neuro-ocular syndrome (SANS).
This syndrome stems from too much fluid being behind the eye due to micro-gravity; the fluid “presses on the back of the eye” and can change its shape.
The new sleeping bag, described by researchers in a December issue of JAMA Opthalmology, aims to address this issue by applying pressure to the lower body.
To test their product, researchers used the device to apply lower body negative pressure (LBNP) to people in low gravity situations.
The results suggest that “nightly LBNP may be an effective countermeasure against early markers of ocular remodeling associated with space-associated neuro-ocular syndrome.”
SANS causes astronauts to get more far-sighted and the pressure can also cause the eye’s optic nerve to swell, so it’s an important issue to address for longer space missions.
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A mission that lasts more than a year could lead to serious vision problems.
The sleeping bag looks almost like a cone, and has a seal that would snugly fit to the astronaut’s waist.
The idea for the device came from a technique scientists use to study blood pressure, according to researchers.
The small-scale study showed promising results for protecting people’s eyes, but the product has not yet been tested in space.