Imaging the Anterior Segment in Spaceflight: Understanding and Preserving Astronaut Ocular Health for Long-Duration Missions
In light of the potential effects of spaceflight on the anterior segment of the eye, there is a pressing need for anterior segment imaging to be available and accessible to monitor astronauts’ ocular health, including alterations to the cornea and lens. We aim to highlight the clinical basis and need for anterior segment imaging for astronauts. We explore the impacts of spaceflight-associated hazards, including microgravity and radiation, on astronauts’ risk of developing anterior segment pathology including risk of ocular trauma, infection, dry eye symptoms, cataracts, and possibly additional pathologies from increased radiation exposure. Such risks highlight the potential value that longitudinal assessment of anterior ocular structures would offer in future spaceflight missions. Specifically, anterior segment imaging would enable evaluations of corneal morphology, including longitudinal monitoring for microgravity-induced changes, and evaluation of interventions that aim to preserve anterior segment health during spaceflight. Lastly, non-invasive anterior segment imaging allows for unique insights into astronaut ocular health and can be performed routinely through modalities such as anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) and ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM). We discuss these modalities and their implications for astronaut health during future spaceflight.
Authors
- Prithul Sarker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6290-5484)
- Joshua Ong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4860-827X)
- Tuan Nguyen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2542-5473)
- Ryung Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8365-5672)
- Alireza Tavakkoli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9460-1269)
- John P. Berdahl (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5468-7405)
- Benjamin Soares (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-2808-8619)
- Cihan Mehmet Kadipasaoglu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5390-372X)
- Nasif Zaman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0120-0939)
- Yannie Guo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3175-8995)
- Ethan Waisberg (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8999-0212)
- Patricia Chévez‐Barrios (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6275-2660)
- Andrew G. Lee (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2473-299X)
- Alex Suh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-7241-0994)
- Ritu Sampige (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1241-736X)
- Mouayad Masalkhi
- Hamza Memon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-8671-6654)
- Daniela Osteicoechea
- Nicholas Panzo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-1706-5852)
- Baltaj S. Sandhur (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4481-5984)
Institutions
- University College Dublin (IE)
- Boston University (US)
- Tulane University (US)
- Houston Methodist (US)
- University of Nevada, Reno (US)
- The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (US)
- Baylor College of Medicine (US)
- Touro College (US)
- Cornell University (US)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- University of Michigan (US)
- University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (US)
- Vance Thompson Vision (US)
- Methodist Hospital (US)
- Tri-Institutional PhD Program in Chemical Biology (US)
- Methodist Hospital (US)
- Weill Cornell Medicine (US)
- The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (US)
- University at Buffalo, State University of New York (US)
- Bryan College (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of Clinical & Translational Ophthalmology
- Published
- 2025-03-18
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/jcto3010005
- Primary Topic
- Corneal surgery and disorders
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00