[VIDEO] Lumia Tech Shared at NASA

Lumia inventor Daniel Lee visited NASA recently, and here's what he had to share about the experience:

Did you know that on long space missions (over 6 months), astronauts’ eyes and brains start to change shape?

In space, gravity no longer pulls blood away from the head into the legs, so pressure in the head starts to build, slowly changing eye/brain shape and affecting vision and cognition (aka SANS). It affects 70%+ of astronauts during long missions. And while we are starting to better understand it, no one’s solved it yet.

This is one of NASA’s top mission-critical health problems limiting long-term space travel, including trips to Mars.

On May 3, I had the kind of weekend every engineer dreams of—diving into space travel challenges alongside NASA’s top leadership like Liz Warren, Ph.D. and Cody Burkhart at the NASA Technical Interchange Meeting.

Huge thanks to the both of them — and to the entire HumanWorks team — for bringing startups and space scientists together in such a thoughtful way.

I highly recommend this event to other teams building tech relevant to NASA’s top human health risks. It was a fun experience, and I’m genuinely excited about the collaborations that came out of it!

I am excited for a potential future where Lumia helps astronauts manage fluid shifts in space to unlock new horizons in space travel 🚀

Video attached: one of several tests we ran evaluating Hytro Blood Flow Restriction bands while lying down. We saw Lumia readings drop to levels similar to what happens when standing upright. Yes, that means we might be able to simulate gravity in space using bands to reduce head over-pressure, and allow for longer spaceflight.

Thank you again to Joe Handsaker, Chief Innovation Officer at Hytro! 

Screenshot of my results from the Lumia: Manage Your Dizziness app:

Blood Flow Restriction reduced my blood flow similar to what gravity would do if I were standing, except I was lying down. Releasing the thigh cuffs made my blood flow recover back up to normal.