new materials for screening diagnostics in outer space

In an era of space flights, fast medical diagnostics are a very significant necessity for people staying in orbital stations to respond to all microbiological threats. the lack of possibility for hospitalisation makes it necessary to apply quick screening diagnostics aimed at undertaking treatment as early as possible. the application of very porous carbon materials for sorbing the respiratory phase of people staying in outer space will allow for taking instant and precise steps, such as targeted therapy, quarantine or return to the earth. It will be sufficient if the person with alarming symptoms breaths on very porous carbon material. The material will absorb everything from the air breathed out by the patient. then, the material will be inserted into an analyser which will analyse the chemical composition of the patient’s breath and a diagnosis will be made through an advanced neural network, which will allow for a very quick decision on what to do with the patient in a space station where access to a fully equipped diagnostic laboratory is very difficult and/ or completely impossible. Such quick and screening breath analyses and their correlation with specific disease entities will allow for considerable reduction of the risk of spreading of potential infectious diseases among the crew.

Andrzej Swinarew, PhD Department of Biomaterials Faculty of Computer Science and Materials Science, University of Silesia in Katowice