Medicine at high altitudes

Medicine at high altitudes

ALMA has collaborated to an investigation in safety in conjunction with the University of Calgary, Zurich University, Hotchkiss Brain Institute (Canada), and the Universidad Católica del Norte in research on the effects of working at high altitudes (hypoxia). In fact, the changes made to Chilean legislation (Supreme Decree 28 of the Ministry of Health) are based on results obtained through ALMA as part of this collaboration: “The effect of oxygen enrichment on cardiorespiratory and neuropsychological responses in workers with chronic intermittent exposure to high altitude,” published in Frontiers in Physiology, Integrative Physiology section.

An international team of doctors and researchers conducted a study at ALMA to identify the consequences of working at high altitude where the body can experience oxygen deficiency, a medical condition known as hypoxia. The extreme altitude of the observatory -- 2,900 meters at the OSF and the AOS at 5,000 meters -- makes it a natural laboratory for this type of research, which is extremely useful to both ALMA and other operations at high altitudes. Credit: Iván López - ALMA (NRAO/NAOJ/ESO)