Sep 30, 2006

A novel instrument developed to help asthma patients is about to be launched to the International Space Station (ISS) in the frame of the European exploitation programme run by the European Space Agency (ESA). The instrument will be used to support scientific investigations on the effect of inhalation of dust particles and lung performances after space walks outside the station.

"The process to qualify our instrument for the space programme has been very long and exhaustive with rigorous restrictions. NIOX MINO®, our unique testing tool, has now been approved by all concerned parties, so it will be on the next flight to the ISS, the only space station currently in operation," explains Thomas Almesjö, Managing Director of Aerocrine.

The planned launch of the Soyuz spacecraft is set to 1 October. The twelfth ISS crew will be onboard when the rocket launches from the Russian Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

NIOX MINO is Aerocrine's unique tool. NIOX MINO is normally used to measure the nitric oxide content of exhaled air, which provides a measure of the degree of inflammation of the respiratory passages. The value obtained can then be used to determine the correct steroid dose for asthma patients. On the space station, however, NIOX MINO will play a different role.

"Due to the lack of gravitation, all particles move freely around the space station. In simple terms, there are no balls of fluff in the corners," explains Tryggve Hemmingsson. "The NIOX MINO test will prove beneficial, even if it's not being used to calculate steroid doses for asthma patients."

Tryggve Hemmingsson has been project leader for instrument development at Aerocrine as well as a space researcher at the Karolinska Institutet medical university in Stockholm, Sweden.

Several questions need answering. The test will be used to measure how space workers react to spacewalk preparations, which include inhaling oxygen-rich air, and how they are affected when working outside the space station, to name but two examples.

"The test instrument will be used on the space station until at least 2008. During this time, a small sensor in the measuring system will be regularly replaced about once a year. Email-like communication will be used to continually transmit the collected data to Earth for analysis. The data and measurement results will also be stored on smart cards for later comparisons.

The first operator of the instrument in space will be the experienced Russian cosmonaut Valery Tokarev, who will arrive to the ISS together with NIOX MINO tool.





For further information, please contact:
Thomas Almesjö, President&CEO phone: +46 8 629 07 82 mobile: +46 70 629 07 82
Tryggve Hemmingsson, Project leader phone: +46 8 629 07 88 mobile: +46 70 685 77 73


Aerocrine AB is a clinically based medical technology company that leads the way in the development of devices for monitoring inflammation through the measurement of gaseous markers. The company was founded in 1997 by scientists from the prestigious Karolinska Institute in Sweden and has its headquarters in Solna, Stockholm. The founders were the first to identify nitric oxide (NO) as a marker of inflammation. Today, this strong scientific heritage is supported by an international network of clinical advisors as well as an experienced and efficient management team, which is bringing innovative ideas into clinical practice. Aerocrine holds a comprehensive patent portfolio, including eleven approved patents in the USA, with patents pending.

Aerocrine AB (publ), Sundbybergsvägen 9, SE-171 73 Solna, Sweden
Phone +46 8 629 07 80. Fax +46 8 629 07 81.
E-mail: info@aerocrine.com. Website: www.aerocrine.com