Funding Status:
Completed - Task completed and produced a deliverable
|
Procurement Mechanism(s):
|
|
Aims:
The aim is to develop modeling tools that: (i) compute fluid shifts in microgravity; (ii) compute how these shifts lead to biomechanical insult to the optic nerve in astronauts; and (iii) estimate the effect that these insults have on optic nerve function. These tools will directly build upon, and interface with, models of ocular biomechanics and fluid shifts that are currently being developed in
the NASA-funded MONSTR Sim project. Four specific aims were proposed:
SA1: Measure key physiologic parameters needed for modeling, including effects of intracranial pressure on optic nerve sheath
diameter, optic nerve tortuosity, craniospinal volume and cerebral blood flow.
SA2: Incorporate “quasi-1D” effects into existing compartment models, allowing us to evaluate the effects of microgravity and
countermeasures on CSF and blood flows/pressures.
SA3: Extend finite element models of ocular biomechanics, specifically modeling: (i) optic nerve kinking, and (ii) compression of optic
nerve fiber bundles in the lamina cribrosa; and relate kinking/compression to an index of axoplasmic insult/stasis.
SA4: Carry out parametric studies integrating the above models to identify individual-specific factors that: (i) predispose for the
development of VIIP syndrome, and (ii) influence the efficacy of proposed countermeasures, both useful for risk profiling