Dr. Pedro Caetano – Space Medicine & Beyond

Planet Medical Solutions works with airlines and aviation medical companies to provide certification services. It also provides consultation services for expeditions in extreme environments.

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Dr. Pedro Caetano
Dr. Pedro Caetano

During medical school, Dr. Pedro Caetano didn’t know about space medicine. Even today many doctors and medical students also don’t know about this speciality, nor do they know how to pursue it. Dr. Caetano pursued this least-followed path and, currently, he is the Head of Aerospace & Travel Medicine Unit and Co-Founder of Planet Medical Solutions.

After graduation, Dr. Caetano was uncertain about his specialization options. However, he had an interesting inclination toward extreme and tropical medicine. Extreme medicine provides medical facilities in extreme environments whereas tropical medicine involves the study of the world’s major tropical diseases, mostly infections. He could have specialized in tropical medicine only if the speciality was available in his home country, Portugal. Dr. Caetano considered specializing in Infectiology, which is the most similar speciality to tropical medicine,  but the idea of staying in the hospital didn’t fascinate him. Finally, he decided to settle for a general speciality – Family & General Medicine.

When Dr. Caetano decided to specialize in Family & General Medicine, he wanted to focus on tropical medicine. He took a relevant course at the Institute of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine at the University of Lisbon, Portugal. During this course, Dr. Caetano discovered Aviation Medicine. This speciality caught his attention! While studying and exploring Aviation Medicine, he finally discovered Space Medicine. 

Dr. Pedro Caetano

Space Medicine is an occupational medical field which is very specific to aviation and space. The specialists deal with the health problems of astronauts, pilots, cabin crew, air-traffic controllers and other relevant professionals.  This sub-speciality caught Dr. Caetano’s attention even more. This is where his quest for specialization started and stopped, at the same time!

In Portugal, no institute offered Space Medicine programs. Surprisingly, in the same duration, NASA launched a Space Medicine course. Dr. Caetano outperformed and was selected! The course selected fourteen applicants. Half of the applicants belonged to the USA and the remaining belonged to partner countries of the USA: Europe, Canada and Japan.

So, I went from tropical medicine to aviation medicine and then finally to space medicine. I didn’t expect my selection! I completed my course only 6 months back with no experience.

Dr. Pedro Caetano

CEO and Co-Founder of Planet Medical Solutions

From an early age, Dr. Pedro Caetano aspired to do something exemplary. He had always been involved in science. The idea of pursuing medicine is an extension of his inclination toward science. With science, he believed he could bring a revolution. Finally, five years ago, Dr. Pedro Caetano and some like-minded individuals joined together to inaugurate Planet Medical Solutions. It is a project about space and extreme medicine.

Basically, if an expedition is going, for example, to the North Pole, they hire us. We prepare them for the expedition in the extreme climate.

Dr. Pedro Caetano
Dr. Pedro Caetano

People with comorbidities are prepared with rehabilitation facilities. This enables them to do their work in an extreme environment without any hindrance. This company also provides consulting services to aerospace companies related to space medicine. They help enterprises connect external factors with medical aspects. Moreover, they also work with airlines and aviation medical companies to provide certification services.

In simpler words, we certify pilots, astronauts and other relevant professionals that they are fit to fly.

Dr. Pedro Caetano

With almost 9 years of experience, Dr. Pedro Caetano continues serving passionately. According to him, his curiosity and devotion to a better tomorrow keep his passion alive. He prefers working on projects beneficial for the scientific community and the general public. Anything with a good impact on others is always worth it. Furthermore, he recommends involving in activities that are not related to your professional goals. He believes in saving time for other important aspects of life. Work is not the only important priority!

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