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Biotelemeters for Space Flights and Fetal MonitoringPill-shaped biotelemeters originally designed for space flight applications will soon be used for monitoring the health of a fetus during and after in-utero fetal surgery. The authors developed a family of biotelemeters that are not only small enough for rodent studies on board the space shuttle or international space station, but also fit through a 10 mm trocar, a plastic tube that is used in endoscopic fetal surgery to obtain minimally invasive access to the fetus. The first 'pill' measures pressure and temperature, and is currently undergoing long-term leakage and biocompatibility tests. A second pill under development measures pH and temperature. A prototype of the 'pH-pill' has been built and successfully tested and is presently being miniaturized into the same dimensions as the 'pressure pill'. Additional pills measuring heart rate, ECG, other ions such as calcium and potassium, and eventually glucose and blood gases, will follow. All pills are designed for ultra-low power consumption yielding lifetimes of up to 10 months in order to meet the requirements of fetal monitoring, but also to provide the capability of long-term space station experiments. Each pill transmits its pulse-interval-modulated signal on a unique carrier frequency in the frequency range of 174-216MHz. A custom-designed multi-channel receiver demodulates and decodes each pill signal and sends the data to a LabVIEW program that performs real-time data analysis and display. A patent for the pill family and its data analysis system is pending.
Document ID
20020074559
Acquisition Source
Ames Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Mundt, Carsten W.
(Sverdrup Technology, Inc. United States)
Ricks, Robert D.
(Sverdrup Technology, Inc. United States)
Hines, John W.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA United States)
Date Acquired
August 20, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1999
Subject Category
Aerospace Medicine
Meeting Information
Meeting: 15th International Symposium on Biotelemetry
Location: Juneau, AK
Country: United States
Start Date: May 9, 1999
End Date: May 14, 1999
Funding Number(s)
PROJECT: RTOP 131-50-20
OTHER: ATD-B
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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