Out-of-this-world medical tech could boost health care on Earth, researchers say
Out-of-this-world medical tech could boost health care on Earth, researchers say
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/space-medicine-technology-earth-9.7228858
Publish Date: 2026-06-13 04:00:00
Source Domain: www.cbc.ca
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The ear thermometer. Portable ultrasounds that plug into an iPhone. A virtual doctor’s appointment.
All of these now-common medical tools were adapted from space technology.
Now, deep space exploration is set to bring new innovations to health-care systems on Earth, researchers say, including portable medical technology and robotic care.
And these developments could be particularly beneficial for remote and under-resourced communities.
“The lessons that we can learn from a lunar habitat for delivering remote medical care [are], in a similar manner, transferrable to northern Canada,” said Dr. Dave Williams, a former emergency room doctor and astronaut based in Toronto.
WATCH | Radiation, lack of gravity affect astronauts in deep space:
The weird stuff space does to the human body
As the Artemis II crew returns to Earth, they’ll be bringing back more science about what happens to the human body in deep space. For The National, CBC’s Eli Glaser breaks down what’s known about the dangers and how researchers are trying to learn more about astronaut health.
The next frontier
Williams and Dr. Farhan Asrar, an associate dean at Toronto Metropolitan University’s school of medicine, are studying potential health-care innovations related to deep-space exploration — missions that are sending people back to the Moon, and eventually, to Mars.
Deep-space missions will make it harder for astronauts to return to Earth for medical care, according to Dr. Tarek Sardana, president of the Canadian Society of Aerospace Medicine.
“If they do have to come back, it’s going to be days, weeks or months — if that’s even an option,” he said.
As humans venture to the moon and beyond, returning to Earth for emergency health care could become difficult, if not…
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