On every crewed mission, NASA packs pouches of a potentially life-saving liquid in its cargo, known as IV (or intravenous) fluid. A simple mix of sodium chloride and purified water, it can treat up to 30% of medical conditions in flight, resolving things like dehydration, burns, and more.
Crewed missions beyond low Earth orbit into deep space could last up to three years and may require IV fluid for crew health. However, current IV fluid shelf life is limited to 16 months. To avoid the complications of stocking a perishable supply of prepacked IV fluid, experts at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland have created a technology that can transform water into IV fluid on demand. They now are preparing to test the latest, lightweight version of the system aboard the International Space Station.
The system, known as IntraVenous Fluid GENeration Miniaturized (IVGEN Mini), flew to the station on April 11 aboard NASA’s Northrop Grumman Commercial Resupply Services 24 mission along with other supplies, experiments, and hardware. IVGEN Mini will produce IV fluid during demonstrations this spring and fall to verify that the design works as intended in space.
The system operates by adding space station drinking water to a large supply bag. The bag is connected to IVGEN Mini, which filters the water to remove any particulates and mineral ions. The processed water flows into an output bag that contains premeasured sodium chloride, and the measured combination of both creates sterile, medical-grade IV fluid.
“Following launch, we have tentative operations planned for May,” said Courtney Schkurko, engineering project manager at NASA Glenn. “The crew aboard the International Space Station will operate IVGEN Mini over the course of two days, and 10 liters of fluid will be generated. Those liters will then be prepared to return to Earth and analyzed to make sure the fluid that was generated in flight meets requirements and is safe to use.”
The IVGEN Mini system is the second iteration of this technology, originally called IVGEN, which was demonstrated aboard the space station in 2010. The original was much larger because it included additional sensing equipment to prove that the system worked as intended. Following the successful demonstration, the team created a miniaturized version.
“With IVGEN Mini, we’ve reduced the system’s size and weight,” Schkurko said. “The previous system used gaseous nitrogen to pump fluid through the system. Now, we have pumps that are miniaturized, which allow us to optimize our designs and refine the filtering process.”
In addition to solving the limited shelf life concerns of prepackaged IV fluid, IVGEN Mini also lightens cargo loads. During a deep space mission where crews may spend years in space, cargo must be as lightweight as possible. With IVGEN Mini, NASA won’t need to pack an abundance of IV fluid — it can be produced as needed if supplies run low.
“On a mission to Mars, if you needed to fly 100 liters of IV fluid, those 100 one-liter bags will take up a large amount of space, while IVGEN Mini takes up much less,” Schkurko said. “It’s that trade between packing IV fluid bags that are likely to expire during the mission or taking a small device and making it as you go. The latter means it will always be within expiration period, it will be available to the crew, and it’s one less risk we have to worry about.”
Requirements for IVGEN Mini were based on what medical events could occur during a deep space mission, how much fluid it would take to treat those events, and how quickly the fluid can flow through the system. The current system can produce 1.2 liters of IV fluid per hour, which meets these needs. The team also is adhering to United States Pharmacopeia standards, which ensure the system and the fluid it produces meet required pH values and salinity tolerances, and do not contain bacteria, organic carbon, or particulates. Although IVGEN Mini testing will take place aboard the space station, none of the fluid produced will be administered to the crew.
The IVGEN Mini team is currently planning for shelf-life testing of IV fluid produced by the system as a next phase of this technology. The system is managed by NASA’s Mars Campaign Office as one of the many technologies developed to enable human exploration on the Moon and Mars.
For more information on future innovations for crewed missions to Mars, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/exploration-systems-development-mission-directorate