Spending time in space or flying airplanes under high stress requirements comes with some risks and can also become quite an ordeal. Bone and muscle loss, visual disturbances or circulatory problems are some of the manifestations that the physically demanding activity brings. For this purpose, aviation and space medicine was introduced, which deals specifically with the preservation of health in this area. The subject of a research are medical and physical peculiarities of a stay in space or in the air.
What is aviation and space medicine?
Aviation and space medicine encompasses various fields of expertise and ranges from the science and research of all aviation and space conditions to the training and assessment of specialist aviation physicians. A physician who has graduated in the field of internal medicine or general medicine can complete extensive advanced training in aviation medicine. This usually takes another two years and takes place at an aerospace medicine institute. Aviation and space medicine encompasses various fields of expertise and ranges from the science and research of all aviation and space conditions to the training and assessment of specialist aviation physicians. This refers to medical professionals who address the competency and fitness of pilots and air traffic control personnel and perform medical evaluation.
Treatments and therapies
Pilots are constantly under great pressure and must be capable of peak performance. Selection criteria are made, and along with performance, health conditions are also taken into account. Thus, a pilot’s abilities are not solely associated with the implementation of the actual flight performance, but also require a healthy body that can withstand these stresses. The work in the field of aviation and space medicine therefore extends beyond general medicine with special knowledge of conditions to which the human body is exposed during a flight or various space test experiments. For this purpose, the physician in this field must have intensively studied flight physiology. This includes the function of various organs and systems in the human organism in various flight situations, the response to them, and the importance of physical and atmospheric effects under these conditions. One common reaction is air sickness, which is accompanied by specific symptoms and is similar to seasickness. The manifestations are always coupled to motion stimuli, which are indispensable in flying, due to which not only pallor, physical discomfort or fatigue occur, but also dizziness, cold sweat, headache, nausea and vomiting. These occur when the organs of balance are disturbed, including, for example, the inner ear. Motion sequences during a flight are turbulence, acceleration, turning movements, which trigger different sensitivities and disturb the sense of balance. Another side effect of flight and space travel is oxygen deprivation. The body reacts to this with reduced gas exchange in the lungs, anemia or circulatory disturbances, and disruption in the body’s cells. Likewise, spatial disorientation can occur. Due to the twists and movements during flight, the sensory impressions about the position and movement in space can no longer be correctly assessed. This results in sensory illusions that can even become life-threatening and lead to flight accidents. To correctly assess the flight situation, the pilot needs his eyes, the vestibular organ in the inner ear and the sense of muscle and touch, i.e. surface and depth sensitivity. Through the eye, he corrects misregistrations of the other sensory impressions, which is all the more difficult during a night flight. Other disorientations take place as illusory rotation, elevator effect, or graveyard spiral.
Diagnosis and examination methods
Aerospace medicine also requires knowledge of aircraft accidents and their hazards, knowledge in the area of fear of flying and flight rescue, motion sickness or jet lag. In addition to such and disorientation, G-stress, hypoxia, and pressure case illnesses are also side effects of flight physiology. Especially the resilience for a flight into space is tested in a pilot or astronaut by the stay in a U-chamber or centrifuge.Important areas include space disease research, life support, radiation and astrobiology, and microgravity effects and countermeasures. Life support is a top priority in spaceflight and requires specialized science. Different measures are required depending on conditions and mission duration. In addition to main functions such as breathing gas supply, air conditioning and power supply, protection from radiation or external pressure are also included under extreme conditions in space. Likewise, training must be given on fire detection and firefighting or how to properly supply food. It is also important to have experience with regard to the necessary hygiene measures or the adjustment of medication. The field of radiation biology, on the other hand, studies the effects of ionizing radiation on living organisms. Accidents or carelessness can lead to acute radiation diseases, the effect of which is serious tissue damage and tumors. Astrobiology, on the other hand, is a natural science that deals with the origin of life, evolution and the future of life in space. The search for habitable planets or moons is just as much a part of the research as the search for existing life on other planets. Equally important for aviation and space medicine is aviation psychology. It is a distinct field of industrial psychology and involves the study of the lives and work of such people who are entrusted with the operation of air and space vehicles or who spend extended periods of time under test conditions or in space itself. These can be long-term astronauts as well as record-breaking flight pilots. The prerequisite is the extremely high level of resilience required for such maneuvers. A medical professional in this field must be familiar with the psychological and physiological conditions that require, for example, aptitude tests or flight psychological assessments.