She is an astronaut of inner space.
Calgary researcher Barb Juschka is shooting for the stars — and Mars — in a plan to use NASA’s advanced space-age technology to help Calgary better understand and manage stress.
The director of the Calgary Police Service Learning Lab, Juschka is on a mission to apply a NASA technology called “autogenic therapy” — a technique which uses computers to teach people how to control physiological factors including heartbeat, blood pressure and breathing — to police officers on the beat.
“It’s the introduction of leading-edge space technology into policing,” says Juschka, who is working toward her second doctorate at the University of Calgary. “The plan is to repeat some of the work that has been done with NASA for various groups of military personnel, and apply it to a paramilitary population, which is the police.
“It’s a very high-stress profession, and they have a shorter lifespan than the general population because of that. Whatever we can do to help alleviate some of that stress would be a good thing.”
Data from Juschka’s collaborative research project with the space agency and the University of Calgary will also be used to assist NASA scientists in preparing for a planned space flight to Mars. NASA has studied human performance, stress and health issues for years.
Led by Dr. Pat Cowings, director of the Psychophysiology Research Lab at the Ames Research Centre in the heart of Silicon Valley, scientists have developed a special $3-million mobile electrode suit, connected to a series of computers, to measure physiological responses to simulated stress situations. Clinicians who measure and interpret the responses don’t have to be in the same room to counsel the test subject — or the same country, or even on the same planet.
The goal isn’t to modify the person’s perception of their environment, or their physical bodies, but to teach them how to modify their reactions, like learning how to relax the muscles at the back of their neck or move blood from the lower to the upper part of the body. Using neurotherapy, it is hoped to train people to enter the kind of wavelengths associated with meditative states and also to potentially improve their cognitive skills.
NASA has tested its patented Autogenic Feedback Training Exercise (AFTE) on astronauts, helicopter pilots, tank drivers and other army personnel to help their bodies mimic a resting level during times of high stress.
The suit has already been pressed into use on the MIR space station, and Cowings has helped astronauts and military personnel in controlling motion-sickness symptoms without medication.
This will be the first time the technique is used on a paramilitary population — volunteer Calgary police officers.
“Imagine somebody in any police department talking about working with NASA 10 years ago, or even five years ago,” says Juschka, who credits former police chief Christine Silverberg for supporting her research.
By combining the autogenic technique with neurotherapy — teaching a person what a relaxed state feels like and how to get there at a moment’s notice — Juschka says police can learn how to deal with their mental and physical states during and following incidents such as pursuits or a weapons calls.
Studies show that police can experience up to a 15-year reduction in their lives due to work-related stress and adrenal burnout.
While counselling is still an integral part of the process, Juschka agrees it is sometimes difficult for police officers to talk about their innermost feelings. “One of the advantages of this is that it involves computers,” she says. “Somebody who is reluctant to talk about their life story may prefer to do a computer game. It’s learning-oriented, not looking to find fault in any way.”
During the testing, a police officer wearing the wired suit will sit in front of a computer in a room equipped with a two-way mirror. Behind the mirror, measurements of the volunteer’s brain waves, heart rate and other responses will be observed in real time by NASA scientists via teleconferencing as the subject participates in the computer exercise.
The goal of Juschka’s mind-body research is to improve health and performance through e-learning. She sees potential applications being used in the treatment for cardiovascular disease, hypertension, headaches and post-traumatic stress disorders, as well as chronic pain and anxiety.
Says U of C education professor Marilyn Samuels, who is acting as Juscka’s supervisor on the project: “There’s been a lot of research in general around trying to use biofeedback, and various ways of looking at different approaches to reduce stress and anxiety. This is just one of the really cutting-edge ways and it gives us an opportunity to do some really good research on it.”
There are still some hurdles to be passed, including obtaining funding for the minimum $60,000 research project. Juschka is seeking support from both private and public sector funding sources.
An International Space Act agreement also has to be signed between NASA and the U of C before the space agency can share its expertise and equipment.
Juschka will also have to seek approval from the new Calgary police chief to continue her ground-breaking research.
“I think, I hope, I dream out loud that if we can demonstrate its effectiveness on small scale with small problems, that we can elaborate to bigger health problems and more people,” says Juschka.
“I would like to make a difference,” she adds. “I think this might make people feel better.”
