501: Keynote Lecture: Floating Eyeballs: Ocular Testing and Treatment Throughout Human Spaceflight

501: Keynote Lecture: Floating Eyeballs: Ocular Testing and Treatment Throughout Human Spaceflight

Despite sporadic reports of visual phenomena and vision changes by astronauts over the first four decades of human spaceflight, inflight testing and ground examinations did not reveal clinically concerning ocular findings. That all changed in 2005 with the discovery of Spaceflight Associated Neuro-ocular Syndrome (SANS), a condition affecting the eyes, brain, and vision of astronauts during long-duration missions. This lecture describes ocular testing performed before the discovery of SANS, followed by the rapid evolution of diagnostic capabilities onboard the International Space Station (ISS) in response to SANS. SANS and other spaceflight-associated ocular risks are discussed, including the respective treatments currently available onboard the ISS.

Speakers