The CASPER Mission Patch
CASPER is the first Irish experiment to be flown aboard the International Space Station. Pioneered by two Irish researchers Dr Marc O Griofa and Dr Derek O'Keeffe, this European Space Agency experiment is a collaboration between University College Dublin and University of Limerick and was completed aboard ISS by ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter in 2006.
Dr Marc O Griofa with ESA astronaut Thomas Reiter
CASPER (Cardiac Adapted Sleep Parameters Electrocardiogram Recorder) will provide a practical, portable and non-invasive system for monitoring and cataloguing incidents of disturbance and instability during an astronaut's sleep period, based primarily upon the ECG activity.
"Sleep medicine is an under-funded and under-researched area", says Dr Marc O Griofa, principal investigator of Project CASPER. "However, it is rapidly gaining momentum as people realise how big an impact sleep pathology can have on daily lives and how many people are affected by it. The problem is that sleep pathology, like sleep apnoea, often co-exists with other pathologies, so it can be very hard to isolate specific parameters in the data. But in space, the sleep disturbance affecting the astronaut on a long-term mission will be almost certainly due to his environment. The data we collect will enable us to identify changes in the circadian rhythm, and this is especially important for ECG."
CASPER will have important implications for monitoring and hopefully treating people with diseases that affect the circadian rhythm and sleep patterns including heart disease and heart failure, diabetes and the disrupted sleep patterns associated with post-traumatic stress disorder. It is hoped that the data may help identify those patients at risk and those who may be affected and provide an avenue for monitoring therapy and treatment.
CASPER has strong associations with Harvard University and the University of Pittsburgh, and has received funding from Enterprise Ireland and the European Space Agency.
"In December we were asked to attend the landing at Kennedy Space Centre and assemble with the medical triage teams when the shuttle arrives carrying both the astronaut and experiment back to Earth", says Dr O Griofa.
"We are seeking every opportunity to show Irish students and the public that this and other exciting projects are possible and that there are Irish successes in every field including the space programme."
UCD was involved in the initial project tender for Project CASPER. Dr Marc O Griofa completed his medical training at UCD and the university continues to provide medical support and expertise for the project.
Further Information can be found at:
www.projectcasper.com
