Lab Medicine in Space.

Abstract

As humanity continues to push towards interplanetary travel and beyond, short- and long-term adaptation of the human body to extreme environmental conditions in space remains a fundamental concern. An astronaut is subjected to physically and mentally enduring situations like microgravity, extreme heat or cold, radiation, isolation, and other unforeseen technical challenges. To manage the physiological impact of these situations, the use of real-time diagnostic laboratory medicine will be necessary for the health of the astronaut. With advancing technology, the recent implementation of point-of-care testing (POCT) on the International Space Station (ISS) provides a means to reduce the need to freeze and send specimens back to earth for analysis. However, the quality of these lab tests in a microgravity environment continues to be investigated. Similar to traditional laboratory medicine, there are laboratory analysis concerns during space travel such as pre-analytical errors, competency, interface issues, specimen type differences, reference intervals, and consumable storage. As the frequency and duration of human spaceflight increases, research in these areas of laboratory testing will be key for space travel and astronaut health. For this Q&A, we invited a diverse group of experts to explore the current and desired future state of laboratory medicine in space as well as innovations that will expand our current horizon within this area of interest.