A recognized specialist in hyperbaric and hypobaric engineering, COMEX has been accredited as a biomedical research center by the French Regional Health Agency (ARS) since 2018. This accreditation, regularly renewed, authorizes COMEX to conduct research involving healthy human volunteers, within a strict regulatory, ethical, and safety framework compliant with French and European regulations.
Today, it represents a strategic asset for aerospace, aeronautical, and defense R&D partners, addressing human physiological challenges related to pressure variation, decompression, altitude, and hypoxic exposure.
A biomedical research center dedicated to applied physiological research
Biomedical research conducted at COMEX aims to advance knowledge of human physiological responses in extreme environments, with a particular focus on:
- ✓ Hypobaric exposure and altitude,
- ✓ Rapid pressure variations and decompression,
- ✓ Hypoxic phenomena,
- ✓ Cardiovascular, respiratory, and neurological adaptation.
All studies are conducted with healthy volunteers aged 18 to 65, exclusively within a non-therapeutic, physiological research framework.
A robust regulatory and medical framework ensuring scientific reliability
All biomedical research activities are conducted in accordance with strict legal and ethical requirements, ensuring participant safety and data reliability:
- ✓ Validation of research protocols by competent authorities (ANSM, CPP),
- ✓ Continuous oversight by independent committees,
- ✓ Implementation of documented, auditable procedures.
Medical support is provided by the Institute of Physiology and Medicine in the Maritime Environment and Extreme Environments (PHYMAREX), in close collaboration with Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Marseille (APHM).
Studies are carried out under the supervision of Dr. Mathieu Coulange, MD, an emergency physician specialized in hyperbaric, maritime, and aeronautical medicine, and Head of the Hyperbaric, Underwater, and Maritime Medicine Department at Sainte-Marguerite University Hospital.
Unique facilities for hypobaric and hyperbaric research.
The biomedical research center accreditation covers several COMEX facilities, including the Hyperbaric Test Center, Hypobaric Test Center and testing bassin, specifically designed to support aerospace R&D programs:
- ✓ Altitude (hypobaric) simulator,
- ✓ Dive (hyperbaric) simulator,
- ✓ Dedicated medical consultation room,
- ✓ Real-time audio and video monitoring systems,
- ✓ Immediate access to medical oxygen therapy,
- ✓ Automated external defibrillator (AED) and emergency cart,
- ✓ Resuscitation equipment in close proximity,
- ✓ Continuous physiological monitoring of volunteers.
These facilities enable the reproduction of realistic operational scenarios in fully controlled and instrumented environments.
From ARS accreditation to international aerospace partnerships (2018–2025)
Since obtaining ARS accreditation in 2018, COMEX’s biomedical research center has progressively expanded its scientific and industrial collaborations.
By 2025, this framework supported research partnerships with major aerospace stakeholders, including NASA, focusing on human physiology in hypobaric environments, decompression exposure, and hypoxia risk management.
These collaborations are grounded in:
- ✓ Validated research protocols involving healthy subjects,
- ✓Advanced control of pressure and decompression environments,
- ✓ Integrated expertise in engineering, medicine, and human factors.
Physiological research supporting hypoxia risk training in aeronautics
Building on its biomedical research activities, COMEX has also developed specialized training programs addressing hypoxia risk, dedicated to civil aviation, business aviation, and private aviation operators.
These programs rely on:
- ✓ Physiological data generated through biomedical research,
- ✓ Hypobaric simulation replicating realistic altitude scenarios,
- ✓ A human factors–oriented approach focused on flight safety.
They were notably developed following collaborations with EPNER (French Test Pilot School – École du Personnel Navigant d’Essais et de Réception), a national reference in flight testing and advanced aeronautical training.
A strategic R&D partner for the aerospace industry
Through its biomedical research center, COMEX positions itself as a trusted R&D partner for aerospace stakeholders seeking to:
These programs rely on:
- ✓ Conduct human physiological research under controlled pressure and decompression conditions,
- ✓ Assess systems, procedures, or equipment related to altitude and hypoxia,
- ✓ Integrate human factors early in system design and qualification phases,on flight safety.
- ✓ Rely on a robust, recognized regulatory and medical framework.
“We are pleased with this authorization, which is rarely granted to private companies – usually reserved for hospitals – as it further strengthens the legitimacy of our biomedical research center. However, this is not new for us: back in the 1990s, during our experimental hydrogen dives, we already held such authorization..
