COMPACT COMPLIANCE CHAMBER DESIGN FOR THE STUDY OF CARDIAC-PERFORMANCE IN MICROGRAVITY

A need was identified for a Mock Circulation System (MCS) of small siz e and weight that could function in a microgravity environment for the investigation of cardiovascular response to the weightlessness of spa ce flight. Part of the MCS development involved the redesign of the co mpliance chamber from a Penn State MCS using a coil spring instead of the leaf spring system employed in the Penn State system. The new comp liance chambers achieve a weight reduction of 47% and a volume reducti on of 64% over the original Peon State design. Testing showed the coil spring compliance chambers retained physiologic characteristics and a djustability by using coil springs of various stiffness, and functione d equivalently to the original Penn State design.