Exploration missions pose higher medical risks due to longer durations, environmental exposures, and the operational paradigm. For instance, Extravehicular activity (EVA) will become a more frequent and critical part of surface exploration missions, which bring a higher incidence of musculoskeletal injury patterns. It is crucial to develop technologies that offer advanced diagnostic, imaging, and treatment capabilities to reduce medical risk while minimizing mass, volume, and power requirements. Radiography (X-Ray) plays an important role in diagnosing and imaging a broad range of possible spaceflight medical conditions, reducing health and operational risks. Current clinical X-ray devices, however, are heavy, bulky, and have high power requirements. To address vehicle/habitat mass, volume, and power constraints, a Mini X-Ray (MX-R) system for medical imaging is desired for sustained lunar and Mars missions. Also of interest are advanced x-ray image acquisition and interpretation tools to help reduce dependence on ground teams and expedite medical care.

The Exploration Medical Integrated Product Team (XMIPT) along with the Human Research Program (HRP) have purchased three commercial off-the-shelf Mini X-ray systems (includes source, detector, and imaging software) to evaluate through both ground and flight testing. The x-ray systems were identified in a market survey based on figures of merit the XMIPT provided such as mass, volume, and imaging capability/quality. The three systems will be ground tested using anatomical phantoms (body and dental) as well as a human trial. One of the x-ray systems was flown and used on SpaceX’s FRAM2 mission. Data from the planned ground and flight testing will be used to inform down selection of a candidate device for inclusion in an exploration medical system. Other applications the team is evaluating include using the MX-R devices for hardware Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) and for measuring Bone Mineral Density (BMD).

Mini X-ray systems increase imaging, diagnostic, and treatment capabilities for anticipated medical conditions on exploration missions. Paired with potential image acquisition and interpretation tools, the MX-R systems will also increase crew autonomy by allowing crew to acquire images and diagnose conditions without real-time input from ground. Bone Mineral Density (BMD) measurement capability further increases MX-R utility for exploration missions as it is currently not measured in flight and would provide valuable information for extended duration missions. Application of an MX-R beyond the medical domain could allow for additional mass/volume savings and the ability to evaluate geological samples, equipment anomalies, 3-d printed parts, etc.