REdox-reguLATIon of neuroVascular unIT function in hYpoxia: RELATIVITY

The future of human space exploration will require extravehicular activities and consequent exposure to extended periods of low levels of oxygen (hypoxia). In collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA), French Polar Institute (IPEV), Italian National Antarctic Program (PNRA) and German Aerospace Centre (DLR), academics from the University of South Wales are currently investigating the long-term consequences of extended hypoxia, which has been shown to associate with neurological deficits in those that fail to acclimatise to this environment.

This project will capture longitudinal data to explore precisely how the brain behaves in response to the environmental stressor of isolation and high-altitude by assessing validated biomarkers that reflect changes in molecular (signalling), haemodynamic (vasoregulation), structural (integrity) and networks (connectivity) that ultimately converge on clinical (neurological) outcome. This study involved flying a portable, low-field magnetic resonance imaging scanner to Antarctica to assess structural changes to the brain.


This project is supported by multiple industry-leading companies including: Hyperfine to support mobile Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the brain; Heidelberg Engineering UK for Optical Coherence Tomography to facilitate ocular imaging; and AD Instruments to support physiological data acquisition.