Peter Cavanagh, Ph.D.
Virginia Lois Kennedy Chairman
Department of Biomedical Engineering (ND20)
Lerner Research Institute
9500 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44195
Phone: (216) 445-6980
Email:
Peter Cavanagh, Ph.D., is currently doing research with NASA on bone loss in the presence of zero gravity. The information that is being collected and analyzed will shed light on Osteoporosis and ways to combat its ill effects in the later years of life. He works with NASA and its astronauts in testing machinery and different exercises to shed light on how preventative measures can be taken at an earlier age to fight against osteoporosis.
The loss of bone mineral in the lower extremities is widely viewed as one of the critical factors that may limit long-term human habitation of space. Decrements in muscle function as a result of prolonged exposure to microgravity also have important implications for performance and safety during spacemissions. A major aim of ongoing projects is to investigate the role that load reduction and reduced muscle activity may play in the loss of bone mineral and muscle strength. Two experiments are currently under way, one ground based and the other on the International Space Station (ISS).
Our ground-based study is designed to examine the efficacy of exercise in microgravity. Tests are conducted on a simulator in which human subjects walk and run while suspended in a harness apparatus to simulate microgravity conditions. This arrangement is being used to examine the biomechanics and perceived comfort of exercise in microgravity; ultimately, the data will be coupled with a robotic simulation of the exercise using human cadaver limbs to measure bone strain during simulated microgravity exercise.
As part of the in-flight experiment, we are characterizing the comparative load on the lower extremities during entire days of working on Earth versus on the ISS. We are using instrumentation from the Human Research Facility (http://hrf.jsc.nasa.gov/). Pre- and post-flight estimates of bone mineral density, muscle cross-sectional area, and joint torques provide a perspective against which the consequences of changes in activity profiles can be judged. The results of this research will provide an understanding of the role of mechanical stress in in-flight osteopenia and important information to assist in the design of exercise countermeasures to bone and muscle loss.