Cardiopulmonary responses to centrifuge simulated parabolic flight

Introduction: Parabolic flights, by producing short periods of weightlessness, closely simulate microgravity. However, they are still expensive, incur a significant logistics support, and occurrence of any adverse events during such simulation is undesirable. The present study was formulated to explore the feasibility of using a human centrifuge for simulation of parabolic flight to study the cardiopulmonary parameters as an alternative ground-based model. Material and Methods: Twelve healthy male volunteers were subjected to simulated parabolic flight, the profile of which involved exposure to 20 repetitions of hypogravity periods (+0.5 Gz), each interposed between periods of hypergravity phases (+2 Gz), using high-performance human centrifuge. Heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), and arterial oxygen saturation (SpO2) were studied during such a simulation and analyzed using one-way repeated measures ANOVA. Motion sickness assessment questionnaire was administered to the participants after the run. They were also asked to rate their subjective feeling of weightlessness experienced during the run. Results: Comparison of HR revealed a significant difference (F = 22.167, P < 0.001) across 20 loops of different gravity phases. Post hoc analysis revealed that the mean HR of hypergravity phases was significantly higher compared with pre-run 1 G values and that of hypogravity phases. Similarly, HR showed a significant difference across pre-run 1 G, 10th and 20th loops of hypogravity phases (F = 5.672, P = 0.01). Post hoc analysis revealed a significant reduction in HR at 20th loop compared to both pre-run 1 G (P = 0.023) and 10th loop (P = 0.042) values. No significant differences were observed in both RR (F = 1.789, P = 0.148) and SpO2 (F = 1.708, P =0.199) across different gravity phases. The mean overall motion sickness score was found to be 23.6%. Participants rated their subjective feeling of weightlessness between 4 and 6 (mode = 5) on a scale of 1–10. Conclusion: It can be concluded from the results that HR increased during hypergravity conditions and reduced during hypogravity conditions, an expected outcome during parabolic flight. The significant reduction in HR during the 20th loop of hypogravity phase compared to 10th loop and pre-run 1 G conditions indicate a possible association with the duration of exposure. The centrifuge simulated parabolic flight profile designed in our study was able to emanate physiological changes similar to those experienced in actual parabolic flight for HR, RR, and SpO2.