An Investigation to Test Remote-Controlled Drug Delivery Implant to Launch on SpaceX CRS-26

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER (FL), November 18, 2022 – A new remotely controlled drug delivery implant could one day provide extended, adjustable medication for patients who need daily medicine but lack medical access—even those on spacecraft headed for Mars. Houston Methodist Research Institute researchers have developed such an implant. They are leveraging the International Space Station (ISSInternational Space Station) National Laboratory to test the implant’s ability to be controlled in space from a device on Earth.

The investigation, launching on SpaceX’s upcoming 26^th Commercial Resupply Services mission(Abbreviation: CRS mission) A CRS mission is a cargo resupply mission contracted by NASA to deliver supplies and research to the International Space Station on commercial spacecraft as part of the CRS contract with three commercial companies. As part of CRS missions, experiments currently return to Earth on SpaceX Dragon spacecraft that splash down in the ocean. (SpaceX CRS-26), will lay the groundwork for future experiments from the research team involving rodent models on the ISS. The goal is to improve the implant’s ability to transmit signals to Earth and ensure the drug delivery system is safe for humans, said Alessandro Grattoni, professor of nanomedicine at Houston Methodist Research Institute.

“We’re preparing for the first demonstration of a remotely controlled telemedicine implant in an animal model on the ISS. It’s the ultimate sci-fi medicine in space,” Grattoni said. “And beyond our investigations, the implant could provide a valuable technology for drug dosing in rodent research studies with no need for astronaut time.”

The implant uses nanofluidics technology that combines membranes with very small nanochannels to deliver a controlled drug dose through diffusion. This investigation builds upon the research team’s previous ISS National Lab-sponsored experiments that studied fluid flow through nanochannels to design the implant’s ability to release specific amounts of drugs for individualized treatment. Grattoni also led an investigation that tested the implantable nanochannel drug delivery system in a rodent model to assess its ability to mitigate microgravity-induced muscular atrophy.

For this current investigation, Grattoni and his team will test their remotely controlled implant in an automated experiment using the Faraday Research Facility developed by ISS National Lab Commercial Service ProviderImplementation Partners that own and operate commercial facilities for the support of research on the ISS or are developing future facilities. ProXopS, LLC. The implant contains computer chip-like technology and is immersed in liquid saline to represent a “surrogate animal model.” The researchers will attempt to control the implant using Bluetooth and a Blackberry device on Earth to test different frequencies to determine if the implant can precisely deliver and adjust doses on command.

The investigation’s results will serve as a critical step toward the implant’s future use in space travelers who may need safe, automated access to a medication that requires frequent dosing. For example, a therapeutic currently being developed may one day help mitigate the effects of radiation or prolonged exposure to microgravityThe condition of perceived weightlessness created when an object is in free fall, for example when an object is in orbital motion. Microgravity alters many observable phenomena within the physical and life sciences, allowing scientists to study things in ways not possible on Earth. The International Space Station provides access to a persistent microgravity environment. in space.

“Radiation exposure is a limitation for taking people to Mars, and even the Moon,” Grattoni said. “Other precautionary methods are being developed to prevent radiation exposure, but our device will be the first that a doctor back on Earth could use to instantly deliver medication to treat an exposed astronaut during a long-term mission.”

Grattoni’s team has also designed implants with multiple reservoirs that allow different drugs to be dosed simultaneously. The implant can even be pre-programmed, facilitating its function when communications are not possible or delayed because of distance from Earth. Eventually, Grattoni says, doctors on Earth will be able to control drug delivery implants wherever patients are located—from remote locations on Earth to distant space—using an application on their smartphone or computer.

This is one of more than 20 ISS National Lab-sponsored payloads launching on SpaceX-26, which is set to launch from Kennedy Space Center no earlier than November 21 at 4:19 p.m. EST. Please visit our launch page to learn more about all ISS National Lab-sponsored research on SpaceX CRS-26.

Download high-resolution photos for this release: Houston Methodist Research Institute Investigation

View the SpaceX CRS-26 overview video: SpaceX CRS-26 Research: Overview

Media Contact:       
Patrick O’Neill
904-806-0035
PONeill@ISSNationalLab.org

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About the International Space Station (ISS) National Laboratory: The International Space Station (ISS) is a one-of-a-kind laboratory that enables research and technology development not possible on Earth. As a public service enterprise, the ISS National Lab allows researchers to leverage this multiuser facility to improve life on Earth, mature space-based business models, advance science literacy in the future workforce, and expand a sustainable and scalable market in low Earth orbit(Abbreviation: LEO) The orbit around the Earth that extends up to an altitude of 2,000 km (1,200 miles) from Earth’s surface. The International Space Station’s orbit is in LEO, at an altitude of approximately 250 miles.. Through this orbiting national laboratory, research resources on the ISS are available to support non-NASA science, technology and education initiatives from U.S. government agencies, academic institutions, and the private sector. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, Inc. (CASIS(Abbreviation: CASIS™) The nonprofit organization that manages the ISS National Lab, which receives at least 50 percent of the U.S. research allocation on the International Space Station to facilitate research that benefits humanity (NASA manages the other 50% and focuses on research for space exploration purposes).) manages the ISS National Lab, under Cooperative AgreementA cooperative agreement is Federal assistance that establishes a relationship between the U.S. Government and a recipient in which the principal purpose of the relationship is to accomplish a public purpose of support or stimulation.  Since 2011, the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space™ (CASIS™) has managed the National Laboratory® through a Cooperative Agreement with NASA. with NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration, facilitating access to its permanent microgravity research environment, a powerful vantage point in low Earth orbit, and the extreme and varied conditions of space. To learn more about the ISS National Lab, visit issnationallab.org.

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