Xu Zhiming, executive director of the Future Medical Center at Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology and the initiator of the Future Space Hospital project, discussed the “space hospital” concept Sept. 6 at Guangming Library.

Xu said five medical devices developed by his team were sent into orbit aboard a test spacecraft on March 30 and have since entered the in-orbit testing stage. More medical devices are expected to be launched over the next two years.

As human space exploration moves toward the moon and beyond, space medicine is becoming increasingly important, Xu said. Prolonged weightlessness can lead to bone loss and cardiovascular decline, while radiation, lunar dust and Martian dust storms pose additional health risks.

The five devices being tested in orbit are designed to address some of these challenges. Xu said technologies developed for space could also benefit patients on Earth. A contact-based ultraviolet light therapy device designed for environments without natural sunlight, for example, could potentially help treat vitamin D deficiency, while a microfluidic cell-analysis device could use a drop of blood to rapidly test key blood indicators in remote areas.

Xu also highlighted similarities between prolonged exposure to microgravity and the conditions of patients confined to intensive care units. High-precision health monitoring technology developed for spacesuits could eventually be adapted for use in hospitals, monitoring indicators such as heart rate, blood pressure, blood oxygen and blood glucose.

Looking ahead, Xu said digital replicas of individuals based on personal health data could allow doctors to simulate and optimize treatment plans in advance. Such technologies could eventually enable much of chronic disease management and rehabilitation to be carried out at home, leaving emergency treatment and surgery primarily to hospitals.