Wonderalis

Elazığ/ Türkiye | Discovering Science Connections

Using He-Ne Therapy to Reduce Risk of Osteoporosis in Astronauts

High-Level Project Summary

Gravity is vital for the homeostasis and continuity of the life cycle, thanks to the adaptations the human body has developed. In crewed space flight —regardless of various methods space agencies have been following— the effectiveness of the mission is drastically affected by the microgravity environment, especially the bone tissue, mainly due to its dependency on gravity for the continuation of its anabolic activities.Low-Level Laser Therapy —currently used for osteoporosis treatment— with He-Ne laser can reduce the osteoporosis risk and maintain bone density in astronauts with an innovative and linking perspective by facilitating our exploration via developments on osteology.

Link to Project "Demo"

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1N2idod_rM0mqS7w9J2huM61EAbD-x46xQgA2PrSBgYQ/edit?usp=sharing

Link to Final Project

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WsqepSrtlLb77DwSF5tMh4y_dmeF7q4t/view?usp=sharing

Detailed Project Description

A healthy bone stimulated by gravity ensures the continuity of balanced cyclical activities in osteoblast (the cell responsible for bone formation and regeneration) and osteoclast cells (the cell that destroys bone tissue). In the microgravity environment of space, osteoblasts are not sufficiently stimulated and bone mineral density (BMD) follows a negative course. This process —which is defined as osteoporosis— creates structural deterioration in bone, mineral loss, susceptibility to fracture, and risk of kidney stones. 


In the therapy we designed, LLLT (low-intensity laser therapy) forces osteoblast cells to anabolic activity, creating a stimulating effect similar to the force of gravity. The method we followed to emphasize the intelligibility, reproducibility and reliability aspects of our study was formed by the synthesis of the principles of similarity, analysis, and inference. The system that will prevent bone resorption by applying laser therapy to the specified areas has 3 parts: 




  • Polymer Layer (Outer Layer): The sensors contain confirmations where the therapy should be applied with ultrasonic sound waves and play a critical role in determining the dosages. This layer, which acts as the brain of the system, transmits the personalized watt values (ranging from 15.8mW to 22.5mW) to the power supply. 
  • Power Supply: The energy needed by the system is provided through batteries that can be recharged with solar energy in this layer. 
  • Application Point (Probes): The probes from which the He-Ne laser exits the system are located in this layer.


The use of promising therapies in Earth in space is a situation we have encountered many times to date or vice versa. The cardiac muscle conditioning machine, artificial heart bomb, and non-scratch lenses are the most familiar examples of this. Our project has this linkage by connecting science and NASA principles.


The target audience of our project is laser and DEXA system manufacturers. The final beneficiaries of our project in the short term are the astronauts who suffer from osteoporosis due to the microgravity environment.

Space Agency Data

We have made investigations from the website of NASA about the osteoporosis problem and treatments developed so far. By way of the data that we gathered, we have noticed how significant that problem is and how it affects astronauts adversely. Deriving from this crucial problem, our project aims to prevent osteoporosis by using He-Ne therapy.


1) NASA. “Top Ten Space Station Research Results Countdown: Ten, Preventing Loss of Bone Mass in Space Through Diet and Exercise”. Date Accessed: 13.08.2021. https://blogs.nasa.gov/ISS_Science_Blog/2013/10/21/top-ten-space-station-research-results-countdown-ten-preventing-loss-of-bone-mass-in-space-through-diet-and-exercise/: the writer emphasizes that “astronauts loss about one and a half percent of their total bone mass density per month” (Julie A. Robinson,2013) in the space.


2) NASA. “Top Space Station Research Results Countdown: Nine, Understanding Mechanisms of Osteoporosis and New Drug Treatments”. Date Accessed: 13.08.2021. https://blogs.nasa.gov/ISS_Science_Blog/2013/10/22/top-space-station-research-results-countdown-nine-understanding-mechanisms-of-osteoporosis-and-new-drug-treatments/: states a drug treatment which is used on the earth and planned to be used in space.


3) NASA. “Preventing Bone Loss in Spaceflight with Prophylactic use of Bisphosphonate: Health Promotion of the Elderly by Space Medicine Technologies”. Date Accessed: 13.08.2021. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/b4h-3rd/hh-interdisciplinary-approach-to-human-health refers to bisphosphonate therapy and its methods in order to decrease the risk of bone mass loss.


All of the following articles inspired us to prepare our project. A variety of treatments and the seriousness of the problems pushed us to come up with a new solution.

Hackathon Journey

As teenagers from a war-torn area, we have always prioritized learning and spreading our acquisitions to our surroundings. Yet, we have never had an opportunity to explore space, disciplines strengthening our understanding, and how to develop innovative solutions to challenges humanity faces on and above the ground. 


With Space Apps Challenge, we had a chance to dive deep into the world of enigmas, e.g. how space disciplines are connected and how a well-reasoned argument is written and grounded. “Discovering Science Connections” challenge was a cut-out for us in terms of fostering our curiosity and having fun in a scientific environment. We aimed to emphasize the clarity, reproducibility, and reliability aspects of our work by following the synthesis of similarity, analysis, and inference approaches. Thanks to the resources provided on the website, we easily overcame the challenge of finding reliable and up-to-date resources. 


We are thankful to the Space Apps Challenge team for making possible a golden opportunity for us and their understanding along the way. 

References

  1. Alayat MSM, Abdel-Kafy EM, Thabet AAM, Abdel-MalekAS, Ali TH, Header EA. Long-Term Effect of Pulsed Nd-YAG Laser Combined with Exercise on Bone  
  2. Axpe E, Chan D, Abegaz MF, et al. A human mission to Mars: Predicting the bone mineral density loss of astronauts. PLoSOne. 2020;15(1):e0226434. Published 2020 Jan 22. doi:10.1371/ journal.pone.0226434
  3. Bone HG, Wagman RB, Brandi ML, et al. 10 years of denosumab treatment in postmenopausal women withosteoporosis: results from the phase 3 randomised FREEDOM trial and open-label extension. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2017;5(7):513-523. doi:10.1016/ S2213-8587(17)30138-9
  4. Gambacurta A, Merlini G, Ruggiero C, et al. Human osteogenic differentiation in Space: proteomic and epigeneticclues to better understand osteoporosis. Sci Rep. 2019;9(1):8343. Published 2019 Jun 6. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-44593-6  
  5. Ikegame M, Hattori A, Tabata MJ, et al. Melatonin is a potential drug for the prevention of bone loss during spaceflight. J Pineal Res. 2019;67(3):e12594. doi:10.1111/jpi.12594  
  6. Karoussis IK, Kyriakidou K, Psarros C, Lang NP, Vrotsos IA. Nd:YAG laser radiation (1.064 nm) accelerates differentiationof osteoblasts to osteocytes on smooth and rough titaniumsurfaces in vitro. Clin Oral Implants Res. 2017;28(7):785-790. doi:10.1111/clr.12882  
  7. Kunimatsu R, Gunji H, Tsuka Y, et al. Effects of high-frequency near-infrared diode laser irradiation on theproliferation and migration of mouse calvarial osteoblasts. Lasers Med Sci. 2018;33(5):959-966. doi:10.1007/s10103-017-2426-0  
  8. Mineral Density in Men with Osteopenia or Osteoporosis: 1 Year of Follow-Up. Photomed Laser Surg. 2018;36(2):105-111. doi:10.1089/pho.2017.4328
  9. Nelson ES, Lewandowski B, Licata A, Myers JG. Development and validation of a predictive bone fracture risk model for astronauts. Ann Biomed Eng. 2009;37(11):2337-2359. doi:10.1007/ s10439-009-9779-x
  10. Pietrzyk RA, Jones JA, Sams CF, Whitson PA. Renal stoneformation among astronauts. Aviat Space Environ Med. 2007;78(4 Suppl):A9-A13.  
  11. Sibonga J, Matsumoto T, Jones J, et al. Resistive exercise in astronauts on prolonged spaceflights provides partialprotection against spaceflight-induced bone loss. Bone. 2019;128:112037. doi:10.1016/j.bone.2019.07.013 
  12. Smith SM, Heer MA, Shackelford LC, Sibonga JD, Ploutz-Snyder L, Zwart SR. Benefits for bone from resistanceexercise and nutrition in long-duration spaceflight: Evidencefrom biochemistry and densitometry. J Bone Miner Res. 2012;27(9):1896-1906. doi:10.1002/ jbmr.1647 
  13. Strollo F, Gentile S, Strollo G, Mambro A, Vernikos J. RecentProgress in Space Physiology and Aging. Front Physiol. 2018;9:1551. Published 2018 Nov 12. doi:10.3389/fphys.2018.01551  
  14. Tsuka Y, Kunimatsu R, Gunji H, et al. Effects of Nd:YAGlow-level laser irradiation on cultured human osteoblastsmigration and ATP production: in vitro study. Lasers Med Sci. 2019;34(1):55- 60. doi:10.1007/s10103-018-2586-6  
  15. Zhang C, Li L, Jiang Y, et al. Space microgravity drivestransdifferentiation of human bone marrow-derivedmesenchymal stem cells from osteogenesis to adipogenesis. FASEB J. 2018;32(8):4444-4458. doi:10.1096/fj.201700208RR  

Tags

#osteoporosis #spacetravel #spacebiology #lowlevellasertreatment #boneloss #discoveringscienceconnections

Global Judging

This project has been submitted for consideration during the Judging process.

Discovering Science Connections

The NASA Science Mission Directorate studies our home planet’s systems while exploring the worlds in our solar system and the elements of the larger universe. Your challenge is to find the connections between the diverse NASA science disciplines and communicate those linkages in an innovative and interesting way to new and diverse audiences.