NASA Human Research Program Investigators' Workshop (2012)
4066.pdf
SmartMED: Prototype Platform for Spaceflight Biomedical Support
Gary E. Strangman,1 Ian M. D. Jamieson2 and Rob R. Montgomery3
1
Harvard Medical School / Massachusetts General Hospital, Psychiatry, Charlestown, MA,
strang@nmr.mgh.harvard.edu; 2 Harvard Medical School / Massachusetts General Hospital, Psychiatry,
Charlestown, MA; ianj@nmr.mgh.harvard.edu; 3 Argosy Omnimedia, Rockville, MD, rob.montgomery@argoc.com
INTRODUCTION
Biomedical and environmental monitoring, as well as countermeasure delivery, are key components in any manned
spaceflight. However, there is currently no in-flight system to integrate the multitude of devices available, to
synchronize data streams, or to incorporate countermeasure or therapy delivery capabilities 1. Thus, current
procedures place substantial time and cognitive burdens on astronauts for data collection and management.
Integrated, multi-parameter monitoring devices can help mitigate such difficulties, but they are also often designed
as stand-alone systems. We have been developing SmartMED, a platform to integrate in-flight data acquisition,
consolidation, display, control and decision support, to which broadly distributed existing and future medical and
environmental devices, systems and software will be able to connect and interact.
METHODS
The SmartMED platform has four primary layers, each designed for modular addition of new functions. The
hardware layer includes the devices that implement the key medical functionality (pulse oximeters, ultrasound,
countermeasures, etc), whereas the remainder of the system is software based. The MEDcomm layer supports an
array of communication protocols to enable hardware components to communicate with the SmartMED platform in
their native “language”. The prototype’s third layer, the MEDproxy layer, provides a relational database to compile,
synchronize and manipulate data coming from the MEDcomm layer. Finally, the graphical MEDview user interface
provides secure and flexible visualization of all data stored at the MEDproxy layer.
RESULTS
A first complete prototype of the SmartMED platform (version 1.0) has been assembled, including all three software
layers plus several wireless devices to demonstrate physiological and environmental monitoring. The system design
contrasts with a previous version using a publish-subscribe data distribution model at the MEDproxy layer. The
advantages of the new design include minimal software dependencies, web-based data access, guarranteed data
storage, complete platform independence at the MEDview layer (see Figure 1), and improved security capabilities.
Figure 1: Data search/query screen for MEDview data (left), and example of plotted results (right).
DISCUSSION
The SmartMED prototype seeks to provide a single platform to which both existing and future medical and
environmental devices can inter-operate with goals of standards conformity, security, privacy, and high quality of
service. The overall design seeks to enable elimination of the time and training demands on astronauts for system
use or maintenance, automatic time-synchronization of all incoming data streams, and integrated security.
REFERENCES
1.
Bogomolov VV et al. In: Nicogossian AE, Mohler SR, Gazenko OG, Grigoriev AI, eds. Space Biology and
Medicine. Vol V. Reston, VA: American Institute of Aeronatuics and Astronautics; 2009:331-394.