Akke Bakker (a Technical Medicine student at the University of Twente) set out on a trip to the top of the world. Her six-week stay on Mount Everest is part of a groundbreaking international research project. Together with dozens of other researchers, she will be investigating the effects of oxygen deprivation and blood flow on the heart, lungs, and brain at high altitudes.
The School of Health and Exercise Sciences at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada is sending twenty-five scientists of various nationalities on a six-week research expedition to the Everest Pyramid Laboratory. This fully equipped scientific facility is located at an altitude of 5,050 meters on the world 's highest mountain, whose summit is 8,848 meters above sea level.
Lead researcher Dr Philip Ainslie will be heading the expedition. An associate professor at the School of Health and Exercise Sciences, and holder of the Canada Research Chair in Cerebrovascular Function in Health and Disease, Phil Ainslie is also an accomplished mountaineer. While supervising UT student Akke Bakker during her internship in Canada, he invited her to join the expedition.
Dr Ainslie notes that “Research at high altitude is an excellent way of investigating changes in the body associated with physiological adaptations and a chronic reduction in partial oxygen pressure”. “The results of this study will further our understanding of phenomena such as biological adaptation to chronic hypoxia.”
Hypoxia involves a severe reduction in the levels of oxygen reaching the brain, and reduced blood flow to the vital organs. It is characteristic of many chronic disorders, such as heart attacks, strokes, and respiratory distress. The researchers hope to use the results of these experiments in further clinical studies, with a view to developing new methods of prevention and treatment.
The international group consists of staff from UBC’s Okanagan and Vancouver campuses, Duke University, the University of Oregon, the University of Sydney, Mount Royal University (Calgary), Cardiff University, Okanagan College, the University of Otago (New Zealand) and the University of Twente. The team includes sleep technicians, physicians, a bioengineer, and a hardware/software specialist.
As healthy volunteers, the researchers will also serve as their own human test subjects. Before travelling to the Everest lab, the expedition members will undergo an extensive period of acclimatization. This will help to prepare them for the difficult conditions there, such as austere surroundings, unpredictable weather, and altitude sickness (which affects many people who are new to mountainous areas).
The expedition’s researchers will also be studying members of the local population, who are native to the mountains of Nepal. Some of these individuals have previously served as volunteer test subjects in collaborative projects with local doctors and scientists. Dr Ainslie points out that “People who live at high altitude appear to be both less susceptible and more resistant to cardiovascular and respiratory problems”. “We want to explore this phenomenon in greater depth and to develop an understanding of the differences involved.”
The University of Twente is sponsoring Akke Bakker on this expedition. News of the expedition’s progress will be recorded in a blog.
Further details about the expedition can be found in Metro News. There is also a video clip at the University of British Columbia website.
