JAXA Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

Q. How are these space medicine experiments going to improve life on Earth?

Space medicine aims to establish technology for the management of astronauts’ health, but we would also like to give these results back to society on the ground.
As I mentioned before, we are learning to prevent the loss of bone mass in astronauts through appropriate nutrient consumption, effective exercise, and the minimum of therapeutic agents. We are also thinking about how to use such an approach in the prevention of osteoporosis on the ground. Currently, there are about 12 million osteoporosis patients in Japan; half of women in their 70s develop it. As a result, every year 150,000 people suffer a fracture of the femoral neck, and all of them need surgery, followed by 3 months of rehabilitation. This places a big burden on patients and their families, and costs our nation 665.7 billion yen a year (US$7.5 billion) in medical expenses and nursing care. In Finland and Canada, as a result of a government campaign for osteoporosis check-ups and treatment, the number of patients with bone fractures is decreasing. In Japan, on the other hand, the number of patients with fractures of the femoral neck is increasing every year. When Niigata University surveyed patients in Sado City who broke their femoral neck, it was found that only 4 percent of them were receiving drug treatment for osteoporosis. We would like to use the preventive countermeasure we’re developing in space medicine to fight osteoporosis on the ground, and to contribute to the campaign to reduce the number of seniors who are bedridden due to bone fractures.
Our approach to space tele-medicine also holds the promise of medical technology in less-populated areas and health monitoring for elderly people living alone. Currently, Japan is an aging society with a low birthrate. In Tokyo’s Shinjuku ward alone, 30 percent of the elderly live alone. These people don’t have relatives near them and they can not go to the doctor by themselves when they are sick, so they are more likely to wait until they are seriously ill and call an ambulance. If we can improve tele-medicine technology to the point that we can monitor our own health at home and consult with doctors through TV phones or e-mail, we may be able to prevent some strokes and heart attacks. Not only would we increase our nation’s healthy life expectancy, but we would also reduce our medical expenses.

Q. Where are you interested in focusing your research?

Dr. Hiroshi Ohshima at Astronaut Koichi Waikato’s post-flight rehabilitation (Courtesy: JAXA)

Before I got involved in JAXA's space medicine research, I was a lecturer in orthopedics at a national university. Then, I'm interested in research on bones and muscles. When astronauts stay in space for long periods, they lose both bone and muscle masses. In preparation for their flights, astronauts build up the physical strength required for their missions by exercising 2 hours every day. Even during their flights, they exercise for 2 hours a day to maintain their physical strength. And after they return to Earth, they undergo 45 days of rehabilitation to recover their strength. In the past, We’ve developed an exercise program for Japanese astronauts and attended post-flight rehabilitation sessions while communicating with NASA’s rehabilitation personnel. I’d like to promote further research on more effective exercise programs that can be completed in shorter periods.
I’d also like to take part in developing new exercise machines. The ones used on the ISS were developed in the United States and Russia. Once the new Japanese transportation system, the H-II Transfer Vehicle, is in use, if we could build small, multifunction exercise machines using Japan’s unique technology, there may be a chance to launch and test them by ourselves.
Things related to the daily necessities-food, clothing, and everyday goods-are also important on long-duration expeditions. JAXA has worked with Japanese scientists and companies to develop space suits with deodorant and antibacterial functions, and about 30 types of Japanese space food. These items have a very good reputation not just with Japanese astronauts, but among astronauts from other countries as well. In the future, we expect to develop more functional space food, which will help maintain healthy bones and muscles, and to equip the ISS with living supplies created with advanced Japanese technology.