Descriptions of Dr. Igor Gamow (b. 1936) depict him as a cross between Indiana Jones and Albert Einstein, a bold adventuring spirit driven by an enquiring scientific mind. Gamow's father was the physicist and cosmologist George Gamow, and his mother was a famous ballet dancer. The young Gamow held down jobs as diverse as horse-breaker and karate instructor before he finally succumbed to the lure of science and enrolled at the University of Colorado. He eventually gained a PhD in Microbiology and Biophysics and went on to lecture in these subjects, although his passion for adventure and the outdoors did not wane.
It was while Gamow was investigating training at altitude that the idea for his sleeping bag came about. He envisaged a bubble that athletes living at high altitude could use to get the most out of their training. Altitude sickness occurs when a person ascends to a height in excess of 8,200 feet (2,500 m). The resulting lack of oxygen can have a severe detrimental effect on the human body, causing the lungs or brain to fill with fluid. Gamow's low-altitude simulation bubble was not successful because it was bulky and overheated. However, he incorporated his idea into an innovative pressurized, nylon sleeping bag that could reduce the effective altitude. The Gamow Bag®, now sold by DuPont, acts as a hyperbaric chamber in which the symptoms of altitude sickness are alleviated. The collapsible bag, which is pressurized by a foot pump, is easily carried by mountain climbers and trekkers. In addition to the rescue bag, Gamow has developed a "Gamow tent" that can accommodate two patients and has also patented an altitude bed.
