NASA equipped with EchoLight devices for bone health monitoring in spaceflight simulations

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Echolight, a global innovator in bone densitometry, announced that NASA is using its proprietary REMS (Radiofrequency Echographic Multi Spectrometry) technology to monitor bone changes in a human bedrest study and to assess the effects of unloading on bone mass given the paramount importance of Bone Health in space too.

Through a simple ultrasound scan of axial anatomical sites such as the spine and femur, the REMS innovative technology measures bone density and microarchitecture without using the radiation of traditional X-ray scans. This radiation-free technology allows scientists to perform repeated scans for monitoring bone health over time. In addition, the ability to automatically exclude artifacts commonly present with other densitometry procedures yields a highly reliable diagnostic assessment.

"Echolight is pleased with this additional milestone in the US adoption of REMS devices, where the diagnostic system for the unique, personalized and patient-centered assessment of bone health has registered a very high interest among the US medical community sharing the intent to reduce fragility fractures," explained Sergio Casciaro, Echolight S.p.A. CEO and founder.

Prof. Aenor Sawyer, director of UCSF Skeletal Health Service and of UC Space Health, reported "Echolight technology provides a number of potential benefits for possible use during spaceflight missions including its portability (the unit is the size of a small suitcase), fast scan time of under 10 minutes, edge analytics, and the ability to scan frequently with no harmful radiation effects. NASA is currently unable to assess the bone loss of each astronaut occurring in spaceflight and make real-intime adjustments to their countermeasures. This will be increasingly important on longer missions such as those to the Moon and Mars, and REMS could potentially provide this critical in-mission information."