This short 1970s film from Merck & Co., Inc. highlights some of the advances in medicine that have come as a result of developments in NASA’s space program. The film opens with an astronaut spinning in a simulator. Another astronaut experiences simulated zero-gravity. Astronauts in space suits work outside of a space shuttle (01:28). Dr. Charles Berry, Director of the Life Sciences Program at NASA and the astronauts’ physician, speaks to camera about his role at the control center for the mission (02:11). Footage shows astronauts in a space shuttle somersaulting, followed by a space capsule parachuting into the ocean. A doctor uses video conferencing technology to talk to a patient at Massachusetts General Hospital from a remote clinic (04:22); using a joystick, the remote doctor operates a camera to take a look at the patient’s mouth and throat. Astronauts drive a rover on the moon (07:18). A man holds a small firefly in the palm of his hand (07:50). An enzyme from the firefly is used by NASA for the rapid detection of bacteria: viewers see researchers using an automatic flash analyzer developed from the enzyme for rapid detection. A man shows a small capsule that, once swallowed, records body temperature (08:44); the patient swallows the small capsule. There is a close-up of the capsule. The patient rides a stationary bicycle so researchers can test temperature increases measured by the capsule. A female patient lays on a table for a polyfoam x-ray. A doctor shows a NASA-developed instantaneous florescent x-ray plate (11:58). A portable radiation source device is used in remote clinics for on-the-spot x-rays (12:14). A woman monitors a polygraph machine as it charts the brain waves of a patient. A man puts on an electrode cap that was developed as part of a spacesuit in order to monitor astronauts’ brain waves. Space rocket boosters are fired in a testing environment (14:25). A doctor charts spots on a child’s back to listen to the boy’s lungs with a stethoscope. A technician monitors an oscilloscope (15:44), which records the sounds of the lungs. A computer analyzes the recorded sounds to look for asthma or other respiratory issues. Viewers see a NASA simulator used to test G-stress on the body (17:46). A man puts on glasses that use eye movement and photo-electric sensors to control a wheel chair. Celeste Thompson, who is paralyzed from polio, uses a mechanical arm to feed herself (19:58). The arm is controlled by a tongue-operated pressure-sensitive device. She uses the device to apply lipstick and mascara. The film concludes with a shot of an astronaut working outside of a spaceship.

We encourage viewers to add comments and, especially, to provide additional information about our videos by adding a comment! See something interesting? Tell people what it is and what they can see by writing something for example: “01:00:12:00 — President Roosevelt is seen meeting with Winston Churchill at the Quebec Conference.”

This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com