Timo Frett

German Aerospace Center (DLR) | DLR · Institute of Aerospace Medicine

Background: Spinal unloading in microgravity is associated with stature increments, back pain, intervertebral disc (IVD) swelling and impaired spinal kinematics. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of lateral stabilization, trunk rotation and isometric abdominal exercise upon lumbar IVD height, and both passive and active vertebral c...

A comprehensive strategy is required to mitigate risks to astronauts’ health, well-being, and performance. This strategy includes developing countermeasures to prevent or reduce adverse responses to the stressors astronauts encounter during spaceflight, such as weightlessness. Because artificial gravity (AG) by centrifugation simultaneously affects...

Neuronal activity is the key modulator of nearly every aspect of behavior, affecting cognition, learning and memory as well as motion. Alterations or even disruptions of the transmission of synaptic signals are the main cause of many neurological disorders. Lesions to nervous tissues are associated with phenotypic changes mediated by astrocytes bec...

Spaceflight is associated with reduced antigravitational muscle activity, which results in trunk muscle atrophy and may contribute to post-flight postural and spinal instability. Exercise in artificial gravity (AG) performed via short-arm human centrifugation (SAHC) is a promising multi-organ countermeasure, especially to mitigate microgravity-indu...

Neuronal activity is the key modulator of nearly every aspect of behavior, affecting cognition, learning, and memory as well as motion. Hence, disturbances of the transmission of synaptic signals are the main cause of many neurological disorders. Lesions to nervous tissues are associated with phenotypic changes mediated by astrocytes becoming react...

ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Langzeitaufenthalte im All führen zu einer signifikanten Verringerung der Leistungsfähigkeit des Herz-Kreislauf-Systems sowie zum Verlust von Muskelmasse und Knochendichte. Tägliches intensives Training in Schwerelosigkeit kann diese Prozesse abschwächen aber nicht vollständig verhindern. Zukünftige Langzeitmissionen sowie Reisen zu...

Artificial Gravity generated by Short Arm Human Centrifuges is a promising multi-system countermeasure for physiological deconditioning during long duration space flights. To allow a continuous assessment of cardiovascular hemodynamics during centrifugation, a telerobotic robotic system holding an ultrasound probe has been installed on a Short Arm...

Astronauten berichten im Rahmen von Raumflügen über Symptome im Sinne von Kinetosen (engl. „(Space) Motion Sickness“), welche innerhalb der ersten 72 Stunden in der Schwerelosigkeit zu teils deutlicher Beeinträchtigung führen [1]. Zur Erforschung der Auswirkungen von Schwerelosigkeit werden Parabelflüge durchgeführt, um den Effekt der Mikrogravitat...

ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Virtual-Reality-Anwendungen (VR-Anwendungen) werden neben der Unterhaltsbranche auch in vielen industriellen und medizinischen Anwendungsfeldern genutzt 1, 2. Auch in der Raumfahrt wird derzeit der Nutzen von VR-Technologien erforscht. Neben einer Verbesserung bei der Vorbereitung von Experimenten im All steht dabei die Gesunderhalt...

Artificial gravity through short-arm centrifugation has potential as a multi-system countermeasure for deconditioning and cranial fluid shifts that may underlie ocular issues in microgravity. However, the optimal short-arm centrifugation protocol that is effective whilst remaining tolerable has yet to be determined. Given that exposure to centrifug...

Microgravity during long-term space flights induces degeneration of articular cartilage. Artificial gravity through centrifugation combined with exercise has been suggested as a potential countermeasure for musculoskeletal degeneration. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of different types of impact loading under normal and art...

Artificial gravity elicited through short-arm human centrifugation combined with physical exercise, such as jumping, is promising in maintaining health and performance during space travel. However, motion sickness symptoms could limit the tolerability of the approach. Therefore, we determined the feasibility and tolerability, particularly occurrenc...

Humans are accustomed to Earth's constant gravitational acceleration of 1g. Here we assessed if complex movements such as jumps can be adapted to different acceleration levels in a non-constant force field elicited through centrifugation. Kinematics, kinetics and muscle activity of 14 male subjects (age 27±5years, body mass 77±6kg, height 181±7cm)...

Glial scar formation through astrocytes impairs neural regeneration following spinal cord injury, head trauma, or stroke. Astrocyte migration towards the lesion and induction of a reactive astroglial phenotype require dynamic cytoskeletal protein rearrangements. In this glial cell model, hypergravity was used to alter cytoskeletal dynamics, i.e. st...

Artificial Gravity generated by Short Arm Human Centrifuges is a promising multi-system countermeasure for physiological deconditioning during long duration space flights. However, motion sickness symptoms could limit the tolerability of the approach due to cross-coupled forces. Therefore, we determined the feasibility and tolerability, particularl...

Introduction: Disturbed neuronal connectivity is the ultimate cause of disability in individuals with neurological disease including spinal cord injury, head trauma, and stroke. Functional neurological recovery is limited through an unfavorable balance between neuronal regrowth and glia scar formation. The prevalent type of glial cells are astrocyt...

The weightlessness experienced by astronauts has fascinated scientists and the public. On Earth, body weight is given by Newton’s laws as mass times gravitational acceleration. That is, an object’s weight is determined by the pull of gravity on it. We hypothesised that perceived body weight is – like actual weight – dependent on the strength of gra...

Maintaining orientation in an environment with non-Earth gravity (1 g) is critical for an astronaut's operational performance. Such environments present a number of complexities for balance and motion. For example, when an astronaut tilts due to ascending or descending an inclined plane on the moon, the gravity vector will be tilted correctly, but...

INTRO Females are influenced more than males by visual cues during many spatial orientation tasks; but females rely more heavily on gravitational cues during visual-vestibular conflict. Are there gender biases in the relative contributions of vision, gravity and the internal representation of the body to the perception of upright? And might any suc...

Females are influenced more than males by visual cues during many spatial orientation tasks; but females rely more heavily on gravitational cues during visual-vestibular conflict. Are there gender biases in the relative contributions of vision, gravity and the internal representation of the body to the perception of upright? And might any such bias...

Einleitung: Das menschliche Gehirn entwickelt eine stabile Wahrnehmung seiner Umwelt durch eine effiziente Repräsentation und Interpretation der Sinneseindrücke. Die Interpretation wird dabei von zwei Faktoren beeinflusst, den bisherigen gelernten Erfahrungen und der Wahrscheinlichkeit, dass ein wahrgenommener Stimulus korrekt ist. Entscheidend für...

A tool has been developed to investigate and to facilitate learning processes in complex perceptual-motor tasks. The tool is based on the “docking” maneuver, a demanding manual control task, in which a target object has to be positioned by manipulating six degrees of freedom. The task difficulty can be varied from easy to very demanding. On the bas...

Our brain receives a series of sensory snapshots of the external world, which it must integrate to provide a description of the Scenes around us. Vestibular inputs monitor changes in the position of the body relative to the environment. Here we tested thehypothesis that the vestibular system contributes to bridging the gap between successive visual...

Background: Artificial gravity through centrifugation is currently the only countermeasure providing an “Earth-like” solution to weightless health hazards. Every head movement during centrifugation, however, may cause motion sickness due to conflicts between the perceived direction of gravity and the illusory rotations caused by the vestibular acti...

Research on Artificial Gravity (AG) created by linear acceleration or centrifugation has a long history and could significantly contribute to realize long-term human spaceflight in the future. Employing centrifuges plays a prominent role in human physiology and gravitational biology. This article gives a short review about the background of Artific...

Experiments in space either on orbital missions on-board the ISS, or in suborbital missions using sounding rockets, like TEXUS as well as parabolic flight campaigns are still the gold standard to achieve real microgravity conditions in the field of gravitational biology and medicine. However, during launch, and in flight, hypergravity and vibration...

Artificial gravity through centrifugation is currently the only countermeasure providing the "Earth-like" solution to weightless health hazards. Motion sickens occurs when individuals are exposed to passive motion inducing a mismatch between actual and expected sensory inputs. Habituation protocols abate conflicts by reducing response to rotation w...

Artificial gravity through centrifugation is currently seen as countermeasure with potential against negative effects of spaceflight. However, side effects like increased motion sickness need to be investigated. Habituation protocols abate conflicts by reducing response to rotation with prolonged exposure to mismatches. Visually reinforced habituat...

Einleitung: Langzeitaufenthalte in der Schwerelosigkeit führen zu einer Vielzahl an physiologischen Veränderungen im menschlichen Körper wie z.B. Demineralisation der Knochen und Muskelatrophie. Als Gegenmaßnahme hat sich die künstliche Hinzunahme von Beschleunigungen (Artificial Gravity) bewährt. Zentrifugation ist nicht nur für Astronauten, sond...

Objectives Ultrasound examinations are usually performed by physicians. Especially in isolated locations like rigs and on vessels where there are no physicians present patients have to be evacuated in cases where an ultrasound examination is needed. This is often associated with life-threatening delays and significant transport costs. ASYSTED (Adva...

Microgravity induces alterations in the functioning of immune cell; however, the underlying mechanisms have not yet been identified. In this study, hemocytes (blood cells) of the blue mussel Mytilus edulis were investigated under altered gravity conditions. The study was conducted on the ground in preparation for the BIOLAB TripleLux-B experiment,...

Background Chondrocytes are the main cellular component of articular cartilage. In healthy tissue, they are embedded in a strong but elastic extracelluar matrix providing resistance against mechanical forces and friction for the joints. Osteoarthritic cartilage, however, disrupted by heavy strain, has only very limited potential to heal. One futur...

Background: Chondrocytes are the main cellular component of articular cartilage. In healthy tissue, they are embedded in a strong but elastic extracelluar matrix providing resistance against mechanical forces and friction for the joints. Osteoarthritic cartilage, however, disrupted by heavy strain, has only very limited potential to heal. One futur...

Real and simulated microgravity induce a variety of changes in human cells. Most importantly, changes in the cytoskeleton have been noted, and studies on microtubules have shown that they are gravisensitive. This study focuses on the effects of short-term real microgravity on gene expression, protein content, and cytoskeletal structure of human cho...

Introduction Aeromedical retrieval services (MedEvac) are an essential element of emergency medical services especially in rural areas, remote regions, off-shore and in extreme environments. Patients benefit from the timely access to health care. MedEvac operations are usually controlled and supervised in a coordination center. Specialists in the c...

In July 2013, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Cologne, Germany, commissioned its new medical research facility :envihab. One central element of the facility is a new type of short radius centrifuge called DLR-SAHC 1 (formerly known as :enviFuge), which has been developed in collaboration with AMST Systemtechnik GmbH, Ranshofen, Austria. The sh...

The Institute of Aerospace Medicine of DLR has a long experience with Artificial Gravity. Beginning with a long arm centrifuge built in the 1950s DLR has done research under artificial gravity conditions for more than 60 years. A large number of studies in the field of fundamental research or applied science have been performed successfully. In 200...

Specialized medical diagnostic is not available worldwide. Especially in large countries and remote areas, the consultation of medical experts is often associated with life-threatening delays and significantly transport costs. By the use of a telesonography system, case investigation by a medical expert can be carried out faster and the physician a...

In 2013, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Cologne, Germany, commissions their new medical research facility :envihab. The main objective of :envihab is to facilitate highly controlled research into the e�ects of di�erent environmental conditions (e.g. varying ambient air pressure or oxygen content) on humans in long-term studies and the develop...

The application of AG generated by short diameter centrifuges has been proposed by a number of scientists and space agencies as a countermeasure against microgravity induced physiological degradation during long-term space missions, e.g. to Mars. The major objective of :enviFuge is to obtain extensive knowledge of hypergravity effects on the cardio...

The application of AG generated by short diameter centrifuges has been proposed by a number of scientists and space agencies as a countermeasure against microgravity induced physiological degradation during long-term space missions, e.g. to Mars. The major objective of :enviFuge is to obtain extensive knowledge of hypergravity effects on the cardio...

The application of AG generated by short diameter centrifuges has been proposed by a number of scientists and space agencies as a countermeasure against microgravity induced physiological degradation during long-term space missions, e.g. to Mars. The major objective of :enviFuge is to obtain extensive knowledge of hypergravity effects on the cardio...

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