How space technology like the James Webb telescope is improving healthcare on Earth

Cancer care and diagnostic scans have been developed thanks to space research

A patient gets an MRI scan. The same digital image processing technique used to enhance photographs of the moon is used to provide potentially lifesaving images for doctors. Getty Images

Doctors at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle, UK, examine an X-ray image showing a Miniaturized Ventricular Assist Device heart pump in the chest of Harold Chivers, after he became the first person in the world to have the device fitted. PA Images

The next generation foam used to insulate the external tanks of the space shuttle have since been used to build moulds for amputees. AFP

Nasa light technology was originally developed for experiments to grow plants in space. For more than a decade, it has been used to promote healing and reduce pain. Bloomberg

Smartwatches designed to monitor astronauts in deep space can offer doctors realtime monitoring of physiological data of patients to help collect valuable information for research studies and clinical trials. Reem Mohammed / The National

From breast cancer treatments to self-driving cars and fitness trackers, space exploration is improving life on Earth for millions of people.

As the James Webb Space Telescope beams incredible images back to Nasa, scientists hailed the way the same technology has been used to improve eye surgery.

It is the latest example of how space research can be used in multiple formats of everyday life, particularly in improving healthcare.

The eyesight of millions has improved thanks to the technology used to build the Webb telescope over decades, by driving major improvements to Lasik eye surgery.

The same process for measuring the powerful mirrors used by the telescope to capture fragments of light from more than 13 billion years ago in deep space has been incorporated into a device to precisely measure the human eye.

The technology has been incorporated into Johnson & Johnson Vision’s iDesign Refractive Studio, a device that takes measurements to map imperfections in visual pathways and cornea curvature, similar to a unique optical fingerprint for each eye.

“The mirrors were one of the really critical technologies we needed to develop to enable the observatory,” said Lee Feinberg, optical telescope element manager for Webb at Nasa’s Goddard Space Flight Centre in Greenbelt, Maryland.

“We had to polish them in such a way that, when they cool down, they become the mirror shape that we want.

“We had to match the curvature of one mirror to the next, which was a very challenging problem.”

Since the early 2,000s, the technology has been expanded and used elsewhere, including in treating people with degenerative eye conditions.

Johnson & Johnson Vision, which is headquartered in Santa Ana, California, acquired the technology in 2017, incorporating it into its iDesign Refractive Studio, which won approval from the US Food and Drug Administration in 2018.

It has been used in more than 18 million successful procedures worldwide by eye doctors in 47 countries.

Top five space innovations used on Earth

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Although Nasa didn’t invent the technology used in thousands of hospitals around the world, the same digital image processing technique was used to enhance photographs of the moon.

That eventually led to the evolution of computerised tomography used daily in MRI and CT scans to provide potentially life-saving images for doctors.

Heart pump (LVAD, Left Ventricular Assist Device)

Space engineers worked alongside doctors to develop an artificial heart pump in 1995 that uses similar technology intended for space shuttle fuel injectors.

The lifesaving device pumps blood from the heart to the rest of the body via a control unit and battery pack and acts as a stop-gap for patients awaiting a heart transplant.

Artificial limbs

The next-generation foam used to insulate the external tanks of the space shuttle has since been used to build moulds for amputees.

The materials used are affordable and robust, making them perfect for the development of artificial limbs.

Light technology

The Nasa technology was originally developed for experiments to grow plants in space. For more than a decade it has been used to reduce the painful side effects of chemotherapy in cancer patients and those receiving a stem-cell transplant.

Trials of a High Emissivity Aluminiferous Luminescent Substrate, or Heals device, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital, found a 96 per cent improvement in pain management in those who used LEDs (a semiconductor light source that emits light when current flows through it).

The light sources release energy in the form of photons, that stimulate cells to aid the healing process.

Smartwatches

Wearable devices to measure biometric activity are commonplace. But the EmbracePlus smartwatch designed to monitor astronauts during deep space exploration is now being used to monitor patients.

It offers doctors real-time monitoring of physiological data of patients to help collect valuable information for research studies and clinical trials. It is proving particularly effective in neurology, by advancing the research on those with Alzheimer’s, dementia or brain injuries when it can be difficult to get accurate patient-generated data.

For self-driving cars?

Nasa has developed its Deep Space Networks — a GPS navigation system for space. The technology relies on atomic clocks for the precise accuracy required during huge distances.

The refined lasers and oscillators used in the technology can help with communications on Earth and range-finders for self-driving cars.