MDT 06 EVENT REVIEW
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Dr Richard Boyle, NASA urges industry to collaborate with space scientists.
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Companies should raise their sights and start working with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), said Dr Richard Boyle, Director of the Center for Bioinformatics Space Life Sciences at NASA. Most future technology for heath and safety of personnel in space will need to come from the private sector, he asserted. This is because NASA spends huge amounts of its budget on getting suitable vehicles into space and having resources available to deal with catastrophic failures. There are some spin offs of space science developments that could be transitioned to medical technology, but these were small in 2005. He urged companies to make contact with a NASA scientist and get him/her involved in new collaborative developments.
Radiation exposure is one of the greatest challenges for long-term space living. Future technology requirements include high-speed computational tools and the ability to make fast and accurate assessment and diagnosis of the state of the crew; and instruments that are resilient to radiation and able to deal effectively with fluids/provide good filtration systems. Space fans should look out for a launch in 2007 with NASA’s latest collaboration with a European venture. An expansion of private business into space travel is seen as the way forward.
Other talks covered topics such as the progress being made on getting innovative products into the National Heath Service, how to convert ideas into winning products, the opportunities and challenges of manufacturing in China, and the impact of wireless technology on health care.
