Effects of simulated hypergravity on biomedical experiments

Author

Russomano, Thais ; Rizzatti, Mara R. ; Coelho, Rodrigo P. ; Solari, D. ; Souza, Daniel De ; Prá-veleda, Paula

Author_Institution

Centro de Microgravidade, PUCRS, Porto Alegre

Volume

26

Issue

3

fYear

2007

Firstpage

66

Lastpage

71

Abstract

This article presents the conception and development of a centrifuge for hypergravity research use. Experiments were recorded via a digital camera and the images acquired were processed for better visualization of the effects of simulated variation of gravitational force on models of living systems and plant germination. Four different test models were used to illustrate the effects of 1.5 Gz and 7.0 Gz on human physiology, including the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems. One experiment was conducted to evaluate plant germination and growth after intermittent hypergravity exposures to 7.0 Gz, which can demonstrate the usefulness of centrifuges on plant development in extra-terrestrial colonies.

Keywords

aerospace biophysics; bone; botany; cardiovascular system; muscle; biomedical experiments; cardiovascular; centrifuge; digital camera; extraterrestrial colonies; gravitational force; human physiology; image processing; living systems; musculoskeletal systems; plant development; plant germination; plant growth; simulated hypergravity; Acceleration; Digital cameras; Earth; Gravity; Humans; Organisms; Physiology; Space missions; System testing; Visualization;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Engineering in Medicine and Biology Magazine, IEEE

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0739-5175

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/MEMB.2007.364932

Filename

4213104