Vim & Vigor - Winter 2012 - Phelps County Regional Medical Center - (Page 52)

Space-Age S A group of Missouri S&T students tests CPR in zero gravity as part of a NASA program BY SOMER OVERSHON A heart attack can happen at any time and any place, even in outer space. A group of students from Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) is working to improve CPR in zero gravity. Testing the effectiveness of CPR in zero gravity has been an exciting opportunity for 13 Missouri S&T students who make up the team Miners in Space. The group was one of 14 undergraduate teams chosen nationwide by NASA for this year’s Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program. Teams researched, designed and built their experiments before taking two test ﬂights over the Gulf of Mexico at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston in June. The idea was to determine whether the students would be able to effectively perform CPR using a chest compression/decompression device in zero gravity. The team also tested whether CPR was performed with the correct depth of compressions. The group had to work quickly: They were only in zero gravity for a matter of seconds. Miners in Space prepare to test their CPR device. HOW THE DEVICE WORKS CPR is effective on Earth because gravity pulls the victim to the ground, making it easier for respondents to perform chest compressions. As Pavel Galchenko, Miners in Space project manager, notes, however, “in zero gravity, if you started a chest compression, the heart attack victim would just ﬂoat away. We researched a method involving a suction-cup device to help perform CPR compressions and decompressions while in space; the CPR will be done from behind the victim so the victim remains in a stable position.” And although one person can perform CPR on Earth, in space three people are needed to perform it: one person to hold the victim down, one person to do the chest compressions and one person to give mouth-to-mouth. The CPR device attaches directly to a heart attack victim’s chest like a suction cup. The chest compression/decompression device helps the responder compress and lift the chest much like conventional hand compressions. “The device is designed to function much like traditional CPR. The user pushes down on the chest and when the chest recoils, it brings blood back into the heart,” says Phelps County Regional Medical Center (PCRMC) family practice and sports medicine physician Marino Parra, M.D. “When the device is pushed down again, it forces blood out into parts of the body, such as to the brain.” Dr. Parra served as a medical consultant to the Missouri S&T group, and advised the students on how to design a model heart that would accurately and effectively simulate blood ﬂow back to a person’s heart during CPR. Dr. Parra suggested the group incorporate a saline solution into their model heart that would mimic blood ﬂow. 52 Vim & Vigor · W I N TER 2 012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Winter 2012 - Phelps County Regional Medical Center

Vim & Vigor - Winter 2012 - Phelps County Regional Medical Center
Contents
Opening Thoughts
Auxiliary
Quality Care Never Goes Out of Style
Rapid Response
Because I Said So!
What’s Wrong with This Picture?
The Future Is Now
Everyday Hero
What Does 200 Calories Look Like?
Johnny Be Good
In the Driver’s Seat
We’ve Got Your Back
Bank on Your Health
Virtual Health
The Right Fit for Each Patient
Space-Age Science
Safe Haven
Foundation

Vim & Vigor - Winter 2012 - Phelps County Regional Medical Center