Echolight announced that NASA is using its proprietary REMS (Radiofrequency Echographic Multi Spectrometry) technology to monitor bone changes in a human bedrest study and to assess the effects of unloading on bone mass given the paramount importance of Bone Health in space, too.
Through an ultrasound scan of axial anatomical sites such as the spine and femur, the REMS technology measures bone density and microarchitecture without using the radiation of traditional x-ray scans. This radiation-free technology allows scientists to perform repeated scans for monitoring bone health over time. In addition, the ability to automatically exclude artifacts commonly present with other densitometry procedures yields a highly reliable diagnostic assessment.
"Echolight is pleased with this additional milestone in the US adoption of REMS devices, where the diagnostic system for the unique, personalized and patient-centered assessment of bone health has registered a very high interest among the US medical community sharing the intent to reduce fragility fractures," said Sergio Casciaro, Echolight S.p.A. CEO and founder.
"Echolight technology provides a number of potential benefits for possible use during spaceflight missions including its portability (the unit is the size of a small suitcase), fast scan time of under 10 minutes, edge analytics, and the ability to scan frequently with no harmful radiation effects. NASA is currently unable to assess the bone loss of each astronaut occurring in spaceflight and make real-intime adjustments to their countermeasures. This will be increasingly important on longer missions such as those to the Moon and Mars, and REMS could potentially provide this critical in-mission information," said Professor Aenor Sawyer, director of UCSF Skeletal Health Service and of UC Space Health.
Echolight was established in Italy with head office in Lecce, and in 2020 opened its offices in the United States. Since then, its sales network has grown to more than 40 distributors and several hundreds of satisfied customers across the world who have adopted the R.E.M.S. technology for assessing the bone condition of their patients.
