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CompletedNCT02563262HYDRONAUTUpdated Sep 30, 2015

Human Neutral Body Posture in Weightlessness

An interventional study of body angles measurements during weightlessness in Healthy Participants, sponsored by University Hospital, Caen. Completed at 1 site in France. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2015-09-30.

Sponsored by University Hospital, Caen · Not applicable, Interventional, and Basic science

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
8
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
18 Years to 65 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The scientific goal of this experiment is to evaluate the performances of our three-dimensional digital model by comparing its prediction computed from underwater data to posture observed during real weightlessness during parabolic flight.

Read the detailed description

Investigations description Throughout the experiment test subject will be safely attached to a fixation mechanism at its center of gravity (hip). This mechanism comprises a climbing harness connected to two lateral vertical guides by two magnetic connection plates at the level of the hips. The test subject will lie down on the floor on a plate equipped with foam pads to create a comfortable lying surface. This mechanism allows free postural movement in microgravity phase and also supports the test subject´s lying position during 1,8g- phase. At any stage of the experiment the test subject will be able to exit the fixation alone, by using one hand only.

The harness can be moved vertically by a linear sliding system and springs in the vertical guides. Springs will remain compressed during the 1g/2g-phase and lift the subject with the reduction to microgravity.

At the beginning of the weightlessness phase of each parabola, the sliding system will push participant's body up to about 30cm above the floor. After he has reached the free floating position, he will be asked to perform a short effort (crouching or stretching) and then to relax and stay still.

Once free floating, three video cameras with wide angle lenses will record body movements from front, side and top view. By electronically synchronizing the cameras the produced images can be used for three-dimensional analysis. Additionally three-dimensional force sensors at the hip fixation will be used to evaluate the quality of microgravity provided during the parabolic flight.

Experimental protocol Before flight subjects will be familiarized with the setup and the protocol. For each flight day, 3 subjects will be studied. The procedure will be the same for the 3 subjects and on all 3 days.

The subject rests calm at the bottom until microgravity phase starts. As described above a spring forced linear sliding system will push his body mass up to about 300mm. After the test subject has reached its free floating position without any contact to the surrounding area (bottom), he will perform a short effort (crouching or stretching). From now on the subject should relax and is not allowed to move his muscles intentionally. At the end of microgravity phase, the sliding system will allow a soft landing on the foam pads.

02

Conditions studied

  • Healthy Participants
03

In context

Lead sponsor

University Hospital, Caen is the lead sponsor of 505 studies on the registry; 80 are open to participants now.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 65 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

  • Healthy volunteers (men or women)
  • Aged from 18 to 65
  • Affiliated to a Social Security system and, for non-French resident, holding a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)
  • Who accepted to take part in the study
  • Who have given their written stated consent
  • Who has passed a medical examination similar to a standard aviation medical examination for private pilot aptitude .There will be no additional test performed for subject selection.
  • Who already participated in a underwater test in Munich

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Person who took part in a previous biomedical research protocol, of which exclusion period is not terminated
  • Pregnant women
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Basic science
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
8 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Other
    body angles measurements during weightlessness

    body angles : ankle, knee, hip, shoulder, elbow, wrist, and neck.

    Other: body angles measurements during weightlessness

Interventions

  • Otherbody angles measurements during weightlessness
06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Joint angles

    Angles of several joints (ankle, knee, hip, shoulder, elbow, wrist, and neck) measured with video cameras

    Time frame: baseline

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Umr Ucbn/Inserm U1075 Comete
    Caen CEDEX, Basse-Normandie 14032, France
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Sep 30, 2015, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT02563262
Lead sponsor
University Hospital, Caen
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Sep 30, 2015
Start date
Sep 2012
Primary completion
Jan 2014
Completion
Jan 2014
Last update
Sep 30, 2015

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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