#Telehealth Advances

[hk-1989]

Embracing Telemedicine: Connecting Patients and Providers Digitally

In today's rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, embracing technology has become essential for delivering efficient and accessible care to patients. One of the most transformative technological advancements in healthcare is the widespread adoption of telemedicine. Through digital solutions and telehealth advances, healthcare providers can now connect with patients remotely, breaking down barriers to access and improving healthcare outcomes.

One key aspect of telemedicine is remote monitoring, which allows healthcare professionals to track patients' vital signs and health metrics from a distance. With the help of wearable devices and other wearable tech, patients can conveniently transmit their health data to their providers, enabling proactive interventions and personalized care plans.

Virtual consults are another integral component of telemedicine, enabling patients to receive medical advice and treatment from the comfort of their own homes. Through secure telemedicine platforms, patients can connect with their healthcare providers via video conferencing or messaging apps, eliminating the need for in-person visits and reducing unnecessary travel and wait times.

The adoption of telemedicine offers numerous benefits for both patients and providers. Patients enjoy greater convenience, flexibility, and access to care, while providers can efficiently manage their caseloads, optimize their schedules, and reach patients in remote or underserved areas. Additionally, telemedicine has been shown to improve patient satisfaction, increase treatment adherence, and reduce healthcare costs.

As telemedicine continues to evolve and expand, it is essential for healthcare organizations to stay abreast of the latest digital solutions and telehealth advances. By investing in robust telemedicine platforms, integrating remote monitoring technologies, and training staff to deliver high-quality virtual consults, healthcare providers can maximize the potential of telemedicine to enhance patient care and improve health outcomes.

In conclusion, embracing technology in the form of telemedicine represents a significant paradigm shift in healthcare delivery, offering unprecedented opportunities to connect patients and providers digitally. Through digital solutions, telehealth advances, remote monitoring, virtual consults, and wearable tech, telemedicine is revolutionizing the way healthcare is delivered, making quality care more accessible and convenient for patients everywhere.

[xoniertechnologies201]

Empower your practice with advance telehealth

Healthonier offers outstanding telemedicine solutions to help your clinic. Our cutting-edge technology enables you to provide high-quality therapy to your patients remotely. Healthonier enables you to improve your productivity, promote patient involvement, and ensure secure and reliable communication. Transform your practice utilizing the future of healthcare technology

Empower your practice with advance telehealth

[medicalfacilities]

"The Role of Telemedicine in Modern Healthcare"

The practice of providing clinical healthcare remotely via information technology and communication is known as telemedicine. It covers a broad variety of uses, such as electronic medical data transfer, remote monitoring, and virtual consultations. Telemedicine allows for quick and easy medical care by bridging the distance between patients and healthcare professionals through the use of wearable technology, mobile health applications, and video conferencing.

What is Telemedicine?

The term "telemedicine" describes the practice of providing clinical medical treatment remotely via information technology and communication. Virtual consultations, remote monitoring, and the electronic exchange of medical data are just a few of the many uses it covers. Telemedicine allows patients and healthcare professionals to communicate through video conferencing, wearable technology, and mobile health applications, resulting in prompt and easy medical care.

Benefits of Telemedicine

Accessibility and Convenience: Geographical obstacles are removed via telemedicine, which enables patients in underprivileged or rural locations to get medical knowledge without having to travel. Those who live in remote areas or have mobility problems would especially benefit from this.

Cost-Effectiveness: By reducing the need for in-person visits, telemedicine can significantly lower healthcare costs. Patients save on transportation expenses, and healthcare providers can optimize their resources by managing more patients remotely.

Timely Medical Attention: Telemedicine enables prompt medical consultations, reducing the waiting time for patients. This is crucial for conditions that require immediate attention or follow-up care, such as chronic diseases or post-surgical monitoring.

Improved Patient Engagement: Patients are empowered to actively participate in their health management using telemedicine. Patients may follow their treatment regimens, keep informed about their health, and receive prompt interventions with the use of digital tools and routine virtual check-ins.

Enhanced Care Coordination: Improved cooperation and communication between healthcare providers is made possible via telemedicine. In order to provide patients with complete and integrated care, specialists may readily meet with primary care doctors, exchange medical information, and coordinate treatment regimens.

Challenges of Telemedicine

Technological Barriers: Reliable internet connectivity and access to the right equipment are essential for the efficacy of telemedicine. Patients in areas with poor technical infrastructure could find it challenging to use telemedicine services.

Privacy and Security Issues: Using digital channels to handle sensitive medical data presents privacy and cybersecurity issues. It is imperative that crucial concerns like ensuring secure communication and safeguarding patient data from breaches are addressed.

Licensing and regulatory issues: various nations and areas have various laws governing telemedicine, and these laws must be complied with. It might be difficult for healthcare practitioners to navigate these legal issues when they want to provide telemedicine services.

Limited Physical Examination: Physical examinations are necessary for some medical disorders and cannot be performed virtually. Even while telemedicine is capable of handling many areas of healthcare, there are situations in which in-person visits may still be necessary.

Telemedicine's Future With continuous technological improvements and growing patient and provider acceptability, telemedicine has a bright future. Technological advancements like virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and remote monitoring devices are expected to improve telemedicine's capabilities and increase its effectiveness and accessibility.

Recognizing the benefits of telemedicine, governments and healthcare institutions are also making investments in infrastructure and regulations to encourage its expansion. Telemedicine has the potential to enhance patient-centered treatment, lower inequities, and improve health outcomes as technology becomes more widely used in the healthcare industry.

In summary With its many advantages, including better patient participation, cost savings, and enhanced accessibility, telemedicine is revolutionizing the current healthcare industry. Even if there are still obstacles to overcome, a more integrated and effective healthcare system is becoming possible thanks to the ongoing advancement of technology and encouraging legislation. Better health outcomes and a more robust healthcare system in the long run can result from embracing telemedicine as a supplement to conventional healthcare procedures.

(FAQ)

1. What is telemedicine?

The practice of providing clinical medical treatment remotely via telecommunications technology is known as telemedicine. This covers electronic medical information exchange, remote monitoring, and virtual consultations.

2. Is telemedicine secure?

To protect patient privacy and data security, telemedicine platforms need to abide by laws like the US's HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). Use reputable and safe telemedicine services at all times.

3 How does telemedicine work?

Mobile applications, wearable technology, and video conferencing are just a few examples of the digital communication technologies that telemedicine employs to link patients and medical professionals. This makes it possible to share medical information, monitor health issues, and conduct remote consultations.

4. What are the benefits of telemedicine?

Accessibility, Convenience, Cost-effectiveness, Patient engagement, Care coordination

5. Do I need special equipment for telemedicine?

For video consultations, you usually need an internet-connected device, like a computer, tablet, or smartphone with a camera and microphone. For remote monitoring, some telemedicine services can need extra gear.

Read more... https://taskarmall.com/

[optimistichomecareagencyinc]

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[recoverhealthcare]

Advanced Physical Therapy - Recover.healthcare

[zinniajones]

Text of thread at https://kolektiva.social/@zinnia/110418489814171631:

Yes - this is what is happening in Florida due to SB 254, which was signed into law on Tuesday 5/17/2023, taking immediate effect. This immediately cut off 80%+ of adult trans people in Florida from having their HRT refilled, because SB 254 uniquely prohibits only nurse practitioners from prescribing only gender-affirming medications.

This has already been in effect for 7 days now.

Trans adults in Florida have already been cut off from their HRT refills for a week now, including those of us who have been stable on these medications for years or decades.

This is VERY different from the general situation of trans youth care bans in 19 states, many still working their way through the courts.

This has *already* happened, to *all* of us: all trans adults in the third most populous state in the US.

The number of trans adults on HRT massively exceeds the sliver of the population that are under 18 and are prescribed puberty blockers or hormone therapy.

These laws, advanced under the pretext of 'protecting children', are now directly impacting a far larger group of people who are not children and are not subject to those pretextual concerns.

Other arguments about withholding public Medicaid funding for transition treatment also do not apply here: SB 254 does not even allow receiving this care through private insurance or paying cash out of pocket. The care isn't simply not covered - the care itself cannot be provided regardless.

What is happening in Florida requires special attention above the situation of trans youth care bans nationally. This is having a vastly larger impact quantifiably.

It will have worse impacts qualitatively as well: adults are responsible for taking care of and protecting trans kids and making sure they do not hurt themselves.

Whereas as a trans adult, we have no one standing guard at the brink but our own self and the void to which we are accountable.

These are the facts as they stand right now. These are the facts as they have stood for a WEEK and NO ONE nationally is putting any attention on this because there are 19 trans youth care bans all across the country going on, along with everything else targeting trans people and the LGBT community broadly.

This is a specific harm that is happening now and has been happening for 168 hours.

It is not a hypothetical issue to raise awareness of, as if it were at the stage of some proposal that needs to be fought back. This has already happened and is happening right now. Active harm is happening until this law is rolled back.

For all of Florida's history since the inception of the applicable regulatory and licensing bodies, nurse practitioners have been allowed to prescribe hormone therapy, testosterone blockers and other relevant gender-affirming medications.

That has been the case since I moved here in 2011. There was no reason why this wouldn't be the case. It's also the case in every other state.

This new law is a carveout of prescriptions when used for one purpose, gender-affirming care, from nurse practitioners specifically, in a way that has never been done before. It affects all ages.

It has immediately obstructed access to HRT prescription refills for more than 80% of TRANS ADULTS in Florida.

It has also prohibited first appointments for HRT via telehealth with in-state or out-of-state MDs or DOs - first appointments must be in person. This will require expensive and time-consuming travel that is beyond most trans people's means: driving to Georgia from Florida can take 8 hours.

This was an intentional targeting of almost all trans adults in Florida, and the means by which we have received our generic, FDA-approved medications for years. And it included closing every possible door that would let us find another way to keep taking the medications we have taken for...

Well, for me it was 3,891 days when the clock stopped

[feralthembo]

So i got talking with roomie and we decided that my goals financially are best served working on the non-rent bills so she can focus her pay on keeping the roof over our heads. I will be trying to tackle the water and if generosity/luck permits, the internet. (telehealth is becoming an integral part of my mental healthcare or i would be fine without it for a while)

I will now be keeping this post pinned to keep donations open full time. we need about $200 a month for these expensive and the water will always be paid first. this total may rise temporarily if we need help with rent, but this is the start of a system that is going to help us find some sort of stability in our current circumstances. roomie is looking for a better job and i am Trying To Grow My Patreon that i am trying to update somewhere around thursday/friday.

you can also send money to one of these:

Cashapp: $AshTheAutistic Paypal.me/Karmorda

thank you in advance for anyone who helps, and reblogging can help get this to people who can so that includes those.

[genderqueerpositivity]

After Mississippi banned his hormone shots, an 8-hour journey

Katie had done all she could to prepare for this trip. She’d asked a relative to pick up her two younger boys from school. She’d researched how to change a tire, and she’d spent hours on Google Maps, searching for the closest Walgreens in Alabama. She’d finally found a destination in Thomasville, a rural town nearly 200 miles from their suburban Mississippi home, but much remained unclear. Would they make it by noon for Ray’s telehealth appointment? Would the pharmacy give him testosterone?

Katie looked at her boy, a thin 17-year-old with wavy hair and an easy grin, and she asked herself the question that had begun to matter least: Was she breaking the law?

Two months earlier, Mississippi had banned transgender young people, like Ray, from accessing hormones or other gender-transition treatments. By mid-spring, nearly half the country had passed similar bills, according to the Movement Advancement Project, and now, 1 in 3 trans children lives in a state with a ban. Conservative lawmakers said they’d pushed the bills to protect young people, but Katie felt like they’d done the opposite. Testosterone had allowed her son to embody himself for the first time. Ray was present, happy. The ban would take that happiness away.

Across the country, families were doing everything they could to protect their trans children. Some uprooted their lives in red states for the promise of protections in blue ones. Others filed lawsuits. Katie couldn’t afford to move, and she needed a solution faster than the courts could offer, so she’d settled on a cheaper, quicker plan: She’d take a day off from her nursing job, and she and Ray would travel out of state for his medical care.

No one should have to go to these lengths just to access what is essentially basic life-saving heath care.

Also, major shout out to QMed and Dr. Lowell and the Southern Trans Youth Emergency Project for the work that they are doing to help trans youth and adults in red states access gender affirming care.

[ectafoole]

I need y'all to understand something about US health care: providers WILL NOT tell you how much an appointment or procedure costs prior to authorizing payment from your insurance. You could be about to pay a hundred dollars or a thousand and you will not know in advance.

Some providers can give you a "good faith estimate" by mail (never! over! the phone!) but it's not guaranteed to be accurate and they'll always tell you to contact your insurance.

I currently have a high-deductible plan, so we've been paying out of pocket for my ADHD testing. I have a psychiatrist telehealth appointment to talk about medication to treat it. They will not tell me how much that appointment will cost, even if I am paying out of pocket. I know it will be several hundred dollars, but how many hundred? It's a mystery.

USA! USA! USA!

[transgenderteensurvivalguide]

I turn 18 next year and I’m not sure where I can get testosterone, I’ve looked at planned parenthood’s website but the only one in my state doesn’t offer hrt services 😭 do you have any advice on how to access hrt?

Lee says:

Happy (Very very) early birthday! If you're still a year away from being 18 you have plenty of time to figure this out.

You should start by talking to your primary care physician and ask if they are knowledgeable about gender-affirming care and are willing to prescribe you HRT themselves. If they are not experienced with HRT for gender-affirming reasons, ask them to look into it and refer you to a healthcare provider who is.

While you're waiting for your appointment (often it can be at least a month away even if you schedule the first available date) use that time wisely and go out into the world (And internet) and talk to people! There must be at least ONE other trans person in your state who is on hormones, right? You just have to find ONE other trans person in your state who is on hormones (and trust me-- there's more than just one trans person on hormones in your state! But all you need is one person), then find out where they're getting their prescription from!

Online platforms can be a great resource for shared experiences and advice so I'd just start by googling "transgender [insert hormone name] in [insert state]" until you find the right key terms. You might also be able to find something on Reddit or through Facebook groups.

Additionally, going to trans support groups and meeting people there and asking your trans friends to ask their friends, etc can all be a good way to find a provider through word-of-mouth.

Another thing you can try is contacting LGBTQ+ centers or organizations in your state and seeing if they have any recommendations. Even if Planned Parenthood's local branch doesn't offer HRT services, they may have a lists of trans-friendly healthcare providers or clinics that do, so it could still be worth reaching out to them.

If you're planning on attending college or university, check if the campus health center provides HRT or can refer you to local resources that do. Some college health centers offer comprehensive services for transgender students, but unfortunately most do not.

Many healthcare providers now offer telehealth services for transgender patients looking to start or continue HRT. These services can be particularly helpful if you live in an area with limited access to transgender healthcare. Providers like Folx Health, Plume, and QueerDoc offer gender-affirming care to patients in many states, all through telehealth platforms.

There's more info on starting hormones in this post, and you should take a look at that too.

Finally, I'm guessing that you don't have much experience with adulting which is fine because everyone starts somewhere! I was in the same position as you once. I also started to look into starting T when I was 17 and got everything ready (appointments scheduled for after my birthday, letter of support since it wasn't fully informed consent, lab work done the month before I was 18, etc), but didn't actually start hormones until I was 18.

Everyone has a different path through life, but this may be your first time scheduling doctor's appointments for yourself, signing up for a patient portal, getting your own health insurance (unless your parents support you being on HRT and wouldn't boot your off of their coverage), paying for appointment and prescription and lab work copays, etc.

Since you have a year until you're actually 18, it would be a good idea to start getting prepped for your first dive into the healthcare system as a legal-adult-even-if-it-doesn't-always-feel-that-way and google the basics of having and using health insurance. There's a lot of words you're going to need to learn one day (what's a deductible vs an out of pocket maximum vs an allowed amount etc) and this is as good of a time as any to start learning some of those basics (The advanced level is learning how to appeal denied claims, etc).

You got this anon! You're clearly on the right track by starting to investigate the process of starting HRT in advance, and remember that starting HRT as an adult also comes with adult responsibilities like figuring out how to pay for it! When you're thinking through the logistics of finding an in-network prescriber, don't forget to budget for those things too.

Followers, any tips for anon?

[alexistudies]

monday, april 1st 2024

hellooo april! march ended on a high note: got accepted to present at a major conference in my field over the summer, signed the lease on our new apartment, finished a book i had been pleasure reading for over a month, and was able to do my last neural engineering homework assignment in its entirety. anddd purdue advanced to the final four ha.

the only downside is i caught a nasty cold and am still fighting it lol. but you know whattt, its all good. hopefully my follow up appointment with my doctor comes in clutch.

today's a busy day and i'm honestly not expecting to get anything done because of it. but anything i get done will be a bonus.

today's to do list

research lab 9am-11am

class 1:30pm-4:15pm

telehealth appt 4:20pm (blaze it)

i hope everyone has a good day :)

[directactionforhope]

PSA: If you have ADHD, do what you can to get your meds sorted in advance now. The med shortage is about to get worse

"The charges coincide with an ongoing shortage of several stimulant medications commonly prescribed to treat ADHD, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A disruption “involving this large telehealth company could impact as many as 30,000 to 50,000 patients ages 18 years and older across all 50 U.S. states,” the agency said.

“Instead of properly addressing medical needs, the defendants allegedly made millions of dollars by pushing addictive medications,” said Anne Milgram, administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. “Any diversion of Adderall and other prescription stimulant pills to persons who have no medical need only exacerbates this shortage and hurts any American with a legitimate medical need for these drugs.”"

[xoniertechnologies201]

Advance Telehealth Software

Healthonier's Telehealth Software is intended to transform healthcare delivery. Our comprehensive technology offers smooth virtual consultations, safe patient data management, and timely appointment scheduling. Healthcare practitioners may give high-quality care remotely thanks to Healthonier's telehealth software, which includes advanced capabilities such as video conferencing, e-prescriptions, and real-time health monitoring. Our cutting-edge telehealth system will boost patient involvement, lower operating costs, and improve health outcomes.

Empower your practice with our Advance Telehealth Software

[mariacallous]

When access to reproductive health care is threatened in the United States, a growing number of women stock up on abortion medications to keep on hand in case they need the pills in the future, new research shows.

A study analyzed 48,404 requests for “advance provision” abortion medications made to Aid Access, an Austria-based nonprofit offering telehealth abortion services in the US, between the beginning of September 2021 and the end of April 2023.

Most doctors in the US do not let patients order abortion pills before they’re pregnant. “It’s definitely something that’s never been standard practice here,” says Abigail Aiken, the principal investigator of the Self-Managed Abortion Needs Project (Project SANA) at the University of Texas at Austin, who led the study. In recent years, though, interest in “advance provision” has been on the rise, with a limited number of telehealth services giving patients the option to prepare in case abortion access is curtailed in their area.

Aiken’s study shows that demand for abortion pills made by women who weren’t yet pregnant spiked during events when reproductive health care access appeared under threat. This matters, because in 2024, the US will face its next big test for reproductive freedoms, when the US Supreme Court hears a case challenging access to mifepristone, one of the two drugs typically used in a medication abortion. If the court sides with the anti-abortion activists who brought the case against the US Food and Drug Administration, medication abortion access may be in jeopardy nationwide. With this potentially hazardous change on the horizon, it’s likely that even more people will start stocking up.

According to Aiken’s findings, requests were at their highest immediately following the Dobbs decision leak in May 2022, which signaled that Roe v. Wade would be overturned. From a baseline of around 24.8 requests a day, Aid Access saw an influx of 247.3 requests per day following the Dobbs leak. After this rush, requests jumped again after the Dobbs decision was finalized, averaging 89.1 per day. Most recently, requests rose once again, following conflicting court decisions in April 2023 regarding access to mifepristone, one of the two drugs commonly offered in the abortion pill protocol. Aid Access received an average of 172.1 per day.

“This is a way of taking back some control,” Aiken says. “Of being in control of your own reproductive destiny.”

One striking finding from this new research breaks down the type of people who are able to take advantage of advance provision. Compared with patients who request abortion pills for immediate use, patients who purchase abortion pills in case they become pregnant in the future tend to be significantly older, to live in low-poverty regions, and to not have any other children. They also tend, overwhelmingly, to be Caucasian. White women make up 70 percent of Aid Access' advance provision requests, compared to 39 percent of requests for abortion pills for immediate use.

This access gap demonstrates that there’s a need for more outreach, to ensure everyone who might need this medication can get ahold of it. “The potential of advance provision is amazing,” says Dana Northcraft, the founding director of the Reproductive Health Initiative for Telehealth Equity and Solutions. But she sees it as a limited tool right now. “It’s not going to be a panacea. I don’t think it will reach those who most need care, especially people of color and people struggling to make ends meet.”

“We can’t say for sure what these demographic differences are telling us, but one possibility is that there are barriers to advance provision for certain groups, including financial barriers,” Aiken says. One issue that will need to be addressed is cost. While services like Aid Access offer sliding scale options for people who are financially struggling, paying for medication that isn’t an immediate necessity can be harder to justify for people with limited resources. “If it’s between getting pills and paying rent—which we know it is for a lot of people—you might say yes if you need the pills right away, but it’s a different calculus for advance provision.”

These findings suggest that people who might greatly benefit from access to advance provision aren’t able to access the services, but this does not mean they don’t want the services. “We find that the people most interested and supportive of advance provision of medication abortion are those who face barriers accessing reproductive health care,” says Antonia Biggs, a social psychologist at Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH), a research program based at the University of California, San Francisco. “Thus, as barriers to care increase, as they are in the current policy context, we anticipate demand for advance provision to grow.”

[whatbigotspost]

Medical providers: "Arrive to our office no less than 20 mins before your scheduled appointment..." Medical providers: "You must cancel or reschedule your appointment at least 48 hours in advance or the copay will apply." Medical providers: "Log into your telehealth session at least 30 mins in advance to ensure your technology works..." Medical providers: "If you are greater than 10 minutes late to your appointment time with our staff, your place will be forfeited and you'll be charged the full cost of the office visit."

Also medical providers: "LOL enjoy waiting 45 mins to 2 hours after your scheduled appointment time until we actually see you. Sorry not sorry we hold all the power here and if you want our care, you'll be at our every whim and delay. We know the value of time just not YOUR TIME. If you have a job or other life circumstances that prevent you being able to set aside 3 hours for routine care, guess you just won't get routine care. This is Amurikkka, this is how we do it."

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Physicians work to help prevent vision loss associated with space travel

Physicians at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University are working with Polaris Dawn, the first of the Polaris Program's three human spaceflight missions, to better understand the eye changes many astronauts experience during spaceflight that can leave them with a wide range of symptoms once they return to Earth—from a new need for glasses to significant loss of vision.

The Polaris Program is a first-of-its-kind effort to rapidly advance human spaceflight capabilities while continuing to raise funds and awareness for important causes on Earth.

More than 70% of astronauts experience a phenomenon known as Spaceflight Associated Neuro-Ocular Syndrome, or SANS, according to NASA. The syndrome can have "a constellation of symptoms, including these changes in vision," said Matt Lyon, MD, director of the MCG Center for Telehealth.

Astronauts can experience other maladies as well when body fluids, such as cerebrospinal fluid, shift, which can lead to structural changes in the brain.

"The changes start happening on day one," said Lyon, who is also the J. Harold Harrison M.D. Distinguished Chair in Telehealth.

"We are not entirely sure what causes these issues with vision, but we suspect it has to do with a shift in cerebrospinal fluid in the optic nerve sheath. On Earth, gravity pushes that fluid down and it drains out, but in space, it floats up and presses against the optic nerve and retina."

With the help of portable, handheld ultrasound machines, Lyon and his team hope to not only figure out the mechanism behind the changes, but also be able to predict which astronauts will be most likely to experience them.

MCG patented the concept of using portable ultrasound to rapidly visualize damage from pressure and fluid changes in the optic nerve sheath, the layers of protective membranes around the nerve. Lyon is investigating how this part of the brain is affected by elevated cranial pressure and mild traumatic brain injuries. When the brain is injured, like many other organs, it swells and fills with fluid.

Researchers worked with URSUS Medical Designs LLC, a Pennsylvania-based biotech company with expertise in ultrasound, to build a 3D ultrasound machine that could help. A one-year grant enabled the project to build a device that added another dimension to 2D transducers.

Lyon and the MCG research team are now using those ultrasound machines to screen astronauts and determine who among them may already have these incompetent or damaged optic nerve sheaths. They suspect that those are the ones who will be more susceptible to the vision changes associated with SANS.

"We discovered that when the cerebral spinal pressure goes up with mild traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), there is resulting damage to the sheath that is likely lifelong," he explained.

"We think that when astronauts who have experienced concussions or mild TBIs go into space and experience the low-gravity fluid shifts, the sheath dilates from the increase in volume. It is like a tire—a normal tire remains its normal shape as it is filled with air, and the shape doesn't change.

"When it's damaged, like bulges on the side of a tire, the fluid fills the bulges up and the sheath expands. This can cause pressure on the nerve and retina. A damaged sheath is less of a problem on Earth, but in space, the excess fluid has nowhere to go."

The researchers don't yet know if the vision changes are caused by the sheer volume of fluid, by the associated pressure, or both. They are training Polaris Dawn crewmembers to use these ultrasound machines to measure both fluid and pressure in real time during spaceflight.

"If it's just volume, we suspect the cerebrospinal fluid goes up, fills this floppy bag and gets stuck. It's almost like not flushing your toilets. You're creating this toxic environment, because the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) is what carries toxins away from your eyes and nerves, and instead the toxins sit against the optic nerve, killing it," Lyon said.

"But it could be that combined with the increased pressure that comes with increased CSF, which would be like getting intermittent hypertension in your eye."

Next steps could include working to develop and fine tune countermeasures that would decrease fluid volumes in the head during spaceflight. For example, the U.S. space program and their international space partners use a vacuum-pant device, called lower-body negative pressure, that pulls blood and other fluids down in the body.

This experiment will be part of an extensive suite of science and research performed throughout the mission. Polaris Dawn will collaborate with 23 institutions, including MCG, on the selected experiments.

Other participating institutions include the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH); University of Texas, Houston; University of Colorado, Boulder; Baylor College of Medicine; Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; and the U.S. Air Force Academy.