Human Physiology in Extreme Environments: SkiScubaSpace project jumps on board the legendary OSTAR.
La Spezia, Friday 19 May 2017 -- A solo yachtman who crosses the Ocean; a startup that creates biomedical wearables; an innovative research project that studies the human body's reactions in extreme conditions. Combine these elements and you'll have a mix that is bound to surprise you.
On the next 29th of May, Michele Zambelli, a young Italian sailing champion, will leave for the OSTAR (Original Singlehanded Transatlantic Race) wearing special garments designed by ComfTech for the SkiScubaSpace project.
Michele will cover approximately 3000 nautical miles (5556 km), from the British port of Plymouth to Newport, Rhode Island, in the United States. The challenging navigation, carried out from East to West with northerly headwinds, will put to the test the athlete's skills, and at the same time will provide precious data for innovative research. A complex system of sensors integrated in the t-shirts that he will be wearing, will allow to monitor continuosly – and in a non-invasive way – his biomedical parameters, among which cardiac activity and respiratory rate. Tha data will be collected and analyzed by a specific App, and sent via satellite transmission to the operations center, where the researchers will be able to verify that the system works, and process the received information.
The initiative wants to establish the first instrumental test for SkiScubaSpace, an ambitious scientific project, designed by DAN Europe (international network for diving medical assistance) and ALTEC (Italian center of excellence providing engeneering and logistic services in support of the International Space Station), whose aim is to establish a complex network able to monitor in real time the physiological parameters of athletes and enthusiasts who practice sports in extreme environments. The official presentation of SkiScubaSpace will soon be held at Y-40 The Deep Joy, the deepest diving pool in the world, another important partner of the project.
Why choosing a yachtsman and the OSTAR for the instrumental tests? The answer lies in a famous quote by Eric Tabarly, who, telling of his victory in the 1962 edition, stated: the OSTAR is not a regatta, but a feat… The cold, the opposing currents, and the icebergs are in fact the main elements of this transatlantic race that pushes skippers to always navigate to the limit, both physically and mentally. Along the route of the Titanic, the elements become the challenge and the challenge becomes the man, in a race towards the finish line, but also towards personal resilience. This is why these are the ideal conditions for testing and recording important physiological parameters, live and on site, at the service of science.
You can follow Michele Zambelli's enterprise live during the entire transatlantic crossing:
www.michelezambelli.it/ostar-2017
www.diversafetyguardian.org
DAN (Divers Alert Network) Europe is an international non-profit foundation that, since 1983, assists divers in distress, and conducts scientific research to make diving increasingly safe. DAN Europe's committment to medical research is wide-ranging, and investigates various aspects of diving activities. The results obtained until now by DAN scientitsts have become a point of reference for the international diving medical community. DAN 's areas of research are focused on dive technology, hyperbaric physiology and medicine, physiopathology, ergonomics, dive physiology.
www.daneurope.org
ALTEC – Aerospace Logistics Technology Engineering Company - is a public and private company, owned by Thales Alenia Space and the Italian Space Agency. Italian center of excellence providing engineering and logistic services in support of the operations and use of the International Space Station, and of the development and actualization of planetary exploration missions, ALTEC also carries out space medicine and biotechnology programs at the International Space Station. These activities focus on gravitational physiology, man into Space, technologies and methodologies to support the activities of austronauts, ergonomics of austronautical activities.
ALTEC, among its facilities, owns the Neutral Buoyancy Test Facility (NBTF) in Turin, a neutral buoyancy pool for simulating activities with reduced gravity; the NBTF is the only one in Europe with these characteristics, and the European Space Agency has included it among its Ground Based Facilities, available to researchers from all over Europe in support of simulated absence of gravity research.
www.altecspace.it
ComfTech s.r.l. – Comfortable Technology is an innovative SME that specializes in designing and producing garments equipped with patented textile sensors for monitoring the physiological parameter of a person in a comfortable and non-invasive way, both in daily life and in extreme situations. Quality and reliability of data are the characteristics of the Comftech (ISO13485) systems, that were developed as medical devices to monitor newborns. Created in the world of research, the company has always been characterized by a strong push towards innovation and going beyond existing limits; it has provided its expertise on smart garments for numerous and varied international projects, innovative and multidisciplinary, by collaborating with research organizations, foundations, industrial partners, and institutions.
www.comftech.com
Y-40® THE DEEP JOY è la piscina più profonda del mondo, iscritta nel Guinness dei primati per la profondità di 42,15 metri e i suoi 4.300.000 litri d'acqua termale. Aperta 3 anni fa a Montegrotto Terme, a mezz'ora da Venezia, si è da subito imposta come punto di riferimento mondiale per le attività subacquee indoor e come laboratorio di ricerca, ideale per sicurezza e caratteristiche, per gli studi legati alla pressione dell'acqua sul corpo umano.
http://www.y-40.com/it/
SkiScubaSpace is the international research project aimed at investigating the way the human body behaves in extreme environments, from the depths of the sea to outer space, passing from the highest summits of the world. The main focus is studying the pathophisiological modifications that changes in conditions of environmental pressure, microgravitation, and oxygen concentration can produce on humans. SkiScubaSpace is a project by DAN Europe and ALTEC, in collaboration with Y-40 The Deep Joy, Apnea Academy, Pisa Dive Center, the Association of Ski Patrol Volunteers in the Tuscan Appenines, and with the technical support of Aqualung, ComfTec, Nordica, Helly Hansen.
The Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race, also known as OSTAR (the Original Star) is a regatta intended for sailing boats with a one-person crew. The regatta starts in the British town of Plymouth and ends in Newport, in the United States, and it is held every four years. The regatta is carried out from East to West, in the opposite direction of the predominant winds and currents of the North Atlantic, and covers a distance of approximately 3000 nautical miles (5600 km). The actual route is chosen by individual skippers.