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Spaceflight induces a headward fluid shift that alters the distribution of blood volume in the human body, leading to distension of astronauts’ veins in their head and neck region while in space. Recently, a jugular venous thrombosis was identified in an astronaut aboard the International Space Station, suggesting an increased risk of thrombus formation. New techniques are needed to better characterize jugular hemodynamics in order understand the risks associated with spaceflight. This presentation provides an overview of high frame rate ultrasound and coded hemodynamic imaging, which are novel techniques utilized in the Vascular Aging and Brain Health Lab at the Schlegel-University of Waterloo Research Institute for Aging to study arterial and venous blood flow patterns and to track changes in jugular vein volume and jugular venous pulse, respectively.
Eric Hedge (Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging, in Waterloo, Canada)
Ph.D. Candidate
Eric Hedge is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Vascular Aging and Brain Health Lab at the Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging, in Waterloo, Canada, under the supervision of Prof. Richard Hughson. He completed an Honors B.Sc. degree in kinesiology at the University of Western Ontario (2018), and M.Sc. degree at the University of Waterloo (2020). Eric’s research focuses on human cardiovascular and respiratory adaptations to exercise, inactivity, aging, and spaceflight. His M.Sc. research was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Alexander Graham Bell Scholarship, and his PhD studies are funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Banting and Best Scholarship. Eric’s work spans from applying machine learning techniques to develop models that predict energy expenditure, cardiorespiratory fitness, and blood pressure from non-intrusive wearable sensors, to investigating novel biomarkers of aging.