A suitable direct calorimeter system for the measurement of metabolic outputs from astronauts in orbital laboratories would allow better understanding of such processes as changes in bone mineral content, muscle status, and the immune system as a result of weightlessness. The metabolic terms, that can be accurately measured with a direct calorimeter, would quantify the controlling processes being studied by NASA medical scientists. This project includes preliminary design of two calorimeter systems, one with a rigid envelope and one with a non-rigid or disassemblable envelope, both designed to conserve space. The concepts would be analyzed mathematically and evaluated by some laboratory verification experiments. Final designs with back-up documentation would be delivered to NASA describing the system performances.
Potential Commercial Applications:The value of direct calorimetry in biomedical research at the earth's surface has been amply demonstrated in the last ten years.STATUS: Phase I Only
