Further Test and Evaluation of the Aqua-Lung Portable Helicopter Oxygen Delivery System (PHODS) in the Altitude Chamber
Abstract
Introduction: The Portable Helicopter Oxygen Delivery System (PHODS) is a hypoxia countermeasure that provides supplemental oxygen (O2) to Army aviators in unpressurized aircraft at altitudes up to 18,000 feet (ft) above mean sea level (MSL). The present document is the presentation provided to the Aerospace Medical Association's Annual Scientific Meeting (Reno, NV, May 2022) describing USAARLs test and evaluation (T and E) of the PHODS conducted in the altitude chamber. Methods: The PHODS T and E monitored: (1) peripheral blood O2 saturation (SpO2) using standard pulse oximetry, (2) regional cerebral blood O2 saturation (rSO2) using infrared spectroscopy, and (3) the Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT) performance, a tedious, intentionally boring visual monitoring task that reports visual reaction time as well as errors due to missed targets and false anticipatory responses. These measures were recorded at pressure altitudes (PA) of 14,000 and 17,800 ft above MSL as well as at ground level (GL). At each altitude, Army aircrew (N = 22) tested PHODS functionality and effectiveness during 10 minutes (min) of the PVT, 5 min. of verbalized text reading (TR), and 2 min of a physical workload (WL) task; i.e., self-paced squats.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 20, 2022
- Accession Number
- AD1171695
Entities
People
- Aaron Mcatee
- Amanda Hayes
- Bobby Bowers
- Dennis Ard
- Frank Petrassi
- Leonard Temme
- Paul St. Onge
Organizations
- United States Army Aeromedical Research Lab