2012, Volume 18, Issue 1

New telemedical approach to pilot and astronaut psychophysiological status monitoring and impact of augmented cognition on flight safety

Olaf Truszczyński¹, Grzegorz Nowicki², Jerzy Achimowicz¹
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
¹Zakład Bezpieczeństwa Lotów, Wojskowy Instytut Medycyny Lotniczej
²Centrum Kliniczne, Wojskowy Instytut Medycyny Lotniczej


Autor korenspondencyjny: Olaf Truszczyński; Zakład Bezpieczeństwa Lotów, Wojskowy Instytut Medycyny Lotniczej; email: otruszcz[at]wiml.waw.pl

Full text

Streszczenie

A critical review of recently implemented methods for remote monitoring of psychophysiological status of operators performing complex tasks with high workload (information stream) in adverse physical environment (noise, acceleration), typical for aerospace operations is presented. The passive role of subject being monitored typical for telemedical system is compared with biofeedback based system where the pilot is aware of his/her physiological status. The negative impact of automation is stressed together with the weakness of augmented cognition and adaptive systems approach aimed of reducing the information load of the operator. The importance of monitoring the emotional status of the subject which has great impact on team coordination and efficacy is stressed. The need for development of a new synthetic measures (indexes) of psychophysiological pilot status for remote monitoring is discussed. The linear (coherence) and nonlinear (bicoherence) measures of phase coupling between ANS (Autonomic Nervous System) and CNS (Central Nervous System) ultradian rhythms is proposed as new descriptor of integrative physiological processes as a predictor for high performance in complex flight tasks. Possible implications for flight safety are presented.

Słowa kluczowe

psychophysiological pilot status, remote monitoring, ANS, CNS, coherence, bicoherence, ultradian rhythms