STARVING for OXYGEN - Hypoxia Training with the FAA

Team SocialFlight enters the FAA's Portable Reduced Oxygen Training Environment (PROTE) to learn about the effects of Hypoxia first-hand. Monitoring our oxygen levels using the Masimo MightySat Pulse Oxymeter and Masimo Health mobile app, we learn EXACTLY what happens when your brain loses oxygen at the equivalent of 27,000' altitude...
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[@KIP-lh1ln]

Thank you for this video. The only time in my life where I've experienced hypoxia is holding my breath underwater for a few minutes and when I got up, my eyes felt delayed when I moved my head and a tingling feeling.

[@ingramleedy]

Thanks for the video, I just did the Hypoxia chamber with the FAA at Sun 'n Fun '24. This was a great experience that I'd recommend to any pilot, and probably should be required.

[@gloger]

Jacob succumbed to hypoxia much more quickly than his dad, Jeff. As an MD, I saw Jacob's brain fog and cyanosis already present at 1 minute and his heart rate soared, compared to his dad. Above 26K feet is known as the death zone when mountain climbing. Jeff is still in great shape and as he's done a lot more flying that Jacob, perhaps is better conditioned to altitude, despite living in MA. I've equipped my plane with an oxygen concentrator and use it (demand nasal cannula on boom) above 7.5K daytime and 5K nighttime. I wish headset manufacturers would equip their gear with earlobe O2 Sat monitor as wearing fingertip monitor is awkward.

[@georgebrown3097]

I met a guy in OshKosh who has done just that. I'm JR (the instructor on the video) I'm gonna see if our Medical Institute I work for will research it for possible use in aircraft. His plan is to embed a pulse ox in the headset!

[@gloger]

@@georgebrown3097 Physicians use pulse oximeter ear lobe sensors all the time to monitor patients. While not as accurate/consistent as finger tip monitors, they are perfectly fine for monitoring trends. The first thing that hypoxia does is make you stupid, so expecting a symptomatic pilot to stick his finger into a pulse ox to decide whether to use supplemental oxygen at flight levels below those mandated by FAA regulations is unrealistic. And as you know many aerospace medicine docs/organizations advocate the use of supplemental oxygen at altitudes far below those mandated by the FAA, especially at night and in those pilots with diminished pulmonary function. Since most pilots wear headsets, the rational solution would be to incorporate a pulse ox into the headset ear cup/piece which could then scream at you to turn on supplemental oxygen, if necessary. It would not interfere with your flying as fingertip monitors do. Ironically, Amar Bose was my EE prof at MIT. I asked him to do just that, but he didn't want to spoil the aural characteristics of his headsets. You may private message me at [e-mail]. Perhaps we could do something together.

[@georgebrown3097]

@gloger it does make sense. The one this guy is proposing is a hospital grade pulse ox. It reads 3 times a second. Very low profile and fit easily with a headset. I'm with Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) in OKC. We have a very advanced research facility with a collection of the greatest minds in Aerospace Medicine. I'm gonna have him contact our lead researcher and see if we get it included on the IRB for a possible study at altitude.

[@gloger]

@@georgebrown3097 sounds like plan. Medical grade sensors tend to be disposable (sanitation/profit?) glue ons, which will be fine for initial research/development, but a comfortable reusable (clip on?) ear sensor will probably need to be designed.

[@dougolson304]

Checking finger nails for signs of cyanosis is also a good tip.

[@timypaul]

My first hypoxic symptom was not feeling like myself and a lagging vision, I see some similarities. Such great insights from this video. Thank you guys for doing this.

[@user-bl9id7vf1o]

Like MOST instructors, they say too much in a short period of time. This may be on purpose, in order to task saturate you in an hypoxic environment to determine your symptoms before you can't remember. But as an instructor, sometimes saying less during a lesson is better, especially if the student is task saturated.

[@johnfitzpatrick2469]

G,day Jeff and Jake from Sydney Australia. A learning experience, in that: For you- experience in identifying the early onset of hypoxia. Observations of experiment; * Pilots focus on pulse oximetry reading, signs and symptoms. * Radial vector and radio frequency (recording information) secondary. That's how I perceived it to be. 🌏🇭🇲

[@mayarella1]

This is good for red blood cells?