Exercise under artificial gravity - experimental and computational approaches

Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2015.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Diaz Artiles, Ana
Other Authors: Laurence R. Young.
Format: Thesis
Language:eng
Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/98799
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author Diaz Artiles, Ana
author2 Laurence R. Young.
author_facet Laurence R. Young.
Diaz Artiles, Ana
author_sort Diaz Artiles, Ana
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description Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2015.
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spelling mit-1721.1/987992019-04-12T13:50:14Z Exercise under artificial gravity - experimental and computational approaches Diaz Artiles, Ana Laurence R. Young. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Aeronautics and Astronautics. Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2015. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (pages 185-191). Humans experience strong physiological deconditioning during space missions, primarily due to the weightlessness conditions. Some of these adverse consequences include bone loss, muscle atrophy, sensory-motor deconditioning, and cardiovascular adaptation, which may lead to orthostatic intolerance when astronauts are back on Earth. In order to mitigate the negative effects of weightlessness, several countermeasures are currently in place, particularly very intensive exercise protocols. However, despite these countermeasures, astronaut physiological deconditioning persists, highlighting the need for new approaches to maintain the astronauts' physiological state within acceptable limits. Artificial gravity has long been suggested as a comprehensive countermeasure that is capable of challenging all the physiological systems at the same time, therefore maintaining overall health during extended weightlessness. Ground studies have shown that intermittent artificial gravity using a short-radius centrifuge combined with ergometer exercise is effective in preventing cardiovascular and musculoskeletal deconditioning. However, these studies have been done in very different conditions, and confounding factors between the studies (including centrifuge configuration, exposure time, gravity level, gravity gradient, and use/intensity of exercise) make it very difficult to draw clear conclusions about the stimuli needed to maintain physiological conditioning in space. The first objective of this research effort is to analyze the effects of different artificial gravity levels and ergometer exercise workload on musculoskeletal and cardiovascular functions, motion sickness and comfort. Human experiments are conducted using a new configuration of the MIT Compact Radius Centrifuge, which has been constrained to a radius of 1.4 meters, the upper radial limit to fit within an ISS module without extensive structural alterations. The second objective is to develop a computational model of the cardiovascular system to gain a better understanding of the effects of exercise under a high gravity gradient on the cardiovascular system. The gravity gradient generated when using a short-radius centrifuge has not previously been investigated in detail. The model is validated with the experimental measurements from the MIT CRC. Then, the model is used to explore the cardiovascular responses to new centrifuge configurations and from 0g adapted subjects. by Ana Diaz Artiles. Ph. D. 2015-09-17T19:12:58Z 2015-09-17T19:12:58Z 2015 2015 Thesis http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/98799 921146283 eng M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 191 pages application/pdf Massachusetts Institute of Technology
spellingShingle Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Diaz Artiles, Ana
Exercise under artificial gravity - experimental and computational approaches
title Exercise under artificial gravity - experimental and computational approaches
title_full Exercise under artificial gravity - experimental and computational approaches
title_fullStr Exercise under artificial gravity - experimental and computational approaches
title_full_unstemmed Exercise under artificial gravity - experimental and computational approaches
title_short Exercise under artificial gravity - experimental and computational approaches
title_sort exercise under artificial gravity experimental and computational approaches
topic Aeronautics and Astronautics.
url http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/98799
work_keys_str_mv AT diazartilesana exerciseunderartificialgravityexperimentalandcomputationalapproaches