Exercise Prebreathe - Clinical Trial
What is the Purpose of this Study?
This study is about helping astronauts stay safe during moonwalks. When astronauts go to the moon, they wear special suits with lower air pressure, which can cause small bubbles to form in the body. These bubbles can cause a problem called decompression sickness, which may lead to pain or weakness.
To help prevent this, astronauts breathe pure oxygen before their moonwalk. In this study, people will breathe oxygen for about one hour while resting or doing different levels of exercise. After that, they will enter a special room that lowers air pressure to feel like being in a spacesuit. While inside, they will do light exercises and have ultrasound tests to look for bubbles in the body. This part lasts about six hours. The goal is to learn how well oxygen breathing and activity help prevent decompression sickness.
Healthy volunteers
Who Can Participate in the Study?
People can join this study if they are healthy men or women between 30 and 60 years old. They must be able to pass a test that checks how well they can exercise on a bike.
People cannot join if they are pregnant, smoke, or use illegal drugs. They also cannot join if they have lung problems, trouble clearing their ears during pressure changes, or take certain medicines for blood pressure, pain, sleep, or brain related conditions.
What is Involved?
6 visits
Screening (includes physical exam, exercise test, altitude test, cardiac ultrasound - 5 hours)
VO2 measures - wear a mask that measures your work level during each exercise simulating the moon walk - 3 hours
Practice session - 4 hours
Study 1 - 9 hours
Study 2 - 9 hours
Study 3 - 9 hours
Study Details
