Xtreme Everest
The Xtreme Everest expedition, which BOC is supporting, is planned for 2007 and will take a team of mountaineering doctors to the 8,850 metre summit where they will measure blood oxygen levels as well as test how well their brains, lungs and metabolisms function at extreme altitude.
The team aims to draw parallels between the human body pushed to its limits during critical illness and changes that occur in extreme environments. Low levels of oxygen in the blood of high altitude climbers is similar to that found in critically ill patients on breathing machines with severe heart and lung conditions, ‘blue babies’ and cystic fibrosis sufferers.
It is hoped that the results of this research will help develop specialised breathing apparatus for the chronically ill, improve understanding of disease processes and subsequently develop new treatments.
The team is led by Dr Mike Grocott with Dr Kevin Fong (deputy leader), Dr Sundeep Dhillon (climbing leader), Dr Hugh Montgomery (research leader) and expedition medical officer, Dr Denny Levett.
Project Everest
Running in conjunction with the summit expedition is Project Everest which will set out to test the cardiovascular fitness of over 1,000 volunteers at UCL and at BOC’s offices in Guildford.
Volunteers will undergo cardio-pulmonary exercise testing (CPX) to determine VO2 max values, (the maximum amount of oxygen the body is capable of absorbing). The test indicates exercise potential and endurance levels and can be used to evaluate responses to breathing low levels of oxygen and how genetic differences are related to differences in these variables. This information can then be used to monitor the effectiveness of new treatments.
For more information please go the Xtreme Everest website.
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