{"id":317470,"date":"2026-03-07T09:54:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T09:54:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/317470\/"},"modified":"2026-03-07T09:54:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T09:54:19","slug":"sophie-adenot-all-set-for-french-space-physiology-experiments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/317470\/","title":{"rendered":"Sophie Adenot all set for French space physiology experiments"},"content":{"rendered":"

During the course of her mission on the International Space Station (ISS)<\/a>, French astronaut Sophie Adenot will be performing more than 200 experiments. One of these is EchoFinder, a software application that helps the crew do ultrasound scans unaided by an expert. EchoFinder was developed by a joint team of CNES and the MEDES space medicine and physiology institute. \u201cOne of its goals was to conceive a practical and even fun-to-use device that enables astronauts to position the scanner probe correctly,\u201d explains Arist\u00e9e Th\u00e9venon, a biomedical engineer at MEDES. In other words, on a fellow crew member\u2019s body.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t as easy as it sounds. Angling the probe just a few degrees one way or the other can make all the difference between a sharp image and a blurred one. Scanner operators train for years to perfect their technique, but astronauts don\u2019t have time for that.<\/p>\n

\"Sophie<\/p>\n

Sophie Adenot gets to grips with EchoFinder with teams at CADMOS
\n \u00a9
\n CNES\/OLLIER Alexandre, 2025<\/p>\n

EchoFinder solves this problem using virtual reality. By moving the probe like a joystick, the astronaut virtually overlays spheres on cubes, on a tablet. It\u2019s like a game of skill: once a sphere is correctly overlaid on the screen, this means the actual probe aboard the station is in perfect position on the subject\u2019s body.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur solution also relies on artificial intelligence,\u201d notes J\u00e9r\u00f4me Daniel, EchoFinder project leader at CNES. \u201cIt was developed by our AI expert and trained to recognize organs and take scientifically useable images.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sophie Adenot will thus be the first astronaut to use EchoFinder and validate the device. \u201cWe\u2019re notably going to ensure that AI correctly handles organ displacement due to weightlessness,\u201d explains J\u00e9r\u00f4me Daniel.<\/p>\n

French expertise monitoring astronaut health<\/p>\n

Ultrasound scans are just one of the tools used on the ISS to measure the physiological effects of weightlessness on the human body, such as muscle loss or neurosensory disorders. This is a vast field of investigation for CADMOS, the department in charge of microgravity experiments at CNES<\/a>.<\/p>\n

CADMOS also worked with MEDES to design and develop PhysioTool. \u201cThis is an ambulatory device consisting of two small units that attach to the astronaut\u2019s belt,\u201d says Laurent Arnaud, in charge of the experiment at CADMOS. \u201cWe can thus monitor a range of physiological parameters around the clock.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe data Sophie Adenot collects will be added to those we already have to further our research into physical deconditioning due to microgravity, as we\u2019ll be measuring new parameters like oxygenation of brain and muscle tissues,\u201d adds C\u00e9cile Th\u00e9venot, human spaceflight engineer at MEDES.<\/p>\n

\"L'exp\u00e9rience<\/p>\n

Sophie Adenot tests out PhysioTool on Earth prior to her mission
\n \u00a9
\n Medes\/C\u00e9cile Th\u00e9venot<\/p>\n

France has extensive experience in monitoring astronaut health. \u201cSince 1982 and French astronaut Jean-Loup Chr\u00e9tien\u2019s ISS mission,\u201d notes Guillemette Gauquelin-Koch, head of life sciences at CNES. \u201cHe tested the first ultrasound scanner in space, so space ultrasound scanning is a French domain of excellence that we\u2019re pursuing with EchoBones.\u201d<\/p>\n

EchoBones is the third French physiology experiment on the mission, for which Sophie Adenot will be the subject. EchoBones is a new kind of ultrasound scanner able to see inside bones, revealing their anatomy and blood flows.\u202f\u201dThis will give us deeper insight into bone loss due to microgravity,\u201d says Guillemette. \u201cCNES is the first agency in the world to work with an ultrasound scanner of this type.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Echographie<\/p>\n

Ultrasound scans of Sophie Adenot\u2019s tibia obtained pre-flight will be compared with scans after 8 months in microgravity
\n \u00a9
\n CNES\/NASA<\/p>\n

Fun fact<\/p>\n

Engineers are putting the finishing touches to \u201cspace-rating\u201d the EchoBones instrument, to bring it into line with ISS specifications. This is why the study will be based on pre- and post-flight images of Sophie Adenot\u2019s tibia.<\/p>\n

Beyond Earth orbit<\/p>\n

Experiments developed by CADMOS for the ISS must meet not only meet scientific needs, but also safety and operating requirements. For example, EchoFinder has been developed to work with all types of ultrasound scanners and IT systems, like those planned for the U.S. Artemis programme. \u201cWe\u2019re working with the new paradigm of deep space travel,\u201d explains Arist\u00e9e Th\u00e9venon. \u201cStarting with the Moon and then maybe one day Mars. This changes how astronauts will do science and especially medical science aboard spacecraft. They\u2019ll need to be much more autonomous.\u201d<\/p>\n

This vision is shared by the team in charge of PhysioTool, as the device incorporates new neuropsychological parameters. \u201cOur device comprises a neurosensory unit,\u201d says C\u00e9cile Th\u00e9venot. \u201cIt\u2019s a sort of video game console with buttons, a joystick and a touchscreen. We developed it with CNES and science teams to stimulate Sophie Adenot\u2019s cognitive capacity, by getting her to follow a target, for example.\u201d<\/p>\n

These brain-stimulating exercises will be correlated to physiological readings acquired simultaneously by the device\u2019s other sensors. \u201cWe\u2019re increasingly doing integrative physiology, where all the body\u2019s organs are studied together, in a specific emotional and psychological context,\u201d says Guillemette Gauquelin-Koch. \u201cThis will help us to envision the future of space exploration.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe psychological impact on overall crew health remains a vast field of study,\u201d adds C\u00e9cile Th\u00e9venot. \u201cThe more we learn about that, the better we\u2019ll be able to prepare them for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the ISS, crews are in direct and constant contact with Earth. That will no longer be the case on the Moon, still less during long voyages to Mars, where all they\u2019ll see through the windows is the darkness of outer space.<\/p>\n

Guillemette Gauquelin-Koch<\/p>\n

Head of Life Sciences, CNES<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Advancing medicine on Earth<\/p>\n

In the meantime, these experiments will also benefit us earthlings. Technologies like remotely operable ultrasound scanners are already being used here on the planet, notably to monitor pregnancies in remote regions of French Guiana. \u201cWe\u2019re also in talks with the military,\u201d confides J\u00e9r\u00f4me Daniel. \u201cThey\u2019re interested in EchoFinder to equip their submarines, where crews could perform scans unaided.\u201d Engineers are also imagining developments that could serve civil medicine, such as the ability for nurses and general practitioners, or even emergency responders, to perform ultrasound scans.<\/p>\n

Research fuelled by Sophie Adenot\u2019s experiments\u2014as well as all those that have preceded and will follow them\u2014also benefits medicine on Earth. Guillemette Gauquelin-Koch notes:\u202f \u201cBecause they age prematurely in space, astronauts are ideal subjects for studying terrestrial pathologies related to ageing and chronic diseases, so we can track disorders that might affect people who spend all day sitting in an armchair as soon as they appear.\u201d EchoBones, for example, will deliver fresh insights into osteoporosis, which affects the elderly or sportsmen and women with long-term injuries.<\/p>\n

Evolving EchoFinder<\/p>\n

No more need for prior readings. Today, readings first have to be recorded for each \u201cpatient-astronaut\u201d on the ground to tell the software where organs are located so that the probe can be positioned correctly. The idea is to avert this need, for example using a morphological reconnaissance system.
\nDiagnosis. Scans obtained with EchoFinder must be analysed by a scientist or doctor. Another idea is to get AI to detect certain \u201ccommon\u201d pathologies.<\/p>\n

Learn more<\/p>\n


\n What is the CADMOS centre preparing and monitoring Sophie Adenot\u2019s experiments? <\/a><\/p>\n

\n This CNES structure, based in Toulouse, was created in 1993 to structure human spaceflight activities.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"During the course of her mission on the International Space Station (ISS), French astronaut Sophie Adenot will be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":317471,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[111,139,69,147,392],"class_list":["post-317470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-science","tag-space"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=317470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/317470\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/317471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=317470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=317470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=317470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}