Breaking Update: Here’s a clear explanation of the latest developments related to Breaking News:Augmented reality and artificial intelligence for ultrasound scans– What Just Happened and why it matters right now.
18/03/2026
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Since their arrival aboard the International Space Station on 14 February 2026, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot and NASA astronaut Jack Hathaway have already carried out two sessions of EchoFinder, an experiment developed by the French space agency CNES for the εpsilon mission.
EchoFinder tackles a simple yet crucial challenge for the future of human space exploration: how can astronauts perform a reliable ultrasound scan without medical training and without real-time support from a doctor?
EchoFinder is a software assistant that combines augmented reality and artificial intelligence. The augmented reality interface guides the astronaut by showing exactly where to position the ultrasound probe on the body. Once the probe is correctly placed, an artificial intelligence system takes over to identify the organs and record the images. In the future, these images would be sent to medical teams on Earth for diagnosis.
This technology was developed with upcoming space missions in mind, where communication delays would make remote assistance from a specialist impossible. It is also promising applications on Earth, for example on ships at sea, in submarines, or in remote areas without immediate access to medical expertise.
Among the mission’s thirty-six European experiments, seven French experiments, including EchoFinder, were developed by CADMOS, the centre for the development of microgravity applications and space operations at CNES.
At the European level, CADMOS is one of ESA’s four User Support and Operations Centres (USOCs), helping European scientists make the best possible use of the Station’s facilities and supporting more than 25 scientific experiments each year on behalf of ESA and its international partners.