On June 17th, the Shenzhou-12 spacecraft consisting of a crew of three was 
launched into space, taking one step forward to establish China's Tiangong 
space station which is under construction in a Low-Earth orbit. Astronauts will 
stay in space for three months to conduct extravehicular activities and the 
in-orbit verifications of major technologies.

Prolonged exposure to microgravity causes multiple physiological and 
biochemical changes in humans, including cardiovascular deconditioning that 
leads to orthostatic intolerance, musculoskeletal complaints, urinary tract 
infections and etc. Currently, ultrasound is still the modality of choice for 
the diagnosis and treatment of medical contingencies in space[1].

In this mission, astronauts conducted ultrasound examinations during 
spaceflight to monitor their health condition. SonoScape's X5 was honored to be 
selected by China National Space Administration (CNAS) to support medical 
research in the aviation environment. It becomes the first Chinese ultrasound 
system that is going to function in orbit to help assess the impact of 
long-duration microgravity space flight on astronauts.

"Ensuring the usability and stability, our ultrasound system passed the 
rigorous regimen of hardware qualification and acceptance testing," said Dr. 
Feng, General Manager of Ultrasound Division at SonoScape. "Our R&D team pushed 
the boundaries enabling space imaging to reach a high level; Aerospace 
ultrasound examination will give researchers a deeper insight of long-term zero 
gravity and radiation on human's body."

According to China Manned Space Program, the construction of the space station 
will be completed by 2022, supporting the long stay of astronauts and 
large-scale scientific, technological, and application experiments. SonoScape 
will continuously undertake the mission of assisting aerospace medical research 
and providing effective information that leads to the improvement of the crew 
members' health care.

Reference:
1.Law J, Macbeth PB. Ultrasound:from Earth to space.Mcgill J 
Med.2011:13(2):59                                                               
                    

About SonoScape

Founded in 2002 in Shenzhen, China, SonoScape has committed itself to "Caring 
for life through innovation" by providing ultrasound and endoscopy solutions 
and delivering first-rate services. It now has seven R&D centers in Shenzhen, 
Shanghai, Harbin, Wuhan, Tokyo, Silicon Valley and Seattle. SonoScape invests 
nearly 20% of its revenues into R&D in recent 3 years, with more advanced 
products to be introduced into the pipeline.

Source: SonoScape Medical Corporation