Update on eye research at ISS
Link here. The NASA update provides a nice overview of the research, beginning with this overview:
When astronauts began spending six months and more aboard the International Space Station, they started to notice changes in their vision. For example, many found that, as their mission progressed, they needed stronger reading glasses. Researchers studying this phenomenon identified swelling in the optic disc, which is where the optic nerve enters the retina, and flattening of the eye shape. These symptoms became known as Space-Associated Neuro-Ocular Syndrome (SANS).
The research suspects the changes are due to the fluid shifts in the body that take place due to weightlessness, with blood shifting from the legs to the head. Various projects have studied a number of solutions, including wearing leg cuffs, administering vitamin B, and possibly using centrifuge-created artificial gravity to mitigate the condition. The problem has also generated new work in developing better equipment for to studying the eye, including improved imaging and techniques for measuring the eye’s stiffness.
Link here. The NASA update provides a nice overview of the research, beginning with this overview:
When astronauts began spending six months and more aboard the International Space Station, they started to notice changes in their vision. For example, many found that, as their mission progressed, they needed stronger reading glasses. Researchers studying this phenomenon identified swelling in the optic disc, which is where the optic nerve enters the retina, and flattening of the eye shape. These symptoms became known as Space-Associated Neuro-Ocular Syndrome (SANS).
The research suspects the changes are due to the fluid shifts in the body that take place due to weightlessness, with blood shifting from the legs to the head. Various projects have studied a number of solutions, including wearing leg cuffs, administering vitamin B, and possibly using centrifuge-created artificial gravity to mitigate the condition. The problem has also generated new work in developing better equipment for to studying the eye, including improved imaging and techniques for measuring the eye’s stiffness.