Level Ex Receives Prestigious Grant

Level Ex, creator of industry-leading medical video games for physicians has received a significant grant from the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) to build a virtual human simulation framework for NASA. Level Ex will simulate the human body’s anatomical and physiological changes in space, demonstrate how medical devices and procedures function differently in microgravity, and create high-fidelity simulations of the spacecraft environment. Level Ex will expand on this framework to recreate spaceflight medical scenarios for astronauts to train prior to space missions.
 
Astronauts can experience changes in the structure and function of the heart, eyes, vascular system, and other parts of the body as a result of prolonged exposure to space conditions. These significant transformations create a need for new methods to effectively understand spaceflight-induced physiological changes and their impact on medical procedures.
 
“TRISH is dedicated to adopting the most advanced terrestrial technologies that have the potential to address NASA’s future space health challenges,” said Dr. Aenor Sawyer, TRISH’s chief health innovation officer. “We identified Level Ex as having advanced capabilities in data-driven simulation and rendering of virtual patients and devices across platforms that are unmatched in the simulation ecosystem. By adapting their technology to include space conditions, we will lay the foundation for essential medical training and future real-time autonomous guidance for astronauts.”
 
Currently, if a health issue occurs on a spacecraft, astronauts convey pertinent medical information to NASA’s medical team in Mission Control who provides critical directives. Deep space exploration will cause a 40-minute delay on any communication with Mission Control, which can lead to further complications should a medical emergency occur. This grant will provide Level Ex with the resources to create a foundation for improving astronauts’ abilities to respond to and handle medical emergencies in space, taking into account gravity’s impact on the human body and using the framework to reduce reliance on ground communications.
 
The TRISH grant provides 12 months of funding toward developing the initial framework. This framework will provide the basis to support various modules that will train and educate astronauts around specific medical scenarios in space and how to address them.