Astronauts test AI-assisted health checks in orbit
New technology on the International Space Station helps astronauts perform medical scans, reducing reliance on Earth-based specialists during long missions.
AI is playing an increasingly important role in space medicine as astronauts aboard the International Space Station test new technologies designed to support autonomous health monitoring. The experiment combines augmented reality with an AI system that analyses ultrasound scans in orbit.
NASA astronaut Jack Hathaway and European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot carried out guided ultrasound examinations using the EchoFinder-2 biomedical device.
Augmented-reality instructions helped the astronauts position the scanner correctly while AI analysed the images and confirmed the identification of internal organs.
The developers of the system aim to reduce reliance on medical specialists on Earth. Future crews travelling farther into space may face communication delays, making real-time guidance from ground teams more difficult.
Reliable AI-supported diagnostics could therefore become a key tool for long-duration missions, enabling astronauts to perform complex medical checks independently during journeys to the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
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