Former Shuttle Astronaut Will Inspire Multidisciplinary Discussion of Laser Medicine at ASLMS Annual Conference

(Wausau, Wisconsin) Former Astronaut Story Musgrave, M.D., will deliver the keynote address Friday, April 20, to a diverse group of 2,000 physicians, health care professionals, scientists and engineers expected to attend the 32nd Annual Conference of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery (ASLMS) at the Gaylord Palms™ Resort and Conference Center in Kissimmee, Florida April 20-22. Musgrave’s career has been a diverse one as well with numerous achievements in a wide range of disciplines from aeronautics and medicine to business and art. He holds seven graduate degrees in math, computers, chemistry, medicine, physiology, literature and psychology and has been awarded 20 honorary doctorates.

Although Musgrave can speak with authority about many subjects, his presentation at the medical laser conference will focus on the medical, physiological and psychological changes the body undergoes in outer space---especially during spacewalking missions. “But I’ll have plenty of gee-whiz stuff, too,” says the 76-year-old physician, astronaut, consultant to Disney’s Imagineering Group and professor of design at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. "I’m not going to forget to talk about space flight, and will spend some time on the ergonomics of the spacesuit.”

Musgrave will start out his presentation with a discussion about anthropometrics that deals with the physical dimensions, proportions, and composition of the human body and related variables that affect them.   “The shoulder joint, for example, is a ball and socket anatomy that can rotate 360 degrees and is a very capable and useful joint,” he says, “but the spacesuit doesn’t have a shoulder joint so you have to learn how to adapt your body to perform certain functions.” 

Musgrave was a NASA astronaut for more than 30 years and performed the first shuttle spacewalk on Challenger’s first flight. He helped develop the medical support system for the NASA Space Shuttle and participated in the design and development of Space Shuttle extravehicular activity equipment including spacesuits, life support systems, air locks and manned maneuvering units. He is the only astronaut to have flown missions on all five Space Shuttles.

Not surprisingly, Musgrave also had some interesting experiences with light and energy during his travels in space--topics that most members of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery deal with every day. “We experienced a lot of radiation on the Hubble Telescope repair mission while flying though the Earth’s magnetic field which traps high energy cosmic rays,” he says. “You see the radiation as it goes through your eyeballs, and it’s like the fireworks on the Fourth of July.” Although astronauts were often exposed to radiation in outer space, Musgrave says they have not experienced increased risks for cancer at this point. “For now, we have not seen any significant difference in the rate of cancer among our group when compared to the average population,” he stated. 

Musgrave also believes multi-disciplinary thinking is vital to medical and scientific breakthroughs—a belief he shares with ASLMS members.  “Part of my message will speak to Synthetic Thinking and how you work in a multiplicity of different fields with basically the same operating systems.” 

More information about the amazing career of Story Musgrave is available at www.storymusgrave.com

Michelle Theiler
715-845-9283
michelle@aslms.org

ABOUT THE ASLMS

With over 4,000 members, the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery is the world’s preeminent resource for information regarding laser and related light energy, research, education and technology.  Its mission is to promote excellence in patient care by advancing biomedical application of lasers and other related technologies worldwide.  Since 2007, ASLMS has awarded more than $1.2 million in research grants to 32 individuals. Research funds come from members, industry and Annual Conference attendees. For more information about ASLMS and its 2012 Annual Conference, visit www.aslms.org. Online registration for the ASLMS Annual Conference and walk-on registration is open throughout the conference.