Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina will use Hyperfine's Swoop Portable MR Imaging system to assess astronauts' brains before and after the Polaris Dawn mission. Their goal is to get more insight on spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome (SANS), which is associated with ocular and brain structural changes.

“In order to capture this early time point, I needed a portable MR scanner that could easily go where the astronauts would be immediately after landing, whether it be in the SpaceX facility at Cape Canaveral, FL, at a location in the nearby area, or even one day, perhaps, on the recovery ship,” Dr. Donna Roberts, principal investigator, told HCB News. “Therefore, I decided to use the Swoop system as it is the only FDA-cleared portable MR imaging system.”

She added that the portable MR technology was attractive to her since it represents the first step toward her dream of one day having advanced imaging capability in space.
The crewmembers of the Polaris Dawn mission will undergo the MR brain scans seven days before launch, hours after their return, and one day after that. NASA astronauts typically undergo imaging two to five days after return to Earth, so these will be the earliest brain images taken of astronauts after they return to Earth.

“One of the biggest constraints for performing research on astronauts is limitations on their time, particularly postflight,” explained Roberts. “During the postflight time period, multiple investigators want to have access to the astronauts who graciously give their time to further science.”

The astronauts also want to have some downtime and reconnect with their families after completing a multiday mission away from Earth, so traveling to a traditional medical facility to undergo an MRI is low on their priority list. Roberts and her team are circumventing that wasted time by bringing the MR system directly to the astronauts.

According to NASA, 70% of astronauts on the International Space Station experience some degree of swelling in the back of the eye. When astronauts experience weightlessness in space, blood and cerebrospinal fluid shift toward the head and that is thought to cause the eye and brain structural changes characteristic of SANS.

The researchers will use the Swoop system to perform a volumetric analysis of the astronauts' brain and cerebrospinal fluid spaces in order to evaluate intracranial volume changes. The images will help them understand if the intracranial venous congestion happens during spaceflight or when the brain is readapting to Earth.

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