From Russia with comfort

Many people poor in health, especially those with heart conditions, could get a better and safer night’s sleep if their bedroom was maintained at constant atmospheric pressure. The idea has been invented and patented by Yuri Neshitov, Contacts and Technologies Director of the magazine, Innovations, which is Russia’s nearest equivalent to Eureka. A onetime heart patient himself, he has been working in conjunction with Professor Michael Vorogushin St Petersburg University and CEO of the Center of Linear Accelerators and Cyclotrons at the Research Institution of Electrophysics Apparatus. Many physicians believe that a pressure change of around 8mm of mercury, or 10mbar, within 24 hours is enough to unfavourably affect weather dependent people. In mid latitude cyclones, pressures can drop down to 970 mbar, against an average sea level pressure of 1013 mbar. Pressures can drop sometimes drop more than this: Typhoon Tip in the North West Pacific Ocean in 1979 got down to 870mbar. Their solution is called ‘AVC’ which stands for Autonomous Ventilation and Conditioning and takes the form of pressure controlled rooms, based on clean room technology, where a slight excess pressure prevents dust and micro organisms from getting inside. In its simplest form, the technology takes the form of a computer controlled pressure regulated room with an airlock door, but to achieve its full potential, it needs to be extended to a package that can be applied to commercial luxury hotel suites and hospital wards. The AVC developers say they can show interested persons working prototype rooms in St Petersburg, but are looking for partners willing to commercialise the idea, which is patented in Russia with patent applications pending in a number of other countries. R&D.ru company