Gas separation: processes – With control responsive to sensed condition – Concentration sensed
Reexamination Certificate
2003-04-25
2004-12-07
Smith, Duane S. (Department: 1724)
Gas separation: processes
With control responsive to sensed condition
Concentration sensed
C055S385200, C095S011000, C095S025000, C095S026000, C096S111000, C096S115000, C096S116000, C096S117000, C128S202120, C128S205260
Reexamination Certificate
active
06827760
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to a method and system simulating altitude changes in an enclosed space, and particularly, is directed to a method and system in which ambient oxygen and carbon dioxide levels are monitored and adjusted to provide desired physiological benefits derived from a person or animal spending time in an altitude environment to improve athletic performance and/or to relieve altitude sickness symptoms for other individuals. High and low oxygen environments affect the physiology in different ways providing health and athletic benefits.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Going to a higher altitude or reduced oxygen environments is safe when done properly. Millions of air travelers experience high altitude when they fly in aircraft pressurized to 6-8,000 feet. Hundreds of thousands of tourists visit Colorado's high country and stay at altitudes ranging from 8,000 feet (Vail or Aspen, Colo., USA) to 11,000 feet (Leadville, Colo., USA). These same tourists enjoy shorter stays at 12,000 feet (top of Loveland Pass) to 14,000 feet (top of Pikes Peak).
However, medical problems due to high altitude include a number of uncomfortable symptoms and some potentially dangerous conditions, all resulting from the decrease in the oxygen concentration in the blood. Altitude sickness is not a specific disease but is a term applied to a group of rather widely varying symptoms caused by altitude. The primary cause is decreased oxygen. People react differently to altitude at different times and different people react differently to altitude. Physical fitness does not confer any protection against acute mountain sickness and does not facilitate acclimatization. Altitude effects result from the lower oxygen content of the air—not from the lower barometric pressure. At 18,000 feet the amount of oxygen molecules per cubic foot of air is approximately one half that of sea level.
Additionally, going too high too fast causes altitude sickness. When a person is exposed to a higher altitude for longer periods, he/she acclimatizes to the higher altitude. By acclimatizing slowly, a person can usually avoid the symptoms of altitude sickness. Symptoms of altitude sickness may include: nausea, headaches, sleeplessness, weakness, malaise, difficulty breathing, feeling “hung over”, lethargy, a loss of appetite, altered thinking, and/or feeling “intoxicated”.
During acclimatization there is an increase the body's efficiency in absorbing, transporting, delivering and utilizing oxygen. The most important processes in acclimatization are:
(a) An increase in respiratory rate and volume. This change usually begins at around 3,000 feet and may not reach a constant value until several days after arrival at high altitude.
(b) Changes in the pulmonary circulation. During exposure to any kind of low oxygen environment, including high altitude, the pressure in the pulmonary arteries is elevated and the capillaries of the lung are more fully infused with blood increasing the capacity of the circulatory bed of the lung to absorb oxygen.
(c) An increase in the number of red blood cells. Shortly after arrival at high altitude an increase in the number of red blood cells in the blood occurs. Later red blood cell production by the bone marrow is increased so that the blood contains more red cells than at sea level. Since the red cells carry oxygen the increased number of red cells permits each unit of blood to carry more oxygen. This process reaches its maximum in about six weeks.
(d) Increased cardiac output. During the first few days at high altitude, the volume of blood pumped by the heart per minute is increased, which increases the rate of oxygen delivery to the tissues.
(e) Changes in the tissues of the body. Prolonged exposure to altitude is accompanied by the changes in the tissues that use oxygen, particularly muscle, which permit normal function at very low oxygen pressures. These changes include an increase in the number of capillaries within the tissue, and an increase in the concentration of enzymes, which extract oxygen from hemoglobin, as well as an increase in the volume of mitochondria, which are the cellular structures within which these enzymes are located.
The physiological effects of altitude acclimatization have been documented for many years. These effects include:
(a) An increase in total blood volume
(b) An increase in red blood cell mass
(c) An increase in VO
2
max—the maximum amount of oxygen the body can convert to work
(d) An increase in hematocrit, the ratio of red blood cells to total blood volume
(e) An increase in the lungs ability to exchange gases efficiently
Together these changes produce an increase in the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood and the body's ability to use the oxygen transported resulting in a major difference in the body's ability to perform work both at altitude and at sea level. The net result of such changes is an improvement in athletic performance.
The time required for the different adaptive processes is variable. The respiratory and biochemical changes are typically complete in six to eight days. The increase in the number of red blood cells is about 90 percent of maximum at three weeks. In general, about 80% of adaptation is completed by 10 days and 95% is completed in six weeks. Longer periods of acclimatization result in only minor increases in high altitude performance. However, continued exposure to altitude does maintain the physiological acclimatization. After return to sea level, acclimatization starts to be lost after 10-15 days. Red blood cell counts remain higher for up to 6 weeks.
Living at a high altitude is essential to maximize the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood and improving athletic performance. In their landmark study published in the July 1997 issue of the Journal of Applied Physiology, Dr Benjamin Levine and Dr. James Strey-Gundersen of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center demonstrated convincingly that athletes perform best when living (including sleeping) at high altitude and training at low altitude. Their study of 39 elite runners showed a marked increase in performance (at sea level as well as at altitude) among the group that lived at high altitude and drove down to low altitude for training. There was no performance improvement in any of the other groups (living high and training high, living low training low, or living low and training high.).
Further studies have also shown that training at low altitude is critical to getting the best quality training. At high altitude the blood is not fully saturated with oxygen. While the athlete's blood would be 97-98% saturated with oxygen at sea level it may be only 80% saturated at 14,000 feet. As a result the athlete at altitude is unable to work or train as hard. U.S. Olympic Team cyclists at their high altitude training camp found they could work harder by riding cycling ergometers while wearing oxygen masks to simulate sea level. A rider that could put out 400 watts at altitude could put out 480 watts at sea level with the same perceived exertion. In short, athletes benefit more from their training at sea level than from training at high altitude. This study and others show that the optimal training program includes living high and training low.
Research shows that the body's production of erythropoietin (the natural glycoprotein produced by the kidneys that signals the bone marrow to make more red blood cells) goes up dramatically as altitude increases from 6,000 feet (30% increase over sea level) to 14,500 feet (300% increase over sea level.) Most training regimens simply do not train the athlete at low enough elevations while allowing them to sleep at high enough elevations to gain the maximum benefit from training. In a preferred embodiment, it is recommended that a person sleep at an altitude of 8,000-13,000 feet for the maximum acclimatization effect, after a period of acclimatization at lower altitudes.
What limits exercise at high altitude is the lack of oxygen concentration. Mountain air contains le
Boatman Joseph
Jellison Mark
Kutt Lawrence M.
Colorado Altitude Training LLC
Sheridan & Ross P.C.
Smith Duane S.
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