As Boeing engineers and test pilots push the envelope with the new 787 Dreamliner, we're reminded that aircraft are really flying hyperbaric chambers, and rapid decompression can be deadly. Fifteen years ago, during a Boeing 777 test flight, a clamp on an air-conditioning duct came loose at 43,000 feet, and several engineers on board got the bends and had to be treated in a hyperbaric chamber immediately upon landing. Learn more about the flight test program on the special Boeing website, and check out this cool video of the first 787 stall test.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Dreamliner Pilots Ready For Decompression
As Boeing engineers and test pilots push the envelope with the new 787 Dreamliner, we're reminded that aircraft are really flying hyperbaric chambers, and rapid decompression can be deadly. Fifteen years ago, during a Boeing 777 test flight, a clamp on an air-conditioning duct came loose at 43,000 feet, and several engineers on board got the bends and had to be treated in a hyperbaric chamber immediately upon landing. Learn more about the flight test program on the special Boeing website, and check out this cool video of the first 787 stall test.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Aussie Cricketer Dominates Holiday HBOT News
All through December about the only thing our usual newsfeeds wanted to know was, Will the Australian cricket skipper Ricky Ponting be healthy for the Boxing Day Test? To speed healing of a strained tendon in his elbow Ponting spent the night of his 35th birthday in a hyperbaric chamber. Seems to have worked. Yes, he played December 26, and played brilliantly, by all reliable accounts.So we add another high-profile testimonial to a growing list of elite athletes using and promoting hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT). And it's not just a fad. More and more professional athletes, trainers, and sports medicine professionals are choosing HBOT as an alternative or adjunctive treatment for sports injury rehabilitation. Even if claims of speedier healing don't find much support in the clinical literature, there's no stopping a trend this strong.
We're fascinated by the growing popularity of HBOT for sports rehabilitation. But could hyperbaric oxygen be considered a kind of performance-enhancing drug, like blood doping? Does room air at mild pressure (mHBOT) do any good? What dosages of pressure and oxygen work best for various types and severities of injury?
In time, today's active practitioners will find the answers in the clinic and spread the word among their peers. We're on the beat and on the side of healthcare consumers seeking useful information and easy connections to local clinics and physicians.
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