Wednesday 29 May 2013 marks the 60th anniversary of Edmund Hillary & Tenzing Norgay's first climb to the summit of Mount Everest.
In two giant tents on the icy ground of Everest base camp, a team of scientists have been conducted research into the effects of low oxygen conditions.
Established by Dr Dan Martin in 2007, this is the second major expedition of the Xtreme Everest project. Made up of doctors and scientists from University College London, University of Southampton and Duke University, the project also involved a group of healthy volunteers willing to be subjected to a series of intensive physical tests.
The team were braving the extreme conditions to investigate the underlying physiological reasons why some people can cope better with low oxygen conditions than others. Since the first expedition in 2007, the project is focusing not only on the amount of oxygen you can get into your system, but on how well you can deliver that oxygen to where it's needed and how efficiently your body then uses that oxygen.
Lying at 5,364 metres, Everest base camp contains around half the amount of oxygen compared to sea level, providing the perfect conditions for testing and research. In this case, the "lab" involves two insulated tents full of the latest medical technology, including two exercise bikes with full gas analysis systems, centrifuges and blood sampling kits -- all of which had to be brought from Lukla airport (a ten day trek).
Many of the team work in Intensive Care Units and are interested in examining what happens to the body when there is not enough oxygen reaching their vital organs. Whether through lung failure, a heart attack or a stroke, 90% of intensive care patients suffer from the effects of a shortage of oxygen. The knowledge gained in the extreme conditions at Everest could dramatically increase the chances of patients back home.
The film was funded by the Wellcome Trust.
Explore the Xtreme Everest website
http://www.xtreme-everest.co.uk/
Read Greg Foot's Guardian blog post on the project. http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2013/may/29/everest-breathtaking-medical-research
Visit Daredevil Labs: Everest to find out where to see Greg's live show in schools and at science festivals throughout the year.
http://www.gregfoot.com/daredevil-labs-everest/
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