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“AIM” (Artery in Microgravity) was a project conceived, designed, built and tested by students from ISAE-SUPAERO and Politecnico di Torino. AIM came from the first team selected by ESA Academy to participate in the Orbit Your Thesis! program, and it is also the first complete payload built by ISAE-SUPAERO and Politecnico di Torino to fly to the International Space Station.
Vascular diseases involve a gradual widening or narrowing of vessels, influencing the blood flow dynamics and the mechanical properties of the artery walls. In such cases, changes in the shape of blood vessels are associated with a high risk of vascular diseases, in particular thrombus (blood clot) formation and vessel rupture. If left untreated, rupture of bubbles on weak spots of a blood vessel (aneurysm) can occur, potentially leading to severe bleeding and, ultimately, death.
These pathologies are analysed by studying the characteristics and parameters of blood circulation, as well as the deformations and movements of the walls induced by fluid flow.
The goal of “AIM” was to investigate how the lack of gravity in the space environment impacts the biomechanics in the arteries and in particular coronary artery disease treatment with implants of a stent (small metal mesh tube device). This type of experiment setup had not been tested before and focused on the assessment of cardiovascular mechanics in space compared to terrestrial conditions, where gravity plays an important role in how the vascular system behaves. The experiment was hosted inside the ICE Cubes facility on board the ISS and aimed at visualising the flow of blood-like fluid in both diseased and surgically repaired (stented) artery models in the absence of gravity. In addition, the effect of gravity on the performance of endovascular medical devices was analysed.
About Orbit Your Thesis! (OYT)
OYT! was an ESA educational project part of the ESA Academy programme for university students to get hands-on experience of the full life cycle of a real space project, and so be better prepared and qualified for a career in the European space sector.
The programme was carried out in close cooperation with European universities and intends to complement higher education for university students. While learning through hands-on learning, they could also contribute to scientific and technological progress in their specific areas.
With support from Space Applications Services, students received the knowledge and expertise, as well as technical capabilities, necessary to materialize their project to be sent to the ISS.
Today, the ESA Academy Experiments programme encompasses and replaces a multitude of programmes previously known as Fly-, Drop-, Spin-, Orbit-Your Thesis! and PETRI. Read more about the programme in its current setup.
Image credits: ESA / Team AIM (ISAE-SUPAERO & Politecnico di Torino)
For more information, check out the links below.
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OYT project
