physorg.com — Harnessed to the walls, their surgical tools moored down with magnets, a team of French doctors are Wednesday to attempt the world's first human operation in zero-gravity, as a test run for performing surgery in space.
Sep 24, 2006 View in Crawl 4
realystSep 24, 2006
@TheBurt:You are correct. The Vomit Comet dives in sync with the Earth's gravity, causing a zero-g effect(like those nasty looking theme-park rides where they hurl you down a tower).
roguescoutSep 24, 2006
This brings up an interesting subject.Medical Emergencies During Space Exploration.Think about it. Outside of the common cold, flu, or motion sickness, it would be interesting to see if there have been any MAJOR medical emergencies during humankind's exploration of space, how it was dealt with, and if it was covered up for PR reasons.I guess I could f***ing Google it, but I am watching the Giants get their asses handed to them by the Seahawks right now and I only have time to write this comment.Astronauts are in tip-top physical condition, but accidents can happen. We must be lucky so far. With civillian space travel emerging, I bet the odds will increase for the serious health maladies we possibly face everyday for just being human. I wonder what sort of medical gear is standard beyond a basic field first-aid kit? I believe defibrillators are on-board for missions, but beyond that?What happens if an astronaut breaks their neck or punctures a lung out there? SOL?
astromattSep 24, 2006
Hey Diggers, I'm in Bordeaux right now preparing for the Tuesday flight of the same plane (<a class="user" href="http://matthewjason.blogspot.com/).">http://matthewjason.blogspot.com/).</a> My experiment isn't quite as fun as "the first surgery in space" but it does have to do with emergency procedures in space, specifically evacuation of the ISS using Soyuz. We're doing this because there are really no procedures to deal with a severe trauma that would require an emergency evacuation. Basically the ISS is equipped like a decent ambulance. It's prepared to perform all sorts of basic life support, but it's not equipped for prolonged levels of advanced life support. Just like the ambulance needs a hospital, you're going to need to get back to earth if something goes really wrong.Wish us luck, we have our safety review in 8 hours! Maybe I'll post a few pics somewhere on the internets after the flight.P.s. Just a quick fact: The flight plan calls for 31 parabolas. One to get the hang of zero-g, followed by 6 sets of five. The whole flight lasts 3 hours, but only a small part of that is in micro-gravity most is take-off and landing.
chileangodSep 25, 2006
Guzzling blood will never be the same.
sumgiSep 25, 2006
Jeez what poor guy got signed on to have his surgery done on a huge roller coaster that lasts 3 hours? They end up slitting his throat for a procedure on his arm when the plane hits 2 G's all of a sudden. They called it the vomit comit for a reason!
softdadSep 25, 2006
OK, so you get the knife to work in microgavity. I just hope you can get it out before the macrogravity hits at the bottom of the ride!
mattsparkesSep 27, 2006
The flight has now taken place! It was a complete success.Here's the Digg page for the story:<a class="user" href="http://digg.com/health/Doctors_Have_Performed_First_Zero_Gravity_Surgery">http://digg.com/health/Doctors_Have_Performed_First_Zero_Gravity_Surgery</a>Thanks!