||||||||||||||||II O US005109837A United States Patent 19) (11) Patent Number: 5,109,837 Gamow
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||||||||||||||||II O US005109837A United States Patent 19) (11) Patent Number: 5,109,837 Gamow ... (45) - Date of Patent: May 5, 1992 (54)54 HYPERB ARIC CHAMBERM FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS 75) Inventor: Rustem I. Gamow, Boulder, Colo. 567038 5/1958 Belgium. 970939 3/1953 Fed. Rep. of Germany . 1566593 10/1970 Fed. Rep. of Germany . 73) Assignee: Hyperbaric Mountain Technologies, 3004156 ll/1982 Fed. Rep. of Germany . Inc., Boulder, Colo. 854923 /940 France . 1582749 9/968 France . 21) Appl. No.: 341,645 1200563 7/1970 United Kingdom. (22) Filed: Apr. 21, 1989 Primary Examiner-Edgar S. Burr Assistant Examiner-Kimberly L. Asher Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Greenlee and Associates 63 Related U.S. Application Data (57) ABSTRACT (63) Syria's"...R.E.E. A portable hyperbaric chamber is provided that allows Ser. No. 743,0ll, Jun. 10, 1985, abandoned. a person to perform endurance exercise at barometric pressures of from 0 to 10 lbs./square inch greater than 51) Int. Cl............................................... A61G 10/02 ambient. The chamber is portable, semi-spherical and 52 U.S. Cl. .......................... 128/202,12,128/20024. inexpensively constructed of an essentially air imperine 128/205.26 able, flexible material. The chamber is used for endur 58) Field of Search ................... 272/1 B, 1 E, 1 R, 2, ance conditioning, to improve the athletic performance 272/3. 4.5. 73/4. R. D. 441/87.220/3 of people who live at altitudes above seal level. Another 48/14, 178,5225, 2N2 G, 4440579 embodiment of this invention is the hyperbaric moun 9.2870212.203,202.62622 tain bubble. This embodiment, designed for use at high 201.23, 205.26, 200.24, 201.24, 201.25, 201.27 altitudes to prevent mountain sickness, provides a porta 201.29, 202.19, 202.11, 204 is, 20426, 205.28, ble sealed chamber in which a patient may be placed. 204.29, 205.12, 205.13, 205.15, 205.17, 204.22 The pressure inside the chamber is raised, providing 2 y y 20 interior environment equivalent to a descent from alti tude to as low as sea level, to alleviate the symptoms of 56 8 mountain sickness. In a further embodiment, the moun (56) References Cited tain bubble is expanded to provide a high altitude habi U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS tat suitable for use as a mountain tent, which may be .294, 88 2/1919 Stelzner ......... - - - - - - - - - 128/205.26 pressurized or not as desired. The mountain bubble may 2,401.230 5/1946 Colley ....... - - - - - 128/205.26 be equipped with a bladder arrangement to eliminate 2,732,840 l/1956 De Sanctis ... 28/204.26 the need for constant pumping, and may also be con 3,602.221 8/1971 Bleicken ... 128/205.26 structed for use as a high-altitude tent which can be 3.729,002 4/1973 Miller ........ ... 28/205.26 pressurized or not as desired. A useful embodiment of s: 8/1978 York .................. ... 128/205.26 this invention is the closed circuit rebreather using an 4, 86,735 2/1980 Henneman et al. ... 28/20.25 oxygen supply and carbon dioxide removal means to : 8. Seigorea, :28: provide an extended period of breathing without the 4,423,723 7/1984 Winkler et al. ................ 2/2026 need for attention to maintaining a fresh air supply. 4,440,162 4/1984 Sewell et al. ................... 28/202.26 4,627,43) 12/1986 Werjefelt ........................ 128/2012.5 8 Claims, 7 Drawing Sheets 925 U.S. Patent May 5, 1992 Sheet 1 of 7 5,109,837 U.S. Patent May 5, 1992 Sheet 2 of 7 5,109,837 CC e iii. It t gtiL D U.S. Patent May 5, 1992 Sheet 3 of 7 5,109,837 U.S. Patent May 5, 1992 Sheet 4 of 7 5,109,837 O H- (NJ O O O N h-- O O -- N CD - C O O) 2 9 O O- OS s V2 O O) 2 O "g its 2 N- O OS t o > o s O) U Y O d OIe o - POLYESTER MUST RUN IN THIS DIRECTION-- U.S. Patent May s 1992 Sheet 5 of 7 5,109,837 U.S. Patent May 5, 1992 Sheet 6 of 7 5,109,837 5,109,837 1. 2 tial acclimatization has been shown to be accompanied HYPERBARIC CHAMBER by an increase in circulating red blood cells presumably put into circulation to enhance the blood's oxygen-car This application is a continuation-in-part of copend rying capacity (Ibid.). Full acclimatization is achieved ing U.S. application Ser. No. 010,046 filed Feb. 2, 1987, after 2-3 months, and is accompanied by an increased now U.S. Pat. No. 4,974,829, which is a continuation-in hematocrit. part of U.S. application Ser. No. 743,011, filed Jun. 10, It has been recommended (Castro, R., "Altitude Of. 1985, now abandoned. fers Big Training Advantage," Boulder Daily Camera, Sept. 14, 1978) that athletes engaged in sports such as INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND O running, cycling and the like, where a high level of As man roams the globe, from climbing high moun cardiovascular output is required, should train at alti tains to exploring ocean depths, increasing instances tudes. It is generally accepted by athletes that altitude occur of detrimental effects of acute or chronic expo training is beneficial (see Williams, K., "Boulder is sure to altitude or to reduced ambient pressure. A vari Training Haven for Runners," Boulder Daily Camera, ety of acute, subacute and chronic conditions related to 15 Apr. 22, 1985). The recommendation is based on the brief or prolonged exposure to altitude (or to decom rationale that the normal acclimatization to altitude will pression, in the case of divers and others working at generally improve cardiovascular efficiency, and hence elevated pressure) are nevertheless alleviated by treat athletic performance. ment in a hyperbaric atmosphere. (The term "hyper Practical application of the foregoing rationale has baric" is used herein to mean a pressure greater than 20 not been demonstrably successful. Many athletes ambient, over and above the range of pressure variation trained at altitude prior to competing in the 1968 encountered in the course of normal fluctuations in Olympics, held in Mexico City (7,500 feet). Even with atmospheric pressure caused by changes in the this altitude training, no new records in track endurance weather.) events were set that year (Daniels, J. and Oldridge, N. It is well-known that humans ascending to altitude 25 (1970) "The effects of altitude exposure to altitude and may experience a variety of symptoms collectively sea level on world class middle distance runners' in known as "mountain sickness." The symptoms of moun Medicine and Science in Sports, Vol. 2, No. 3, pp. tain sickness are especially prevalent with people com 107-112). Recently evidence has been reported that ing from sea level to ski at ski resorts 2000 meters and casts doubt on the notion that athletes who have lived higher above sea level. In general, these symptoms are 30 not severe and after a few days of nausea and headache and trained at altitude would have an advantage in the symptoms go away. Nevertheless, some individuals terms of performing endurance events at altitude or are dreadfully sick even at these low altitudes, and it near sea level (Grover, R. F. et al. (1976) Circulation would be beneficial to get them to a higher barometric Res. 38:391-3). Grover has shown that the total volume pressure as soon as possible. 35 of blood declines by as much as 25 percent as the body On the other hand, severe mountain sickness which responds to high altitude. This decrease in blood vol includes the following diseases: acute mountain sick ume causes an increase in blood viscosity that, in turn, ness, high altitude pulmonary edema, Monge's disease causes the heart to decrease the amount of blood and Brisket disease, are of major concern of mountain pumped. Since endurance athletic performance is eers. The problems for mountaineers are of course very 40 thought to be dependent on the amount of oxygen in the much greater than for the recreational skier. First, the blood, a decrease in blood volume might result in a altitudes may be very much greater, approaching 10,000 decrease in athletic performance. This decrease in meters, and the physical condition of the climbers then plasma volume results in the well-known phenomenon selves is greatly weakened not only from the altitude of observing an increase in red blood cell concentration but from the long-term exposure to extreme elements. 45 (hematocrit) as a result of acclimatization to altitude. All life supporting systems must be carried by foot and Doctors who work in the field of sport medicine have be contained in backpacks. To date, if a climber be long known that athletes have a condition known as comes severely ill because of the altitude the only treat sports anemia (Pate, R. R. (1983) "Sports Anemia: A ment is to get him or her to as low an elevation as possi Review of the Current Research Literature' in The ble as soon as possible. This is often not done because 50 Physician and Sports Medicine, Vol. 11, No. 2). They weather and terrain conditions may trap the climbers appear to have fewer red blood cells, but in reality they for days, if not weeks. have an increase in plasma volume. One interpretation is A second problem that mountaineers experience at that this increase in plasma volume allows the heart to altitude is the inability to maintain a regular sleep cycle.