NASA to use new Lithuanian technology to detect injuries

A group of scientists at the Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) Health Telematics Science Institute, under the leadership of the institute director professor Arminas Ragauskas, have developed technologies, which could be used to create innovative head injuries detection devices. If there are no unforeseen obstacles, a NASA spacecraft will take the World’s first non-invasive ultrasound intracranial pressure meter for tests at the International Space Station in the near future.

On long-term space expeditions the brains of approximately 35 per cent of astronauts gradually start swelling until, eventually, the optic nerve starts suppressing the eyeball. Without the ability to manage this syndrome we can only dream about space trips to Mars, because most of the travelers would, most likely, arrive blind. Due to technological developments at KTU these cosmic dreams may become reality.

The technology created at the Institute is applicable from sports to space medicine: it helps in diagnosing glaucoma with greater precision, for designing individual and precise methods of patients with neurological or brain injuries, lessening brain damage during various medical surgeries and high physical stress situations. Early diagnosis of medical disorders can help save the lives of millions of people.

The technology developed by KTU scientists is also an example of successful research commercialization. According to the projections of market consultants in the US and EU, the non-invasive intracranial pressure measurement device and cerebrovascular autoregulation monitoring technology upon entering the global market will open a new profitable niche.