Sports Medicine Master System-Chapter 144 - 97: NASA’s Doctor

"Liquid nitrogen? You’ve got to be kidding," Nelson exclaimed.

The two were currently on an invited visit to Johnson & Johnson Medical’s new materials lab in Phoenix. They were being hosted by the lab’s director, Dr. George Leonard.

He was surprisingly young, perhaps only in his forties, and remarkably, he had a full head of long, black hair.

The shirt under his white lab coat was impeccably ironed, and he even wore cufflinks. He looked more like a Hollywood leading man with exceptional charisma.

When he heard that they were looking for a device that could rapidly release cold, he mentioned that such a device already existed—and that it used liquid nitrogen.

That stuff is around two hundred degrees below zero. Direct contact would definitely cause frostbite.

This was why Nelson had exclaimed in shock.

Chen Yu, beside him, didn’t have much of a reaction. In fact, his eyes seemed to light up. "George, if I remember correctly, using liquid nitrogen to rapidly cool and create low-temperature conditions is a method for treating tumors, right?"

’It seems that back in the sixties, people here in the United States discovered that low temperatures could be used to treat tumors. Later, they also found that hypothermia was beneficial for mitigating ischemic brain injury, and that’s been a continuous area of research.’

’But using it to alleviate post-exercise muscle damage and lactic acid buildup... isn’t the temperature a bit too low?’

"It’s probably not direct physical contact, but rather exposure to the vaporized liquid nitrogen, right?" Chen Yu asked, pressing for clarification.

’Direct contact with liquid nitrogen, even for just two seconds, can cause severe frostbite.’

Leonard nodded. "Exactly, it’s the vapor. Chen, you should know that when the body is in an extremely cold environment, its stress-response system activates. The blood releases anti-inflammatory substances, and blood flow is redirected to vital organs, which helps block pain and reduce inflammation."

"The device I’m talking about was first developed and applied in Japan, but they mainly use it to treat rheumatoid arthritis and systemic pain. I don’t think anyone has used it to relieve post-exercise fatigue yet."

As he spoke, he couldn’t help but glance over at Nelson.

’How intense must his daily training regimen be to require a specialized device just to manage fatigue?’

Chen Yu nodded repeatedly and then asked if the device was expensive.

’Brian is very supportive and willing to provide funding to improve the players’ training.’

’But if it’s too expensive, like an MRI machine that costs several million US dollars, then I’d have to seriously reconsider.’

"Very expensive. I think it’s several hundred thousand US dollars." Leonard curled his lip contemptuously. He hadn’t studied the thing, but his gut told him it was just a sealed chamber for vaporizing liquid nitrogen. ’To dare sell it for that much is a total rip-off.’

Hearing the price, Chen Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

For a wealthy NBA team, several hundred thousand US dollars was really not a big deal.

The main thing was its effectiveness—whether it actually worked.

A company was producing them. Chen Yu noted down the name and turned to ask about something else.

"Using sensors to monitor physical condition and generate quantitative data for analysis, right? That should be doable." Leonard nodded after a moment of thought, having listened to the request.

He felt that with current technology, making this idea a reality shouldn’t be difficult.

"As long as it’s doable." This was a thought shared by both Chen Yu and Nelson.

In the NBA at present, trainers still relied mainly on empirical methods.

The more players they trained, the more experience they gradually accumulated.

The more experience a Trainer had, the more skilled they were considered.

Nelson was clearly a master of his craft. However, being young, he was also open to new things, which was why he had toyed with the idea of using equipment to monitor physical condition—an idea that happened to align perfectly with Chen Yu’s.

In reality, Chen Yu also relied on an empirical method of his own.

’With the Eye of All-Seeing, I can know the body’s condition just by looking. The more I look, the more experience I gain.’

But only he knew about this. Chen Yu was more interested in developing a quantifiable training methodology that he could use to guide others.

After discussing a few more details, Chen Yu continued, "Lastly, regarding my own clinic, I’ve conceptualized a piece of equipment. The general idea is this."

Chen Yu tried his best to describe his idea.

It would support a person’s upper body to reduce the pressure on their lower body, making it easier to exercise the lower limbs independently.

"Ideally, it should also be able to adjust the amount of pressure the upper body exerts on the lower body."

’For players like Hardaway, it’s necessary to start rehabilitation training early after knee surgery.’

’But just standing up puts significant pressure on the knees. Is there a device that could remove the upper body’s pressure, allowing only the lower body to move, and then gradually increase that pressure for a progressive rehabilitation process?’

Leonard was stunned for a good while, then seemed to realize something. "There is! Chen, have you ever heard of an Anti-gravity Treadmill?"

Chen Yu shook his head.

Leonard said, "You should actually talk to NASA. I know that when they train astronauts, they use a type of treadmill that supports the upper body with an inflatable air bladder to reduce the impact of running on the lower body. It’s almost exactly what you’ve just described."

With that, he turned, opened his computer, and started searching for news articles.

"I just saw a story about this last year."

It didn’t take long for him to find it.

"This is it." He pointed at the computer screen.

Chen Yu leaned over to look.

It was a report from NASA’s official website about their astronaut training methods. It featured this specially developed running machine, which used an air bladder to support the body, reducing accidental injuries during exercise while also simulating, as much as possible, the effect of exercising in the zero-gravity environment of space.

"It really is," Chen Yu said, surprised to find that the device was almost identical to his own concept.

Chen Yu had thought it was his own unique idea and had even considered applying for a patent after developing it. He never expected NASA to have already invented it.

’Well, that makes things easy. Just contact NASA and buy it.’

Leonard took Chen Yu’s visit and his proposed monitoring system very seriously.

Or rather, the Johnson Group took it very seriously.

A significant part of their business was already in post-operative and post-recovery rehabilitation equipment.

If you went to a hospital’s rehabilitation department, you’d see that a lot of the rehab equipment was made by Johnson & Johnson.

Because of this, they dispatched a dedicated research team to follow the Suns’ training, understand their needs, and then design a product.

Then there was the matter with NASA.

When Chen Yu contacted them, NASA was initially dismissive, stating that the device was for their astronauts’ exclusive use and they had no plans to sell it externally.

This was despite Chen Yu indicating that he was willing to accept a higher price.

Just as Chen Yu was getting a headache over the issue, NASA unexpectedly contacted him again two days later.

「The training facility.」

In a corner of the training facility, a variety of equipment was set up.

J Kidd had a resistance band strapped to him, repeatedly sprinting as part of his explosive power training.

He had straps with sensors attached to all four limbs.

Nearby, the research team from Johnson & Johnson was behind their instruments, monitoring the data from the sensors.

Chen Yu was there too, but he couldn’t really understand what he was seeing.

When it came to computers, Chen Yu only knew how to browse the internet and send emails.

As for the research team’s professional software and the streams of fluctuating data, Chen Yu truly didn’t have a clue.

Nelson, on the other hand, was watching intently. He huddled with Mark, the head of the research team, and would occasionally point out which data points were useful and accurate.

These sensors provided a massive amount of data.

For example, just moving a shoulder would generate data, but only a few of those numbers were actually useful. It required a professional trainer like Nelson to distinguish them.

As he was watching, a staff member came over and told Chen Yu that the people from NASA had arrived.

"Please have them come straight over."

NASA had contacted Chen Yu again the day before yesterday. Strangely, they said they wanted to send someone to talk with him face-to-face.

’I don’t get it,’ Chen Yu thought. ’It’s just a treadmill. Do they really need to send a specialist to meet in person?’

’Could it be that this treadmill involves some kind of classified technology?’

A short while later, two people were escorted to the training facility.

One was a stocky, middle-aged man with short hair, accompanied by a young assistant.

The middle-aged man seemed to know who Chen Yu was and walked straight toward him.

His gaze, however, was drawn to the pile of equipment on the sidelines, and he lingered on it for a few moments.

"Chen, hello."

He extended his hand to shake Chen Yu’s and introduced himself as Thomas Carter, a doctor from NASA’s medical team.

The young man beside him was his assistant.

"Hello."

’Why did they send a doctor?’ Chen Yu wondered.

’But to be a doctor on NASA’s medical team, and a person in charge at that, he must be one of the top doctors in the United States.’

’And that name... I feel like I’ve heard it before. Maybe I read one of his papers.’

Sensing Chen Yu’s confusion, Thomas Carter explained, "It’s like this: our medical team has noticed that you seem to be very skilled at treating cartilage damage. For example, you healed Hill’s cartilage injury and performed cartilage reconstruction for Hardaway."

"I came here this time to see the results of their treatment for myself, because we happen to have a patient with a tricky case of a knee cartilage fracture. If your treatments are effective, we’d like to seek your help."

Chen Yu had a flash of understanding. ’No wonder they sent someone in person. They’re here to refer a patient.’

’Does that mean it’s an astronaut?’

’If it is an astronaut, then this level of attention makes sense.’

"What about the treadmill?" he asked. ’Seeing a patient is no problem. I’d never turn away someone who comes to my door. But as for the treadmill... considering I’ll be diagnosing your astronaut, surely you can’t refuse to sell it to me now.’

Carter smiled. "Don’t worry. We’ve already had it shipped over with us. It’s at the airport, and you can pick it up anytime."

Chen Yu nodded to himself. ’Classy. They know not to ask for a favor empty-handed.’

After speaking, Carter looked over at the pile of equipment and asked curiously what they were doing.

Since the man had come with sincerity, Chen Yu didn’t hide anything and explained the situation.

"I see. We use similar technology at NASA as well." Carter understood. At NASA, they also used various sensors to monitor the astronauts’ physical condition during training.

They just hadn’t thought of integrating it with daily training routines.

He watched with great interest, then asked, "Developing this entire system must cost a lot of money, right?"

’Designing and manufacturing dedicated sensors, plus developing the software system and the analysis program... the whole package won’t be cheap.’

’I know NBA teams aren’t short on cash, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen someone go to this extent.’

"It’s not too bad," Chen Yu said, glancing at Mark. Since it was a cooperative R&D project with Johnson & Johnson, the Suns had only contributed a symbolic amount of money.

’They’re the ones getting the research data; we’re lucky they’re not charging us.’

The more Carter watched, the more interested he became.

The Suns were definitely the first to integrate training and technology to this degree.

As he was watching, two people approached from a distance.

The one in the lead was dressed in a suit and tie, his hair slicked down flat. He had an East Asian face. As he drew near, he instinctively gave a slight bow and said cautiously, "Dr. Chen, the equipment has been calibrated. If it’s convenient, you can come take a look."

This man’s name was Nojima Yuji. He was a salesman from the Japanese company that manufactured the cryotherapy equipment, and he was here with technicians to calibrate it.

"Alright."

Chen Yu nodded. ’A medical degree graduate is a doctor, so there’s nothing wrong with this guy calling me Dr. Chen.’

Hearing the word "equipment," Carter chimed in to ask what kind it was.

"It’s a type of cryogenic therapy device."

Chen Yu explained, inviting Carter to come have a look as well.

In the physical therapy room, a special area had been cleared to install the massive device, which looked like a hibernation pod from a science fiction movie.

Carter took one look and couldn’t tear his eyes away.

’I don’t know what this thing actually does, but just based on its appearance, it looks incredibly high-tech and impressive.’