Page 27 - International Space Station Benefits for Humanity, 3rd edition.

lifesaving advancements in global knowledge about a 68% reduction in vertebral fractures, a 40% reduction
these devastating storms. If successful, TWAI will be in hip fractures, a 20% reduction in nonvertebral
another company (such as Planet) that benefitted from fractures, and a significant increase in bone density
the ISS by demonstrating its technology and validating at all sites measured. In 2017, Prolia was reported
its business model. as the market leader in bone-health treatment with
In the area of Earth observation, an additional benefit more than 850,000 active patients, representing a
of note in using the ISS to gather atmospheric and 20% market share. Revenues exceeded $1.6 billion
other Earth observation data—both with programmed in 2016 and $1.9 billion in 2017—an increase of
instruments and crew-operated hardware such as about 20%.
cameras—is the inclusion of the human element to With revenues approaching $2 billion for a single
the decision-making process. Space station crews successful drug treatment product, the potential
can observe and collect camera images of events as benefits of using the microgravity environment
they unfold, while also providing key inputs to ground aboard the space station justify the increased
controllers for the scheduled programmed observations costs of conducting PCG investigations in space.
conducted by the automated sensing instruments.
This flexibility is an advantage over robotic spacecraft
such as traditional weather satellites, especially in the Robotic Surgery
face of unexpected natural events such as volcanic Launched in 1981 as the product of an international
eruptions and earthquakes. agreement between the Canadian National Research
Council and NASA, the space shuttle’s Canadarm
(Shuttle Remote Manipulator System) provided an
Protein Crystal Growth
adept, robotic manipulation system for maneuvering
As discussed in the previous section, the majority of the payloads, satellites and astronauts during space
economic benefits to be derived from PCG research are shuttle missions. Later, the exceptional performance
still prospective in nature. However, one example from capabilities of Canadarm and Canadarm2 (the space
the earliest days of space station assembly illustrates station’s robotic arm) were instrumental in the assembly
why pharmaceutical companies are so interested in of the ISS. Today, Canadarm2, Dextre (Special Purpose
conducting PCG experiments in microgravity. Dexterous Manipulator) and the Mobile Base, which is
Beginning in 2001, Amgen utilized the microgravity a moveable work platform and storage facility, comprise
environment during several space shuttle missions the Mobile Servicing System of the ISS, and play a
to the ISS to test three drugs. This research, along critical role in ensuring the safety of the space station
with further work on the ground, led Amgen to pursue and its crew. As indicated in the Canadian Space
clinical trials that resulted in the U.S. Food and Drug Agency (CSA) partner perspective below, the
Administration (FDA) 2010 approval of the company’s technological foundations of Canadarm and its
osteoporosis drug, Denosumab (brand name Prolia). successors have fortified Canada as a technology
In Phase 3 trials, patients receiving Prolia showed leader in the development of precision advanced
robotic systems. In addition, they have enabled the
adaptation of innovations in space robotics to provide
technologies for control and situational awareness
With revenues approaching in surgical robotics.
$2 billion for a single successful In 2002, Dr. Garnette Sutherland and his team at the
University of Calgary began working with engineers at
drug treatment product, the MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA), a Maxar

potential benefits of using the Technologies company, to solve challenges involved
in linking high-resolution imaging with robotics to
microgravity environment aboard manipulate interventional devices in the operating
the space station justify the room. In 2006, a patent was granted for neuroArm.
The neuroArm allowed surgeons to conduct robotic
increased costs of conducting surgery while using an MRI. Intraoperative MRI helps
PCG investigations in space. surgeons distinguish the otherwise imperceptible
edges of tumors, and facilitates the safe removal
of all malignant tissue.

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