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Aeromedix is pleased to announce that Aeromedix and founder Dr. Brent Blue are featured in the May 2009 issue of Cessna Pilots Association. The article, written by Patricia Luebke, was featured within the ‘Advertiser Profile’ category. You can find the article below or by picking up the latest issue of Cessna Pilots Association magazine.

Aeromedix Wants to Keep You Healthy and Safe

by Patricia Luebke

When Brent Blue introduced pulse oximeters to the general aviation world (along with then-partner Michael Busch of AvWeb fame) in 1995, the device was only available by a doctor’s prescription. As a physician, Dr. Blue was able to prescribe them for pilots. He says, “Pilots never had the ability to determine when they needed oxygen – or even how much they needed when they flew.” The pulse oximeter Aeromedix now offers is non-prescription and designed for aviation use. It gives a pilot an instant read of blood oxygenation so that the pilot can continually monitor himself and be alert for the onset of hypoxia.

Even if you’re not flying at higher altitudes, Dr. Blue believes prudent pilots should check their blood oxygenation. With a variety of factors from age to smoking to sniffles from the common cold, he says that pilots might need supplemental oxygen flying as low as 5,000 feet. Further, Dr. Blue asserts that the FAA requirements for supplemental oxygen were based more on politics and geography than they were on human physiology.

He explains, “In the 1950s when the rules about oxygen were created, oxygen systems were expensive and heavy. The FAA established a politically expedient rule that would allow any private pilot to fly around the country without oxygen. You can get across any mountain pass in the country at 12,500 feet in about 30 minutes under the current rules.” Dr. Blue goes on to say that some pilots need oxygen at 6,000 feet and some don’t need it at 13,000 feet.

Even if you determine positively that you do need oxygen, a pulse oximeter is still handy. Dr Blue says, “With an oximeter, you can adjust the flow rate so you don’t waste oxygen. That way you can use oxygen just when indicated, and you won’t have to fill your tank as often and this can save you time and money.” He receommends that rather than rely on 50-year old rules, you base a decision on your own person physiology, which includes establishing a baseline reading for your home field while still on the ground and make a rule of thumb for when you start using the oxygen. Suggest rules for oxygen use are located at www.aeromedix.com.

The pulse oximeter was Aeromedix’s first product, and as the company expanded, Dr. Blue says, “We kept to aviation safety with medical and safety products.” By the way, Dr. Blue himself is a longtime pilot and proud owner of a 1980 Cessna 340A and currently flies up to 200 hours per year. He says, “I’ve been flying since college. I like to remind people that I was a pilot before I was a doctor. I learned to fly in a Cessna 150 and have flown Cessnas ever since.” He is an ATP, and also has a seaplane and glider rating. A recent project was completing the building of a Murphy Moose, an experimental bush plane that he says, “looks like a two-thirds size de Haviland Beaver.”

Aeromedix also offers digital carbon monoxide detectors for the cockpit. Dr. Blue has a strong opinion on what he calls the “goofy chemical strips” that turn color to warn you of increased carbon monoxide levels. He cautions, “By the time it turns color, you’re already dead.” The model that Aeromedix offers notifies you when the cockpit air has 10 parts per million of carbon monoxide. He adds, “You want to know about it before it gets bad. We have had reports from pilots of some great saves!”

In regard to these two products – the pulse oximeter and the carbon monoxide detector – Dr. Blue feels as both have a big impact on aviation safety since he believes that oxygen and carbon monoxide accidents are under-reported. In fact, he wonders how many aviation accidents whose cause is determined to be pilot error are actually caused by poor judgment brought on by hypoxia or caused by carbon monoxide poisoning.

Dr. Blue says that if you’ve been flying for four hours at 12,000 feet, you may not be as quick at the controls as you need to be if rapid or complex piloting decisions are required. And when it comes to accidents, “You can’t prove hypoxia,” he says. “Sometimes you can prove carbon monoxide poisoning but not hypoxia. I believe these are causes of accidents much more frequently than most NTSB experts believe. Calling everything ‘pilot error’ is just the easy way out.”

Aeromedix offers its own portable oxygen systems which Dr. Blue says is “the least most expensive system available,” as well as a non-pharmaceutical ReliefBand for motion sickness that’s popular with both pilots and passengers. He laughs, “The ReliefBand has saved a lot of relationships” where a pilot’s significant other suffered motion sickness, found relief with this device and became a willing passenger.

Rounding out the most popular products that Aeromedix offers is the spill-proof portable urinal. When Dr. Blue was the official physician for the National Air Tour a few years back, he distributed a supply to the Tour’s pilots and took some ribbing from them. However, Dr. Blue says after a few days of flying, the pilots had changed their minds, having used the product and discretely asked him if he had any extras with him. This particular item turns urine into a gel so it can’t spill and emits no odor. Dr. Blue says, “Yes, those pilots laughed, but then they were asking for more.”

Aeromedix offers a host of other products, for pilot heatlh and safety, as well as a range of survival equipment. Dr. Blue says, “We have great customer service; we ship the same day and have live people on call to answer questions about products.” He wants Cessna Pilots Association members to know that he is actively involved in aviation as a pilot himself. “We are not just selling to pilots,” he says. “We are an aviation-oriented company from a sales point and an action point of view. We want pilots to be safe and happy with our products.”

For more information, to order products or to read the company blog, visit www.aeromedix.com. For questions for Dr. Blue, write him at bblue@aeromedix.com.