It’s summer time again, which means that the OeWF is hosting interns at the suitlab in Innsbruck. Today, we want to introduce Anna (or rather let her introduce herself), who has recently joined Ragnar and Drew to work on a caution and warning algorithm system for the Aouda spacesuit.

Name: Anna Salwa Binti Puat Nelson, MD

Educational background: King’s College London , UK (MSc in Aviation Medicine);
University of Otago, New Zealand (PG Cert Av Med);
Kursk State Medical University, Russia (MD)

Profession: General Practitioner / Physician

When I was studying at King’s College London in 2015, we had an educational visit at the European Space Agency (ESA), Cologne, Germany. Dr. Groemer came down with his team to introduce the space suit. We were invited to join the team as a guest researcher if we were interested. My profound passion for aerospace medicine had driven me to approach Dr. Groemer to express my interest to join them.

I submitted my resume through email and had a Skype interview with Dr Groemer . The initial plan was to do it upon completion of my masters degree, but there was no project going on during that time. After a fruitful discussion, I finally decided to come back to Europe during summer 2016 to join the research team.

Me at the OeWF suitlab

I was assigned to team up with Ragnar and Drew, Space and Health Physiology master’s degree students from King’s College London. The assignment is to develop a structure of Caution and Warning system for the space suit. Ragnar has a Neuroscience background whereas Drew worked as a flight controller with NASA for a year and has a Biomedical Engineering background.

The algorithm that we work on:

We are working on developing a Caution and Warning algorithm system that will be implemented on the space suit. The system involves monitoring the clinical parameters of the astronaut analog during simulation. The algorithm is meant to assist the Biomedical Engineers (BME) and On Board Data Handlers (OBDH) at the operations station to make decisions upon detecting off-nominal situations. They involve monitoring the heart rate, temperature of the suits, saturation of oxygen of the analog astronaut and carbon dioxide level of the suits. The algorithm will be incorporated into a software system. It is reckoned that the algorithm system will reduce the workload of the BME and OBDH officers at the operations station, whilst increasing mission safety during extra-vehicular activities.

The preliminary algorithm of the caution and warning system that I am working on

Highlight of living in Innsbruck:

This is not the first time I came to Europe, but this is the first time I came to Innsbruck, Austria. The terrains of Alps mountains create breath-taking views that one would never get bored with. In addition, I also cherish the diversity of cultural backgrounds as I get to meet with people from all walks of life at the hostel where I am staying at.

A spectacular view from the top of the mountain as I went hiking

Eidul Fitr celebration:

Thanks to my team, I had a little Eid celebration with them as I brought some Malaysian cuisines for them to taste. Surprisingly, everyone enjoyed the foods despite the spiciness as Malaysians are known for their spicy foods. In a broader spectrum, I would like to express my gratitude to Dr Gernot and the rest of the team for their hospitality and giving me the honour to make a little contribution for the sake of mankind.

Joining my fellow interns: Nina Sejkora, Sophie Gruber, Martin Zwifl, myself, Konstantin Chterev, Drew Masters and Ragnar Kristjánsson (left to right)

Tschuess!

Author: Anna Nelson