NASA www.nasa.gov has deployed VSee http://vsee.com Telemedicine and Secure Video Chat on the International Space Station (ISS) www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/ station/main /#.VRfXlY7F9ws. This will enable the astronauts on ISS to video chat with their doctors and collaborate with other scientists. The doctors will also be able to provide medical assistance in terms of remote clinical guidance, device monitoring and control, just-time training, and distance learning.
Initially NASA’s Johnson Space Center www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/home/#.VRfX-17F9ws Mission Control Research group prototyped VSee for mission control. Then NASA Space Medicine group explored using VSee for space telemedicine projects. VSee was also part of the NASA CTO Community Desktop Video Conferencing prototype program.
NASA in moving to a newer IP-based video conferencing system such as VSee, now enables NASA to use lower cost standard COTS Personal Computer (PC) hardware to support their ISS related video conferences.
In addition, because VSee uses standard IP networks, it also allows NASA to use tighter systems integration and compatibility when interfacing with other newer enterprise agency video conferencing systems. This enables the use of other mobile devices by remote support personnel and crew families in other parts of the world.
According to Byron Smith, Senior Medical Engineer at Wyle www.wyle.com, “Not only does VSee provide an enhanced replacement for our current capability to support secure, two-way private medical consultations and family conferences with ISS crewmembers, but it also provides a significant increase in our ability to support some of our other telemedicine and science objects.”
The one year mission will focus on seven key areas of human research. Functional studies will examine each crew member’s performance during and after the twelve month expedition. Behavioral studies will monitor sleep patterns and exercise routines and visual impairments will be studied by measuring changes in pressure inside the human skull. Metabolic investigations will examine the immune system and effects of stress.
Studying the astronauts will benefit the population on Earth by providing information to help patients recovering from a long period of bed rest to improving the monitoring of immune functions of people on Earth with altered immunity.
Also, astronaut Scott Kelly and his identical twin brother former NASA astronaut Mark Kelly will participate in a number of comparative genetic studies. These studies include collecting blood samples as well as psychological and physical tests. This research will compare data from the genetically identical Kelly bothers to identify any subtle changes caused by spaceflight.