Advanced Eye Exams in Space

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Space Station Live: Advanced Eye Exams in Space

Public Affairs Officer Kelly Humphries interviews NASA astronaut Mike Barratt about vision and how it changes during long term missions in space. Barratt, a medical doctor, served as an Expedition 19/20 flight engineer in 2009 and an STS-133 mission specialist aboard space shuttle Discovery in 2011.

During his stay in space as a flight engineer, Barratt noticed his vision changing and performed an eye exam with input from space medicine specialists on the ground. Using special gear they discovered anatomical changes to his eye. Upon further study, doctors found the majority of space flyers also experienced far-sighted vision changes.

He and fellow doctors and scientists are testing astronaut's vision using the latest research and gear (i.e. Optical Coherence Tomography). Manager of the Human Research Program at Johnson Space Center, Barratt is studying the long term effects of living and working in space to improve health and reduce risk during human spaceflight.

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/barratt-mr.html

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/index.html

Credit: NASA

Source: NASA - Multimedia