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Cardiovascular diseases are one of the leading causes of death worldwide, principally in places high above sea level (mainly above 3,000 meters). There are many types of cardiovascular diseases; broadly speaking, they can be classified as congenital and non-congenital ones. When the disease is congenital, then the person is born with it, while if it is non-congenital, it can develop throughout the person´s life into different stages and due to a variety of causes. The present book presents an unobstructed panorama of work done in the past regarding cardiovascular medical devices and its implications under microgravity conditions as well as a new approach to the research. As part of a program launched by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) conjunctly with the European Space Agency (ESA), a team from a country without ongoing space programs was selected so they could test their proposed experiment at a facility in Germany that simulates space conditions. The experiment selected for the program was the study of the performance of Cardiovascular medical devices under microgravity conditions.

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Diaz Palacios, Fabio
The authors of the book belong to a research team of Mechatronics and Biomedical Engineers from UCB that obtained a fellowship from UNOOSA, to perform tests and research at the Drop Tower in Bremen, Germany related to Medical devices under microgravity conditions, for which the team was awarded a medal of recognition from the Bolivian Government.

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