Baltic States – CIS, Estonia, Technology

The step to be done for a bizarre reason – astrounauts are lazy and cannot be bothered to do excrsises. Myoton makes their life less complicated out there in the deep space – it is a novel medical diagnostic device, developed by Estonian company Müomeetria. It provides numeric values of muscle tone, elasticity and stiffness. Objective information about these biomechanical properties of the muscle enables enhanced accuracy of the musculoskeletal assessment, reports LETA.

CEO of Müomeetria Aleko Peipsi explained that on the conditions of zero-gravity muscles of astronauts start reverting, so they need to do exercises, at least two hours a day, and that is difficult for space-travelers. If they use Myoton and monitor their muscles carefully, they know precisely how much exercises are needed for the muscles to stay in healthy shape. They do not have to do more than needed.

Russian Space Training Center in Moscow has tested Myoton on artificial zero-gravity conditions. They wrapped a test-guy into cotton and latex rubber and made him live in a pool for few days – underwater, but not wet. Myoton was used to monitor his muscles. Russians say that the device proved itself and they’d be glad to take it into space.

The European Space Agency has also taken an interest in Myoton. But Aleko Peipsi says they are far more bureaucratic that Russians. Myoton is also being tested in several Italian hospitals for rehabilitation purposes.

Some world-famous athletes, such as Gerd Kanter, Virgilius Alekna and Andrus Veerpalu use the device for physical therapy.

This is a practical device, used all over the world, but it could become a good business for Müomeetria when a large medical devices developer makes it part of its portfolio, Peipsi said.