LUXFER SUPPORTS EVEREST EXPEDITION

7 March 2007

Xtreme Everest expedition is right on schedule

After four years in the making, the Caudwell Xtreme Everest team’s plans to reach Mount Everest’s summit in mid-May are exactly on schedule following the arrival of team logistics experts in Kathmandu earlier this month.

Luxfer Gas Cylinders is providing oxygen cylinders for the expedition. Vicky Butler, Luxfer’s medical marketing manager, explains: “We first became involved in the project after a meeting with Dr Roger McMorrow, one of the ten medics who will be studying the effects of low oxygen and how the body naturally adapts to extreme conditions. The goal is to place a research team on the summit of Mount Everest and make the first-ever measurement of oxygen in human blood at this extreme altitude.”

Among the medical equipment used on the expedition will be Luxfer’s revolutionary Superlite™ cylinders, which will deliver oxygen in a closed circuit breathing system for up to 20 hours. Most of the key equipment for the expedition, including the Luxfer cylinders, has already been tested in altitude chambers and freezers and in the Alps.

Dr McMorrow adds: "Our new system is designed to assist patients, ranging from children with cystic fibrosis to adults with chronic lung disease, to anyone dependent on supplementary oxygen, to be as mobile as possible. Where better to test the new CXE closed circuit system than in one of the world's most inhospitable locations, Mount Everest, where less than half the amount of oxygen prevails than exists at sea level."

For more information about the expedition visit: www.caudwell-xtreme-everest.co.uk.